#editing job. which i have the skills experience and portfolio for. like come on!!!!
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if i dont get a job within the next month im gonna kill myself on livestream
#i keep applying to jobs that i have ALL the necessary skills for and more and in like 100 applications ive gotten like 3 interviews#one time i had an actual person send me the sorry we didnt select you email so I replied like okay why and she was like well this isnt a#junior position so we need someone with more experience. bitch i have over a year of fucking experience (unpaid obv)#like id understand if it were a team leading role then itd make sense not giving it to someone with this little exp. but its a writing &#editing job. which i have the skills experience and portfolio for. like come on!!!!#ive even sent dozens of applications for bullshit copywriting jobs outside the fashion industry at like random companies that need cw for#emails and shit. jobs I could do in my SLEEP. And nada. radio silence
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Hi, Sam! Hoping for some insight as an adult-y, job-experience-having person. Do you think it's possible to get a job as a front desk receptionist with zero real work experience, other than some art commissions in the past, and some time in college but no degree? Or am I better off setting my sights on entry level food/retail jobs to start off with?
So much of it depends on what experience you do have and what you're willing to put on your resume or like...I don't want to say lie, but let's say...gently obfuscate about.
But also, por que no los dos? You can apply for both at the same time. I used to apply for a variety of jobs, and I just had a set resume and a form letter of interest that I'd slightly alter based on what was requested in the job listing.
The real question is whether you have the skillset to work front desk, and whether you can demonstrate somehow on paper that you do. Do you have experience answering phones, working in a call center? Do you know your way around Office suite? (You don't have to prove how, you just have to say you do and then have the most basic of chops to back it up.) Do you have customer service experience? Etc. etc. etc.
Most front desk positions require a college degree, which is frankly ludicrous, so you may find yourself facing a lot of applications that want you to list your degree information. If you can get through with just listing your college experience, I'd do that. But remember, apply for any job where you have even a hope of getting to the interview stage. If you have 60% of what they're asking for, I'd apply.
So here are some questions to ask when building up a resume and a portfolio of your skill sets for any job: Have you ever worked a volunteer job? (You don't have to mark it as volunteer on your resume.) Did you do any kind of workstudy job while you were in college? (This is real work and really counts!) Ever worked for a family business, or done work for a friend, or have you done reasonably extensive beta-reading/editing for fanfic? That's freelance, baby!
So more important than "should I apply to this" is "How do I apply to this reasonably". Applying for any single specific job once you've found one shouldn't take that long, an hour at most; I've got more about that here under the "cover letters and resumes" section. Especially for jobs like front desk, a good cover letter is super important; it's basically a writing sample that tells them a lot about your ability to communicate, your drive, and your intelligence, whether or not that's fair. Remember to emphasize your skills and never, ever mention or excuse your deficiencies; you want to tell them why you're good for the job, not pre-emptively argue with them about why you're not.
I do also recommend, if at all possible, you sit down with your college transcripts and work out how many credits you have. College credits are usually pretty transferrable, and it's worth your time, if you're able, to find a way to complete a degree -- an Associate's degree, particularly through an accredited community or online college, often only takes two years and if you come in with existing credits, probably even less. Studies indicate that having any degree of any kind increases your chances of being hired and also of earning more over your lifetime. I know not everyone has the ability to attend or complete college, and I don't think everyone should, but if you can, even if it's just one course a semester and the degree's a long way off, do consider it.
Good luck, Anon! And hey, if you do end up finding that retail/food customer service is where you're getting offers, there's no shame in that, that's good solid skilled work that will give you more to put on your resume when you're ready to move on.
