Tired for looking for a job

[Oo0martelle0oO]

[RANT]

I'm sick and tired of looking for a GD job! I've been looking for a job in the Flash design or Marketing since the middle of Feb, I have applied at I dont know how many design, ad, marketing and interactive agentices. I hear the same damn thing everytime "you dont have enough design experience" or "you dont have enough corporate expericence" Blah Blah Blah.

 

How in the hell are you supposed to get experience if no one will hire you? So I have now come to the conclusion that I will be stuck in a go nowhere job that I hate.

[/RANT]

[Got-Boost?]

Find someone that knows you and can vouch for your work to get you in the system.

 

Otherwise, what experience do you have....? You can't just show up at a job and expect to work with a degree and ZERO experience....

 

What have you actually done.....?

[Devils Advocate]

It's ALL about who you know. Degrees just qualify you to be offered jobs through friends.

[mrblunt]

I have a friend thats a CTO of his company. He was looking for guys doing flash and java I believe. Email me your resume, hes my next door neighbor, i'll pass it along.

 

MrBlunt2gnt@gmail.com

[Oo0martelle0oO]

I know it all in who you know, and I know alot of people in the industry but none seem to be willing to help me out or their company is not hiring. Its still the point that they want experience but are not willing to give anyone a chance.

[99BlownYellowGT]

I have a Bachelors degree in the same field and could never find a job worth taking. If you have any luck let me know too.

[Oo0martelle0oO]

Columbus Sucks for the design field, there are only a few good companies here and their to hard to get into.

[Science Abuse]

It's ALL about who you know. Degrees just qualify you to be offered jobs through friends.

yeah it's not what you know as much as who.. it sucks. I was in your shoes when I joined the military

Not true. I have no degrees, and the only job that I've got through a friend was Bus Boy at Bob Evans. I've advanced everywhere, and am in a position that normally requires at least one degree.

 

I recently hit the job market again, after almost 5 years at the same place. I'll be unemployed for all of 2 weeks, and people looking for me are few and far between. I sent out 30 resumes, much less then most people do. Not only did I find work, but I'm making almost 30% more then I was. The catch is, I have to move to Cincinnati.

 

It's never "who you know". Think about that, how do you know them? You know them by meeting them and establishing a positive image for yourself. From there, you make friends.

It's the same with employers. It's not what you have but how you present it. You may have more experience then you convey. If you don't you need to express the value of that experience and how it'd developed you professionally. Post your resume (minus phone numbers). Have you had any interviews?

[Oo0martelle0oO]

Not true. I have no degrees, and the only job that I've got through a friend was Bus Boy at Bob Evans. I've advanced everywhere, and am in a position that normally requires at least one degree.

 

I recently hit the job market again, after almost 5 years at the same place. I'll be unemployed for all of 2 weeks, and people looking for me are few and far between. I sent out 30 resumes, much less then most people do. Not only did I find work, but I'm making almost 30% more then I was. The catch is, I have to move to Cincinnati.

 

It's never "who you know". Think about that, how do you know them? You know them by meeting them and establishing a positive image for yourself. From there, you make friends.

It's the same with employers. It's not what you have but how you present it. Post your resume (minus phone numbers). Have you had any interviews?

 

Tons of interviews Like I said above I keep hearing the same thing.

[Science Abuse]

I'ma learn you like I was leared muh'self.

How did you dress? Did you answer questions, or ask them? Dija say "um" alot.

 

I'll quote some things that I was told. Sounds like you're getting interviews, so your resume must be good and I'll leave that stuff out.

I'd suspect that I am the "interviewing king" among the group here. As a consultant, I have undergone approximately forty serious interviews since 1998. Of those interviews, two were failures in that I was not offered the position/contract. Consider that the phrase "my felony conviction" had to come up in a significant number of those interviews, and it becomes a little more apparent just how sharp/lucky/whatever I've been in the interview environment.

 

* Arrive for your interview wearing what I think of as the incandescent appearance of prosperity. It's rare for one of my interviews to conclude without the interviewer making a shock-and-awe-style comment about my dress and presentation. People are shallow and stupid, and they assume that if you are wearing a $400 shirt and a $250 tie that you earned them being competent in your field. Get your hair cut, clean and file your nails, remove all personal jewelry except cufflinks and wedding ring (where applicable), make sure your hands are smooth, your teeth are white, and so on. Believe it or not, this applies for every job north of day labor. People are just more at ease with an attractive interviewee, particularly in the television era, and if you were born ugly like me, you have to level the playing field with obsessive attention to detail.

 

* No more than five sentences in a response, and tell a story with every one. Every response to a question should be short and should be a sales opportunity.

 

"It says here you worked at Wal-Mart as a night cleaner. How'd you like that?"

