Job Talk

[Jet]

This is about having, losing, looking, or getting a job. I'll go first.

Atlanta is a BIG contract town for copywriters and designers, both front end and back end. I have been here three years without a full time job. I'm a contract designer and the pickings for that are currently very slim. And if I didn't have another income to get me by I would be in deep ginji like half the country right now. I have probably sent out over 300 resumes and cover letters hunting for full time work.

Never get seen
There are major hurdles in looking for jobs especially in my field. Atlanta has 6 design schools. So when jobs are posted for a designer, employers get hundreds of responses. And the hard fact is, my resume and portfolio may never get seen. Going for a job on an internet lead is the toughest and worst thing there is because employers use it to screen out applicants because they are inundated with resumes. So when an employer does contact me with interest I get really excited. But its not like the old days when you could call and inquire and then set un an interview. There's no way of shaking hands with a prospective employer without going thru the hassle of the internet.

Tuff stuff

Problem 1.
But then, at times, you never know the company they are from and they may not contact you again without ever giving you a reason. I apply for jobs suited to my level of design and medium. One of my biggest problems is that I don't work with the web, I'm a print designer. I may construct a composition and then give it to a web designer, but I work in print. Now, I'm working to seque into web design.

Problem 2.
A lot of times, employers will test my skills with a composition or copy.
They tell me they have eliminated all candidates but myself and two other people. So we have to wow them with a secon d round of designing something. I hate this more than anything because if your design is good...they'll use for what they want and don't have to pay to get it. It gets real dirty. I have been through this bullshit twice. It's time consuming, frustrating and I'm over a barrel because I'm putting in a sincere and concerted effort for nothing. It's like sailing the Titanic down a creek.

Problem 3.
I had an opportunity to get a really good design job about two weeks ago for a magazine. It was print, telecommuted and perfect for me. I did 3 rounds of design and was a candidate with just 2 other designers after many others were eliminated. Now........this is how rough it can be. We were sent photos and told to render the front cover, which is the most important part of a magazine. It had to grab, hold attention, sell and inform. The problem is that we weren't given parameters as to what we could or couldn't do. In the first round I had taken liberties withe the inside spread. They cautioned us and said we had to watch out for taking liberties.

Problem 4
I did a rendering and I kept studying the composite. Masthead, photos, copy were all in place. The photos were of models sitting on a sofa, a red sofa, that I hated, but I sent in what I had done. Next thing I know, I lost the job to another designer because I didn't recolorize the sofa. I knew something was wrong and I should've listened to my instincts but I understood we couldn't take liberties.

A few days later, after recuperating from the crush of this, I wrote the Director of Operations thanking him for the opportunity and lightly touched on the editorial - art issue of not being informed. And that I was sorry to have missed out on a great opportunity, but that I would like to be included in the magazine's pool of freelancers should the occasion arise. Trust me, I felt a lot better after writing him.

Full time isn't about having a job, full time is looking for a job.

Your turn..........