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how did you get that kind of job without a university marketing degree or whatever? i'm kinda struggling here :(((((
it was a (relatively) long process of trial and error and a lot of freelance work/not having a stable income but basically to break it down. a few yrs ago i went to careers advice and asked how to maximise my future prospects or whatever and the first thing they said was add ALLL of ur skills onto your resume even if youve never used them in a job role before. if you're proficient in (or capable of learning) excel, photoshop, adobe creative suite, wordpress, social media, copywriting, seo software....even if youve never used it in a professional capacity its rly good to kind of emphasize ur digital skill set as much as possible and start researching it as much as possible too. then i started a wordpress blog and would write copywriting articles on there (or in google docs) even though i had no one to send them to lol just to build a portfolio that i could send out to freelance content and copy writer agencies who were hiring. there's tons of tips and articles and pdfs online that can help you write great articles and help u learn content design. anyway i did this for a longgggg time and finally got some actual freelance work coming in. from this, i started interviewing for actual full time copywriting jobs, and was hired to intern at a digital agency at the end of 2021. did that for months then went back to freelance but was able to get more projects with my slowly growing experience. while doing freelance i was interviewing for a shit ton of full time copywriting and content management roles, most of which i got rejected from after like the 1st interview. finally i heard back from a team i had interviewed for and they had me give a presentation outlining my approach to copywriting/media managemenet and from that they've hired me and ive been really really lucky that they have. unfortunately that's what i think it was more than anything, like a stroke of luck that they saw smth in me and took me on despite me unconventional background. im rly rly grateful to them for it. i would also encourage you to look for literally any volunteer opportunities in admin, soc media, bookkeeping - it looks rly good on the resume and can sometimes expand into a job. also look up general cv tips cause there's a ton of cheatsheets out there that can help you get yours to the top of the pile or near the top. good luck and im really sorry you're struggling atm!! ive absolutely been there and it's honestly so discouraging, the amt of times i quit job hunting while doing freelance out of sheer despair was a lot. it's hard but there are ways to show what you have to offer in a really favourable light, and the more you interview/resume edit/write the better you will get. it's all one horrible big skill at least that's how it felt to me, and i still suck at it. just clawing my way up TBH. anyway sending you a lot of love ❤️ hope you catch the break u deserve soon. X
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Hire A First-Rate Web Design Company To Formulate Your Website
It would appear that everybody knows somebody that does "website design". The term can refer to anyone from a school student working on the weekends between book reports a good established professional website designer. A new consequence of this, you need to be careful when choosing a website design company. Choosing the wrong individual or firm can mean build between having a website that turns out sales and dealing with a website that turns off customers. You need to do your due diligence when you sit down with your designer (or web design firm) to check the level of competency and professionalism they have. It essential that business owners ask the following five questions in your initial conversation with any potential web design firm or individual.
During my recovery, I used to find things to to which helped me to get myself back to normalcy. Looking back, that was not going to be situation completely, but anything in which help me come to terms with my attack was looked into and discovered. I gave up drinking and haven't so much had a beer in over four years. Also when exploring solutions, Uncovered that the sort of past time helped essentially the most.. drawing.
The best practice to get experience when you might be young for you to create your private projects or freelance quietly. This is additionally great option for students things some extra cash while attending graphic design school. Side projects ideal way to include work to all of your portfolio which usually is completely your own or a. Freelancing is a great solution to work on real-world design projects with real potential customers. Use these experiences as tips on how to refine and sharpen your talent.
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One thing that is vital to success, though, will be the initial article. Guessing the size and model of your garden is waist mistake you can also make. You may develop a superb design, but unless it fits, it is really a complete waste of your.
The best thing is that today if you are searching for a web or new media post, the range of jobs making the rounds has grown. Where once HTML skills reigned supreme, today gaining interest rounded route to design it takes by the industry as a wide. Yes, technical ability is still required, but this end up being supported having a well defined design way. If you can't make use of technical prowess to solve problems, you'll find it impossible to land a job in the industry surrounding.
Encourage a disciple to design their own car supplying out flyers. Invite them to join you cup of coffee in your garden area to explain the details and cash advance advantage of the car software build. You can ask them to create their own design, much like playing might car with your software. Aircraft, boat different electronic device can thought of as a useful absurdly. It can also be re design just prefer your expensive cars. No need to go to on various car companies to discover the latest mimic. Your old car can be as new car by way of of car software artwork.
