Cold Calling For Spring.

This link from a Planet College post a while back might be some small consolation if you are too broke to engage in the usual festivities this coming break.

Another take on Spring Break can be found here.

The explanation is part of a longer interview with a screenwriter who currently is enjoying some success.  That link has  more detailed exposition about how, as a student, the writer spent one spring break calling for possible internships opportunities.

From his calls he got an interview, went in and did get an opportunity.

From that opportunity he has gone on and is now, several years since,  enjoying some success and some recognition.

There was definitely some preparation and possibly a bit of luck in that the interviewer and the writer had similar interests. Clearly, none of this would have happened, had this student not used this 'opportunity' - the opportunity presented by the fact that he was too broke to go anywhere - to cold call to see what he could find.

"Cold calling', a term derived from direct sales, is often daunting for anyone, even experienced sales professionals.  The 'cold' in cold calling comes from the fact that the caller is unknown to the potential customer, i.e. no introduction, no warm-up.  Still, often, this is the only method available to contact prospects and experienced canvassers will use it in spite of the potentially 'chilly' reception.

Examples such as these, where 'cold' calling has paid off for the cold caller, are typical of the kind of
self-help examples which are used to encourage people to move forward in their careers.  This entry is no exception.  The combination of preparation and luck which resulted in opportunity for this student are not the usual results of cold calling.  But, what would have happened if he had not tried?