"Well, it was a tough job! (Smile.) When I got there, they were still bringing the cleaning supplies up front in carts. I had the idea of using a pallet on a forklift to distribute the heavy mops and buckets. It only cut half an hour from our clean time, but I was happy to help make an improvement."

 

Be prepared for the questions you KNOW they will ask:

 

What's your greatest strength?

 

What's your greatest weakness?

 

Tell me about a time that you worked on a team to complete a task.

 

What's your greatest accomplishment?

 

What's your greatest failure?

 

Why did you leave each one of your previous employers?

 

How would you describe your work/leadership/teamwork style?

 

Why should we choose you over other candidates?

 

What would your previous employers say about you?

 

If you could do anything professionally, what would you do?

 

 

Have your stories ready.

 

* Mimicry and mirroring. There's a funny bit about this in a recent episode of The Office, but it really works. Mirror the interviewer's body language with a thirty-second pause; if he leans forward, wait a bit then lean forward. Identify a turn of phrase and repeat it near the end of the interview if appropriate.

 

* Have three questions ready for the end of the interview: One question which allows the interviewer a chance to brag about the company, one which allows him to brag about himself or his department, and one in which you find out more qualities of their perfect candidate.

 

* ABC. Always Be Closing. Don't be afraid to ask for the job. You'd be surprised how many people act like they don't want a job in their interview. This kind of thing usually works for me:

 

"Any other questions, Bill?"

"Not yet... but if you don't mind, before we close this interview I want a chance to sell you a bit. (Smile and pause for chuckle). You're going to meet a lot of widgeteers today. I think I'm one of the best, and here's why: my production is good - as we discussed earlier. I've made a positive improvement for my employer in every position I've held. Most widgeteers don't have solid experience on the Widgetron 9000, but I've been running one for six months. I'd like a chance to show you what I'm capable of. What can I do to help demonstrate this to you?"

The incandescent appearance of prosperity bloody works, I'm not kidding. I bought a suit when I found out my company was closing us down. Not a $100 Kohls suit, I went and got a proper suit...at 60% off, I got lucky.

It got mentioned at all interviews. It didn't get me the job, but it did get me listened to. I may have helped that I was interviewed mostly by women, but you'll find most HR folk are. I ended up with a job paying 30% more in a more advanced field.

 

If you don't have experience on paper, you either have to exude the aura of experience in the interview, or get them to like you enough to hire you regardless. I don't care how much experience a guy has, no one wants to hire an asshole....unless your hiring an HR position. Get people to want you around and you'll move to the top of the pile.

 

Here's a question I posed:

Q: How much does it really matter? I'd like to think that, in an engineering field, I'd be working for a guy capable of looking at a resume, extrapolating that my skills meet the requirements (and that I kan spel), and making a decision on that. Not format or presentation, just ability to do the job.

I imagine sales would be more likely to stand on ceremony then engineering....ja?

 

A:It would be nice to think so... but three years ago I interviewed for a job to be an emergency Superdome administrator for Bank One in Ann Arbor. The interview was successful and I took the assignment. Superdomes run over two million dollars each and, like many large UNIX systems, can be severely damaged by mistyping commands at the shell prompt.

 

During the interview, we talked about cars, clothes, travel, general operating systems philosophies... but I was never asked a single question about Superdome operation.

In an interview you are constantly being asked loaded questions. Your answers matter in way that you may not be aware of. You getting the same responce may be a result of you giving the same kinds of answers.

Here's some back stabbing news; You've probably got enough experience.

Interviews take time, and time is money. No one will ever waste time on an unworthy candidate. For my current job, I was interviewed a total of 5 hours over 2 days, by 5 people. No one can waste that time.

They looked at your resume and decided, before they even met you, that you have the experience. You wouldn't get called otherwise. As long as you didn't lie on the resume, you're qualified for the job, you just have to sell yourself and get it.

[zeitgeist57]

Move to Florida. Jobs all day long. I've doubled my annual income in two years and am continuing to find better opportunities.

[Devils Advocate]

Or move to Chicago.

[MrMeanGreen]

Or move to Europe.

[Nitrousbird]

I recently hit the job market again, after almost 5 years at the same place. I'll be unemployed for all of 2 weeks, and people looking for me are few and far between. I sent out 30 resumes, much less then most people do. Not only did I find work, but I'm making almost 30% more then I was. The catch is, I have to move to Cincinnati.

You act as though the market is the same for every profession.

 

The other factors:

- Pay: why apply for a job that won't start you out at a liveable wage? I've seen a number of jobs that I'd be way more than qualified for, but the starting wage isn't enough for me to survive comfortably (or uncomfortably) on, even though I would move up fairly quickly (or so they say).