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hi Hazel, I know you're a journalist, but I hears you have done socials before? do you have any tips on how to get a foot in the door with motorsport socials or broader communications without prior connections? seems like there's so many young girls on twitter who are trying and that's a bit discouraging. there aren't that many roles, are there? :((
hello,
yeah, I worked in social media for a few years between journalism gigs (I sort of thought it might be what I wanted to do but honestly: no)
there are a lot of jobs in motorsport social media. we see primarily the ones for the big F1 teams or whatever but of course that’s not where a lot of people start and for instance, most sponsors will want social content related to the team they work with over a race weekend, even within the F1 environment. and of course, across media there are lots of sports social media jobs including F1 and then the championship itself. then when you think across wider motorsport like endurance and junior categories and Formula E and IndyCar.... there are a lot more roles than you’d think. oh and then the broadcasters... you get the idea, there’s a bunch of places.
idk how much NDA-bustoing trouble I’m likely to get in for saying this but I used to work for a supplier to an F1 team and then for the championship itself on social stuff. prior to that, I’d worked on social for Netflix and the BBC, so I wasn’t coming in as a rookie, which certainly helped. for the past two years I was also the racefanslive livetweeter, although I’m not anymore.
social media takes the form of lots of things, now. so you need to decide what aspect of the job you want to work in; are you a graphic designer, someone who can put together genius TikToks, someone who can present on social, copywriter, a producer, a strategist, etc?
some roles will require you to be an all-rounder and it’s good to have basic skills across it all but when you’re looking to develop a portfolio, that’s something to think about. do you have a TikTok full of awesome bits of presentation? can you make a show reel? are your gifs and edits super beautiful? are you an illustrator, you get what I mean.
one of the reasons “getting into social” can seem hard is because “getting into social” is about as vague as “getting into F1″ - like what, you’re gonna be a driver or a mechanic or? likewise, you need to work out what you want to do and then show that you can do it.
a good way to gain experience is by, basically, doing some stuff. I realise that sounds incredibly stupid but basically: start making things you think you’d like to make for a job. you don’t need to do a ton, just put a few bits together, put it on a professional instagram as reels and posts and saved stories and so you’ve got somewhere to point to if you get an opportunity, to say what you can do.
Twitter is less useful, professionally speaking but it’s also worth, for instance, making an account and doing some basic, clear livetweeting of a specific event. let’s say the Rome Eprix because I don’t livetweet F1 but I can talk about livetweeting FE.
one of the worst things people do with livetweeting is either decontextualised information (”Ricciardo has come into the pits” ok but when and why) or unclear information that doesn’t fit the character limit. I don’t think I’m very good at a lot of social stuff anymore but I am really good at livetweeting (I used to do so much of it, professionally speaking) and so I am gonna use myself as an example here. here’s my thread from the first time the format was run - it’s pretty simple because I didn’t have any imagery but it gets across the information you need about what cars are through and who’s beaten who. that’s a skill worth practicing and also something it’s worth showing you can do, when you’re applying for roles.
beyond that it’s a case of making sure you keep your eyes open for opportunities. whether that’s getting involved with formulastudent and becoming a producer for the teams or just going out and making content, having a portfolio is incredibly important. then keep watch on things like Motorsport Jobs (you can set up a job alert) and follow and pay attention to people at agencies that work in motorsport, so that you’re aware of opportunities coming up. that’s places like Influence Associates, Re:Volution, Crunch, Veloce, Edelman, 115dgrs, etc.
also I know everyone thinks Tumblr content is for some reason verboten but if you make good memes on here that aren’t too obscene, for the love of god put them in your portfolio. if you make beautiful, hi-res gifs and clips then for the love of god put them in your portfolio. your edits? portfolio. some of the highest-quality and most standout work in motorsport is on here with people hiding it - ok, don’t send in your explicit fanart or whatever but there are so many beautiful edits on here which would look so immediately eye-catching to a team or broadcaster.
if you message me off anon I can reply privately with a friend who runs an motorsport social media agency and often has entry-level work going/would be willing to offer experience. she always pays, although it may only be sporadic work at first.
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Hello! I really want to be an animator but I'm not really good at it since I started to it just recently, and since you're an animation student I have a few questions I wanted to ask:
First is, how do you improve your skills as a growing animator? I know the answer is lots of practice, but what do you exactly practice? How many hours do I at least have to practice to actually improve at it? And What do you suggest practicing for beginners?
Second is, what do I have to include in my portfolio to be allowed in an animation school that is decent and can get me in good places?
And the last is, what do I need to know about animating to be actually allowed in anywhere? Some say programming skill, some say video editing skills and I'm not really sure what to do. :(
If you can answer, I'd be grateful. If you can't, that is also okay! Regardless, I hope you're having a nice day and hope you're being safe! Love you!
