Staying visible with a little passion and tenacity
By Ilana Gensler, MA’19
Slowly emerging into light breaking through the tunnels of the MBTA E line, Emilio Guido, AMD’20 finally rises to Northeastern’s main campus buildings and he feels like he has arrived; wherever it is, whatever he is supposed to be, Guido has made it to his destination.
But Guido didn’t get his footing immediately upon transferring from Suffolk University. Initially studying business administration, Guido gravitated toward film and the College of Arts, Media and Design.
“I have always been an entrepreneur and blend business and art more than I have come to realize,” says Guido. “There’s a clearer path for business school students, and fewer questions that hit them as hard as they hit CAMD students like, ‘What are you going to do with a degree in Communication Studies?”
Clothing line owner and independent filmmaker, Guido imparts three tips on students to prepare them for their first few years out of school.
Trust your gut
While on co-op as videographer for the D’Amore-McKim School of Business Communications team, Guido felt right. “Co-op set my expectations very high for what I want when I get to the point of running my own team,” says Guido. Job searching at the start of the pandemic, Guido fought temptation to accept any job for the sake of needing one. According to Guido, the feelings and experience that you gain on co-op guide you toward finding a position that fits you. “When you leave school trying to figure out a creative path, Northeastern has a lot of resources that you can come back to.” Guido would consult his co-op advisor on different directions that he could apply his skills in, and seek console from his favorite professor during the process of getting rejected.
Do the physical work
For Guido, looking for a job became a game of what boxes he couldn’t check. “My current position is as Video Producer at America’s Test Kitchen,” says Guido. “It seems like it should have been easy with having a video producing background to get to that space,” says Guido, “but I basically tried every other position to get there.” Guido was guided by perseverance and indeed.com. Looking for a job is a job the way Guido sees it. “It took hard work, relentlessness, and tenacity to keep firing off resumes and trying different avenues to secure some kind of position,” says Guido, “but you have to do the physical work to make discoveries based on the data that comes back to you.”
January 5, 2022
“There’s a clearer path for business school students, and fewer questions that hit them as hard as they hit CAMD students.”
– Emilio Guido, AMD’20
Have the persistence to believe in yourself
Guido balances his clothing line, filmmaking, and working at America’s Test Kitchen the same way he balanced being a filmmaker and student at Northeastern. “It’s been a battle of two halves,” says Guido. “The first half of the day was work or class, and the second half was pursuing my own passions.” Now, Guido operates within the 9am – 5pm schedule and dedicates the remaining time for shooting. “It comes back to believing in yourself,” says Guido. “My mantra when we were shooting my movie was, ‘let’s make dreams come true.’” To keep a pulse on Guido’s projects, visit his site.