Baraka_Guru

I know some TFPers are currently seeking employment. I'm one of them.

I admit that I'm fairly clueless on how to find a job. Most jobs I've had were more or less just for making cash while I was in school. I imagine compared to many my age, I've held few jobs.

In most cases, all it required to get a job was to walk in, fill out an application, have an interview, and start working.

However, the more "real" a job gets, the less effective this becomes. My current job, for example, required me to have a post-secondary education, take a post-degree course in publishing, apply for an internship, interview for it, work for a bit, and then ultimately get hired on permanently.

I guarantee you this: if you want to get a job at my place of employment, dropping off a resume or emailing it will be a waste of time. That's not how you'll get hired here.

I've read a few things online and even the classic book What Color Is Your Parachute? They confirm the same thing: networking is immensely more successful in landing a job than sending out resumes or applying to job postings ever will be. They're talking like several times more successful--numbers like 4 to 10% chance vs. 33 to 86%, depending on your approach. Wow.

Most job openings are not advertised. Most positions are filled through this magical thing called networking.

But sending resumes out and applying to online postings is easy. Yeah, but look what it gets you: no where fast.

Okay, so this thread is for job seekers: share your stories, frustrations, tips, advice, questions, answers, and general comments on your experiences.

* * * * *

My first comment? I need to figure out this networking thing. Now that I work from home, I feel like a hermit. I need to get out and meet people. I can do this by going to events such as conferences, conventions, etc., but the question is, which ones? I would like a job in a marketing track, so this should be fairly open: marketers are everywhere. But this is a mixed blessing. I can figure out the venue, but I will have problems finding what/who I'm looking for.

The more direct and effective (and a bit uncomfortable for me at the moment) strategy is to consider calling/emailing people in the field and asking to meet with them for informational purposes. Apparently, successful people are relatively open to helping others out (I guess that how they became successful). I need to get out of my comfort zone and come up with a plan of action to meet some people who can help me to either directly or indirectly find a job.

This is apparently the most effective way to do it. It takes work; it takes courage; it takes people skills. But, hey, so will this career path. If I want to join the game, I must prove to others that I'm willing to play it.

What do you think?

__________________
Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot

Glory's Sun

I'm using the network strategy as well as the carpet bombing strategy. While I have a secure employment now, I want to go somewhere else. I need new challenges.

My biggest gripe is that when an HR views a reel for an editor, most of the time they don't even know what they are looking at. So if I show a 'montage' reel, they see various things, but wonder how that fits into their place of business. I've tried to show all the diversity, but some houses are in such a tight niche that the HR personnel are guilty of not seeing outside the box.

My second biggest gripe is that when a company comes to me and offers me a position, they need to give me a real figure for an E1. Assuming that they can lowball me an offer and hope that I take it does not sit well with me. They want to play some bargaining game, but my bank account is not up for bargaining. I know what I'm making now, and I know what I should be making at a larger house. Don't treat me like some just out of college punk who will take the first thing offered.

Baraka: in regards to marketing, I think you'd be best suited to figuring out which type of marketing you want to nail down. Marketing is a broad term with many different flavors and sizes.. once you have an idea of a few flavors that you want to try, then it should be easier to find the correct contacts to begin a networking process.

$.02

Baraka_Guru

I'm in the process of nailing this down. I'm currently considering getting into product or brand management. There is also events planning (i.e. marketing coordinator), but that is less appealing to me. I want something that will require analytical and critical thinking skills, in addition to planning and execution of strategies.

I should be looking for entry-level stuff, generally. This is mainly because I don't have full-time marketing experience. I only have patchwork experience at the moment. Down the road, I could see myself specializing, but I need to get my foot in the door. Besides brand or product management, there is also the more general "marketing assistant," which tends to be a support role for sales and/or marketing specialists.

* * * * *

As for you, it seems you are in the right mindset about not settling. However, are you considering the upward mobility factor? Sometimes it could be reasonable to take less pay if you could see yourself with substantially more down the road at a much bigger house than the one you're at now.

Is it feasible for you to customize sample reels to each house you're applying to? Just as with a resume, fitting the samples to what their core business is would certainly leave a bigger impact.

__________________
Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot

Glory's Sun

as far as upward mobility, there's not much room for me in that area. I'm an E1. The only thing I could do up from that is producer or director and I'm not interested in those. If I were to go for an E3 or E2, then I could go up from there, but I'd be taking a HUGE pay cut to do that. I'm not interested in pay cuts

hmm I'm trying to think if I know anyone in marketing.. not really gonna help you much in T-dot, but if I can find anyone I'll see if they have any advice.

ratbastid

I applied today for a job driving a zamboni.

Seriously.

And I'm excited about it.

Martian

I once applied to drive a zamboni. It seemed like it'd be a fun gig. Sadly, I didn't get the job.

Right now, I'm in a 'pay the bills' mentality. I plan on uprooting in less than a year anyway, so there's no sense in worrying about a career path. Anything with a steady paycheque will do.

After the uprooting, I will hopefully be out of the job market for a couple of years while I pursue an education. Past that, I haven't really made any detailed plans. Hopefully there will be positions for network engineers available in the Toronto area at that point. If not, I may have to get creative.

We'll see how it goes.

__________________
I wake up in the morning more tired than before I slept
I get through cryin' and I'm sadder than before I wept
I get through thinkin' now, and the thoughts have left my head
I get through speakin' and I can't remember, not a word that I said

- Ben Harper, Show Me A Little Shame

Willravel

I'm only passively seeking work right now, but I suppose I'm a job seeker being unemployed.

Instead of just hitting the pavement, calling in favors, and reconnecting with old networking folks, I've instead decided to reexamine how I want to spend my 40 hours a week.

When I really started thinking about it, I quickly realized I don't ever want to sit behind a desk again. Ever. I've got a perfectly nice desk at home, and one desk in my life is enough. Sedentary careers only seem to stress me out (in a bad way) and frustrate me. Also, I don't want to do something that involves marketing or sales. I hate marketing, it feels like being an unscrupulous shyster. Finally, I don't want to do something that involves religious organizations. I made that mistake last time and it ended up wearing me down to the bone simply dealing with immature interpersonal crap that stems from how unhealthy most religious organizations are.

I strongly, strongly suggest (if you're out of work and aren't facing financial troubles if you take some time) reexamining your career path when you either have to or choose to leave a vocation. If you're in the right business, you can reaffirm your choices, but if you're not in the right business, you can start searching for something that will bring you more contentment and happiness and even put in place plans to attain that position.

When I started narrowing down my options, I started getting this strange feeling about work: excitement. It was exciting thinking about being a chef or teacher or nurse. When was the last time you were excited thinking about what you do to earn a paycheck?