First of, I’m very sorry for taking so long to answer, I hope my answer will help you somehow ! More under the cut-
Based on my little experience, everyone is progressing at a different rhythm, no matter if they all have the same amount of hours, of work, etc. This applies to every job, tho, then I could only recommend you to find a rhythm that you like, which won’t make you overwork yourself and still will let you see your progress. Either way, you may end up loosing your interest in animation, which would be a shame after all your efforts, truly.
Practice is obviously the way, but you’ve got to practice well ! And as a self-taught animator, I can tell that it’s difficult to figure it out alone. I didn’t know what to do, neither how to do it, I wanted to learn and try, but without the knowledge, it was just the more frustrating. My advice for that : read, watch, listen to animation courses, in my case it was Richard Williams’ book and conferences called “The Animator’s Survival Kit”. This man was a very good teacher and once I could understand the basics, all I needed to do was trying. And then, comes the next step : Feedbacks.
If practice is important, getting feedbacks from your work is just as important, truly. For that, put your ego aside and listen to people’s reaction, opinion, criticism. Their feedbacks, not only from animators, but also from people outside of the field, they will help you improve your work a hundred times better. After seeing your animation so many times, you may not see this little thing or that one that could bother at the end, then the solution is to ask someone else to help.
In a production, an animator will always have to show their work in progress to their supervisor, to know if they’re going to the right direction, it’s extremely important to be able to share your work and put the “Huh, yes, I mean, it’s like this because.. Yes, I was planning to do a.. I’m not sure about..” aside and just show the work and listen to their opinion. Your work will be reviewed countless of times in the future, only to make it better, then truly, getting feedbacks is important. You’ll learn from them and only improve !
As for the portfolio part, I invite you to read THIS ANSWER I’ve written back then. Again, it’s only based on my little experience.
Regarding the skills to have on the side, well, I haven’t used programming a single time and that’s a good thing, i despice it ! Tho, right, editing is a nice skill to have, as you’ll have to compose your animation, add sounds and maybe some visual effects. It’s more about the softwares I’d say, like knowing Adobe After Effects. But it depends of the school, at least this is how it goes in France, i won’t talk about the rest of the World as I have no idea.
I hope all of this will be useful to you and I wish you to get into a good animation school !
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Freelancing gives HOPE!
The struggle is real! This is the common phrase you will often hear nowadays especially from the employees and workers. To bring food on the table for the family, they endure daily hardship in traffic going to work and the threat of contracting the virus. Hence, working from home is the best option to earn safely.
But the real question is, “How easy to land in a work-from-home set-up?” Well, you are truly lucky if you are an employee who just needed to shift working from a physical office to the comfort of your home. But the good thing is, even if you are someone who just lost your job, a full-time mom who wants a career comeback, a fresh graduate, or even someone who doesn’t have a degree but a goal-driven person, FREELANCING is like the light to the end of the tunnel.
Before you get thrilled, let us go over our understanding of what is freelancing.
What is freelancing?
Freelancing is associated with being self-employed and offering services on a project. It mainly involves working on a contract that does not mandate going to an office daily on a fixed time schedule. In order to address the question of what is freelancing, one must understand that it is not a job opportunity, in fact, it has now become a full-fledged career option.
Freelancing is a contract-based profession where the person, instead of following the traditional 9 am to 5 pm working hour setup, uses his or her skills and expertise to offer services to their clients. The clients could be anyone ranging from a company to an individual.
The traditional 9 to 5 work style has transformed as technological interventions are changing the way we all work. This has paved the way for a more convenient form of work-life-style; such as working as an independent worker, a freelancer, or as a gig worker.
Now that you know what is freelancing, you may ask: Do I have the skills to be a freelancer? The good thing is, Freelancing comes with a wide scope of skills. The following are the categories that help you to find and identify your niche.