 

- Location: some people aren't willing/can't move. I'm not willing to move at this time. Mind you, I'm not in any need of a new job, and mine pays the bills. But relocating is not an option.

 

- Travel: many positions require heavy travel. Again, I could make more money right now on a job requiring this, but I don't want to. I wouldn't mind minimal traveling, but if 80% work is that, screw that.

 

- Certain previous job "titles": I've applied for a number of postitions that are management positions. I have management expereince under my belt; I've done reviews, write-ups, training, the works. But none under an offical management title. And talk all you want, without a certain title, many places will just overlook you.

 

- Contract job: I won't take one; I've been unemployeed before, and don't want to deal with that BS again. I'm a firm believer in working with a stable company. A lot of work I've looked at is contract work, some contract to hire, but you can't trust that.

 

Not everyone has the same job hunting expereince. Hell, I'm not really complaining in my situation, as I'm not really job hunting, just have an updated resume that I'm willing to send out to something I find interesting, as anyone should be that wants to keep their options open.

 

I know how to move up in a company, and have done so a number of times. Hell, I have guys working under me that have been in the business way longer than me. Doesn't mean that gets me another job somewhere else.......

[HotCarl]

spoken for the truth Nitrousbird.

 

I knew a friend who had a friend hiring at the bank I currently work at. Honestly I didn't know anything about the particular field but I'm a good conversationalist and I tend to ease tense situation's with humor (even if I'm the only person tense in said situation). Now that I've not only gotten comfortable but excelled at my current position and have been there over a year I think it may be time to update my resume'. I'm not hunting but I know what it feel's like to be out of a job suddenly and not prepared not to mention out of work for an extended period of time, IT SUCKS.

 

Though one thing that bother's me is that, I know I can be good maybe even great in the field that I'm in but do I WANT to be is the question? It may pay the bill's but will I be happy in it in 5-10 years? (the field that is, not my position) Eh who knows?

 

Oh, and sorry for the thread highjack Martelle. Have you thought of doing any side work for an extremely discounted/free rate just to get your name/work out there? I dont know how your field is so maybe its simply not possible but hell it would make a good impression on a future boss.

[Oo0martelle0oO]

I'm current working through a freelance agency called The Creative Group. Not exactly what I want to be doing but I have more interviews through them than on my own. Every interview I have gone through has been been even great. My last one, Monday went really well I was even told " I'll call Debbie and get the paper setup so you can start" Only to find out yesterday that she had no intention of hiring me which prompted this thread. In the interviews I do where a suit I own two of them I never go to an interview with out it unless advised to dress down or wear jeans. (Yes there are some design and clothing companies that get offended by wearing a suit)

 

I have consider moving but my wife has a plush job at Nationwide. She would be willing to move I just don't want to uproot her she just got the job a year ago and established a new group of friends . I also had a position at Nationwide but something happened with someone else position in the company and the moved them in to the one I interviewed for and had.

 

I would love to move to Europe but again I have to consider my wife and I know she doesn't want to move out of the country I already tried that. I wont move to Chi Town get to cold, if we went anywhere it would be Orlando I have family there.

 

I do agree with a lot that Nitrousbird and HotCarl say and with some of what The Benz Guy said as well. I have another lead today to follow up on and I'll see how that goes but for I decide to join the army or go to the police academy. Just for reference here is a copy of my resume so you can see what I'm working work and a sample of work I have done.

 

 

 

 

Technical Skills:

Photoshop, Illustrator, Freehand MX, Flash 8, Dreamweaver 8, HTML, CSS Templates, Photography, Indesign CS2, Quark Express, and PageMaker

 

Design Projects:

Roach Be Gone: http://martelle.30mb.com/portfolio/flash/roach.htm

For this project I used Flash and Photoshop to design this layout. The Idea behind this project was to market a 24 hour pest control company to single women living alone in an apartment or home. I came up with the idea for the red textured back ground while for an image with depth. I ended up using an image of a road and used Photoshop to manipulate the image. I created the entire interactive CD, come up with a color scheme, converted pictures into Photoshop, and used Flash to create movement.

 

-Class project marketed for a 24 hour pest control

-Designed in Flash and Photoshop

 

Pixar film 'Cars' Demo: http://martelle.30mb.com/portfolio/flash/cars/Cars.html

I got the Idea for this project after seeing the trailer for the movie cars. I searched the internet looking for an image of Speed McQueen and Sally. After I found what I was looking for I took a look at the cars web site, I wanted this project to look and feel more like the website if it were being disturbed on CD or DVD. All of the buttons, the interface, and the mini clips at the bottom of the interface were created in Flash. The images of Speed, Sally, and the Car Logo, were modified in Photoshop and imported to the timeline. The sound of the engine and the horn honk were found a sound bites web site.