Administrative support – Data Entry, Project Management, Transcription, Virtual Assistance
Finance – Accounting, Bookkeeping, Financial Planning/Management, Payroll/ Tax Preparation
Marketing Sales – Affiliate Marketing, Email Marketing, Lead Generation, Pay per Click (PPC) Marketing, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Social Media Marketing, Telemarketing
Customer Service – Customer Support, Technical Support
Information Technology (IT) – Computer Programming, Game Development, Mobile App Development, Software Development, Web and Mobile Design, Web Development
Professional Service – Architectural and Engineering Services, Medical Billing, Paralegal Services, Pharmacy, Real Estate Coordination
Design and Creative – Animation, Graphic Design, Photography, Video Production, Editing
Language – English Teacher, Foreign Language Translator
Writing – Academic Writing, Blogging, Creative Writing, Editing and Proofreading, Technical Writing, Web Copywriting,
The lists may seem overwhelming which may lead you to ask: What if I don’t have any experience in freelancing?
There are many online course trainings that offer a step-by-step guide on starting a freelancing career. One of the best is the Filipino Virtual Assistance Consultancy (FVA Academy). Their mission is to empower families, one freelancer at a time through their Academy, Services, and Franchising. They guide their students in finding their niche, assist in doing a portfolio, providing detailed and relevant information about how freelancing works, and offer apprenticeships.
Aside from working from the comfort of your home, freelancing ALSO provides:
Flexible work schedule – allowing you to work part-time or full-time. You have control to make that decision.
Exposure – it is a way to broaden the horizon. This job opens to work on a variety of projects and topics.
Financial Freedom – with your expertise and quality of service, you can set a pretty outrageous rate with your salary.
Independence – you can work alone, anywhere, and free from 8-9hours work life.
Although, just like other jobs, there are few downsides like irregular income if you are a project-based freelancer and working alone means ultimate responsibility.
While freelancing may be a great option for a career move, you must not forget that your attitude defines your success. Whether you are a freelancer or a full-time employee, ALWAYS REMEMBER your hard work, consistency, commitment, and dedication are the common denominator to reach your goal.
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I noticed you did graphic design and I was wondering if you could talk a bit about your experience? I was having doubts abt a career choice and I love art but just as a hobby, however when I went to see a counselor for it graphic design was heavily recommended to me, but I just feel that if I were to work with art it would become an obligation rather than something that I do for fun and then I wouldn't like it anymore? Did you ever feel like that or have a similar experience? Thank you ^^
Hey! I’d love to talk about it, especially since I’m fresh out of college. So I chose graphic design because it was logical to me not because I had a deep passion for it. Graphic Design and illustrating are very different (to some people) and it took me a while before I could really understand how to integrate my illustrative passion with my designer career choice.
The truth is with graphic design, it’s the most profitable art degree you can get there’s more jobs that you can receive as a graphic designer than you can taking your chances with illustrating freelance or even animating, it was also within budget for me as the fine arts program at my school and all the material and supplies were pretty expensive and for the most part graphic design just required I keep a subscription to Adobe and occasionally buy materials for certain print projects.
I really value the skills that I learned as a graphic designer, I think it made me a better illustrator and animator in the long run. I think it’s an important skill for most people that have especially if you’re looking to be comfortable in a job. However, graphic design is a step up from an office job to me, because at the end of the day I’m still creating art but it still business-heavy business-smart art.
Graphic design comes in a lot of different forms but for the most part you can expect to be doing things like creating logos, doing typography, editing photos, editing vectors and shapes, and generally everything about graphic design is about perfectionism and also selling a product.
Obviously a lot of graphic designers come up by making creative works and if you can do that and have fun with it that’s a very good thing. But from what I can tell from the fact that I shared a class with a lot of fellow illustrators and passionate animators — Graphic design can start to be a struggle because so much of it is centered around the business of art and not necessarily the creation of art.
That’s not by design that is simply how majors treat it because they want to get you prepared for a job. It’s not necessarily an awful thing, but I do want to say for any art career or really any career in general that you pursue, you should prepare for burnout. Instead of asking “will this burn me out? Will I get sick of this in the future?” You should really be asking “If I had to sit down and do one thing every day even if it made me miserable is this something I would be able to do?”
Also ask, “are there skills that I would like to learn in any particular field that I don’t have, what can I gain from being in this major and spending money on college that will help me in the long run? Do I value what I’m going to learn by picking this major or do I need to go another direction?”
Try not looking at college as something that’s going to set you for life, and look at college as an opportunity to really gain some new knowledge and have fun gaining that knowledge. It’s hard when you’re an artist and you don’t want that passion and drive to go away. The choice of making art a career is going to make you susceptible to burn out automatically it’s going to happen, so if you choose to go the graphic design route know that you’ll probably get burnt out by it especially if you’re not ready for what it entails. That being said, I don’t think you shouldn’t do graphic design if you’re an artist, I almost think everyone should have a graphic design knowledge because it will help you with your portfolio and it will help you stand out in the pool of other artists in the world.
Right now I get most of my money from doing logos for people. Because I understand how logos work and because I have that skill set I am able to do this work freely and consistently while I apply to other jobs in my passion like freelancing illustration or storyboarding which is what I really want to do. This is how I’ve chosen to move forward, look at your skill set, think hard about what you really love doing and what you can do, consider what it is you want to learn, and decide which direction you wanna go in based on those decisions. Not based on the fear of burn out because whatever you choose to do you will get burned out you just have to understand and learn the coping mechanisms to be able to climb out of it.
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Industry Research
Cover photo : https://eudi.eu/which-came-first-the-creative-person-the-creative-industries/
In this section of my blog, I will discuss research I've conducted about which industry and sector I would like to work in, and the skills required when working as a sound designer.
The Creative Industries are some of the most significant contributors to the UK's economy and in 2018 employed approximately 2.04 million people.
Between 2010 and 2017, the Creative Industries Gross Value Added (GVA) inflation estimate was 53.1%, just under double the growth rate compared to the 29.7% of the UK. The TV and film sector (which also includes radio and photography) jobs rose by just under 17% between 2011 and 2018, which led to the industry employing just shy of a quarter of million employees! In 2018 the GVA for this sector was estimated just under £21 million (approximately £20,814 million), making it the second most successful sector within the creative industries next to IT, software and games (https://www.thecreativeindustries.co.uk/resources/infographics). It also seems that the 'audio' industry is heavily male dominated, and only 5% of the workforce are women. To help increase these numbers and encourage women to work within the sector, organisations such as AES (Audio Engineering Society) provide sponsorship to female students (https://www.prospects.ac.uk/job-profiles/sound-designer). So, 'come on ladies we can do this! Get involved!.
Whilst the creative industries (but particularly the TV and film sector) are a growing economy in themselves, the salary for a sound designer can differ. What determines a sound designer's salary (aside from a portfolio of work) is experience. In the UK, a sound designer's starting salary is around £18,000. Simultaneously, someone with five or more years of experience can earn approximately £23,000 per year. If you're hitting the big time, and have a wealth of experience under your belt, expect to earn around £30,000 - £41,000 (https://www.prospects.ac.uk/job-profiles/sound-designer). In the US, sound designers salary ranges anywhere from $25,680 – $117,600 (https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/sound-designer-70509/). Gaining as much experience in this field is crucial to becoming successful and recognised as an individual creative.
A sound designer works as part of a post-production team. They are responsible for looking after/managing musical supervisors, sound editors, Foley artists, and dialogue editors to name but a few (https://www.prospects.ac.uk/job-profiles/sound-designer). Alongside supervisory duties, a sound designer must also be responsible for collating their sound libraries. Working closely alongside actors is another role played by sound designers in TV and Film. Here they will ensure the audio equipment is set-up correctly. It will aid in the microphones capturing the best possible performance of the actress/actor.
There are also some more fundamental skills required to be a successful sound designer. Walter Trarbach, who worked as the sound designer on Sponge Bob Square Pants the musical made a great comment. He said, "you have to be both very technically acute and very artistically sensitive" (https://www.prospects.ac.uk/job-profiles/sound-designer). This comment only reaffirms the sheer importance of owning sound design as a pure art form and the skills needed to do so.
Having a solid working knowledge of industry-standard digital workstations is an evident skill to have under your belt. I currently use a variety of DAWs across both PC and Mac. I primarily use Logic Pro X to construct most of my songwriting/ composition work or create sounds for my sound libraries. Now Pro Tools is something I'm very new too, but it is apparent that it is still the go-to DAW within the industry. Alongside DAW competency, having a sound knowledge of composition and sound using pure data in Max MSP programs is a necessary skill (https://www.prospects.ac.uk/job-profiles/sound-designer). Again another, unfamiliar programme to me now, but I am excited to see how this can add depth to my creative process!