 

-Class Project for a demo of a movie trailer

-Designed in Flash and Photoshop

-Designed website in Dreamweaver and HTML

-Used Cars movie trailer

 

Alcohol & Drug Abuse Prevention Association: http://martelle.30mb.com/portfolio/adapao/index.htm

In this project I was asked to create a mock up web site for a non-profit organization. I was asked to create a Brand and Identity as well as the basic layout of the site. I found a CSS template that I thought would fit the company well. I came up with a light green and brown on a white background. The over all layout of this site was created using dreamweaver modifying the CSS file and the htm file. When I created the logo I was thing about a bird and star. The bird symbolizing flight from alcohol and drug and the Star representing the freedom from substance abuse.

 

-Class project for non-profit organization

-Designed website in Dreamweaver and HTML

-Used Photoshop and Illustrator to create logo

-CSS Templates

 

Dawn K. Moyer Photography: http://martelle.30mb.com/portfolio/dawn/index.htm

When I was approached about doing a web site for Dawn Moyer Photography I jumped at the idea. I knew what I wanted to do and after a few days I came up with this current layout. I started off with a CSS template and modified it to its current form using Dreamweaver. I know that on the front page it need something else beside static images it needed some movement so I made the 220x700 flash slide show. I also decided when it come to the interior gallery pages I wanted something different I used a program called lightbox to create the way the images morph from photo to photo. Photoshop was used to scale and reduce file size so the images would load faster.

 

-Designed web site using CSS template, Dreamweaver, and Flash

-Photoshop was used to resize images for web

 

Poverty Solutions: http://martelle.30mb.com/portfolio/print/Final.pdf

On this project I given the entire text, images, and color scheme and asked to set it up for 4 color process. I used Photoshop to manipulate the images for where they would be placed and indesign was used to create the entire layout for the press.

 

-Class project

-Designed with Photoshop, Indesign

 

School House News: http://martelle.30mb.com/portfolio/print/news_letter.pdf

School house news was a bit different than Poverty Solutions. I was asked to find royalty free images and layout this print job as 2 color black and red. All the images were than set to be either red or black for printing. Indesign was used for the placement of text and images.

 

-Class project

-Designed with Photoshop, Indesign

 

Personal Photography website: http://martelle.30mb.com/portfolio/photography/photo.htm

These are some of the Photographs I have taken over the past 5 years. I think that the ladybug is on of my best to date and the preying mantis allowed me to be published in the Best of College Photography Annual 2005.

The flash file was a template that I found and added my photo to it.

 

-Designed website in Flash and Photoshop to display photography gallery for personal photography work

 

 

Work Experience:

Dawn K. Moyer Photography- Freelance - March 2006 - Present

• Assisted photographer with client photo shoots; family, senior picture, and wedding photo shoots

• Setup promotional postcards in Indesign

• Dreamweaver was used to create, setup and modify the layout for dkmpoto.net

• Photoshop was used to scale and optimize the photos on the website

• Illustrator was used to recreate Dawn K Moyer Photography’s Logo

• Flash was used to make the slideshow on the home page and also for the banners at the top of each page.

• I currently maintained website in Dreamweaver to change text, images, width, and dimensions.

• Communicated with owner changes and ideas for her new site

 

 

Andrew Corp. -Shipping Clerk - November 2004 - March 2007

• Bag and pack amplifiers, electronic equipment and pc boards for courier and freight shipments

• Use MS Office Word, Excel, outlook and FireFox for logging shipping details and communicating to the team the where about and status of units that have been shipped

• Report and process good receipts and consumption reports in SAP that have been bought by vendors and clients

 

 

Kever Inc. -Pre press Specialist - January 2004 - November 2004

• Setup layout and design of business cards and forms for 1-4 color to be sent to press for printing

• Responsible for delivery, slitting business cards, folding documents, padding and shrink-wrapping

• Designed client media in Photoshop, Illustrator, Quark Express, Freehand, PageMaker, and Indesign CS2

 

Education:

Columbus State Community College, Columbus Ohio

Associate’s Degree in Multimedia, June 2006

 

Additional Experience:

-Designed small automotive layouts in Photoshop and InDesign

-Capture digital photographs

-Build computers

-Automotive Maintenance

 

Achievements:

-Published in the Best of College Photography Annual 2005

- Dean’s List 2 Quarters

[Akula]

Look at this site, if you fit the bill and apply for something let me know.

 

http://www.arubanetworks.com/company/careers.php

 

The company is out of Silicon Valley but I live in Columbus and the company understands remote workers.

[BuckeyeGT]

have you tried Mills James? my mom used to work there. they do all sorts of the stuff you listed and its a pretty big company.