Now I have talked about the type of industry and sector that I'm interested in entering. Still, I've researched job adverts for sound designers in the UK to bring my expectations to reality.
Job Adverts
1) Technical Sound Designer - Sega (Creative Assembly)
Link to job advert: https://www.careerjet.co.uk/jobad/gb39b5611a47b45367b32cadc373a9f586?utm_campaign=google_jobs_apply&utm_source=google_jobs_apply&utm_medium=organic
This job involves working as a technical sound engineer for Sega - Creative Assembly. Creative Assembly is a multi-award winning BAFTA UK Games studio. They are a prestigious organisation with a series of great game releases. They are looking for an addition to their current team. The job prerequisites are professional experience in the video game industry or credited for a AAA game release and audio systems with them. Audio implementation systems are a big part of what is involved in in-game audio. In specific Creative Assembly, they ask for experience with Wwise from Audioknetic. They also ask for proficiency with modern audio processing: recording and mixing, and expertise with modern Digital Audio Workstations and plugins. Aside from the more specific criteria, the organisation is asking for, they also ask for more (desirable) things such as knowledge of the Total War brand and working as a team player
2) Sound Designer - BBC Studios
Link to job advert: https://www.nycfilmcrew.com/job/london-film-jobs/audio-studio-manager-editor-sound-designer-pool-bbc-studios-audio-freelance-bbc-london/?utm_campaign=google_jobs_apply&utm_source=google_jobs_apply&utm_medium=organic `
BBC are one of the most prominent broadcasting organisations in the UK. This job advertises a variety of vacancies. The one in specific that appeals to me is the freelance sound editor, sound designer. Prerequisites for this job can effectively edit programmes to a very high standard. Pro Tools' working knowledge is required, improves audio quality, delivers shows, and has an adequate level of attention to detail. There may be some instance where the candidate needs to edit laughter for comedy shows, so having an acute ear for timing and humour are necessary. BBC ask for an ability to edit music for sig tunes, scoring or stings, the sensitive use of sound effects, and the ability to score content with music.
3) Audio Designer - Supermassive Games
Link to job advert: https://uk.linkedin.com/jobs/view/audio-designer-at-supermassive-games-ltd-2258018251?utm_campaign=google_jobs_apply&utm_source=google_jobs_apply&utm_medium=organic
Supermassive Games Ltd are a Guilford based BAFTA award-winning indie game developer with a passion for virtual reality and storytelling. They are advertising vacancies for permeant and six moth contracts and specify some essential skills that are required. Experience ideally with AAA sound design/game audio, implementing audio with a variety of pipelines n drools. As always in-game audio, there is still a requirement for experience with game audio implantation systems, in this case, Audiokinteic’s Wwise. It is also beneficial to know sample editors, Digital Audio Workstations, ambient and SFX design recording Foley skills, in both the outside world and studio environment. Alongside the perquisites mentioned, they also ask for some more desirable skills. Experience of working inside Unreal Engine 4, film/linear post-production skills, a good understanding of music theory and music editing, and have an account for basic coding techniques.
Summary
Experience in the video game industry (Supermassive ask for four years’ experience, whereas Creative Assembly do not specify the length of experience. I currently do not have that level experience, but gives me an idea at the level of professionalism game developers are asking.
To have proficient working knowledge of game audio implantation systems, in particular Wwise. I will be studying game audio next teaching block. So, I can begin to gather m skills and make additions to my portfolio.
Experience with working on AAA. Games, again something I don’t have experience with, but only time will tell!
Strong working knowledge of DAWs, and in particular Avid’s Pro Tools.
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WHAT NO ONE UNDERSTANDS ABOUT FORCE
So let me tell you a little about Jessica. But maybe if we were investing millions we would think differently. By accepting the term sheet, the startup agrees to turn away other VCs for some set amount of time while this firm does the due diligence required for the deal. A typical startup goes through several rounds of funding, regardless of whatever obstacles are in the way. Overall only about 10% of startups succeed, but if I had to add a new application to my list of known time sinks: Firefox. Ten years ago VCs used to insist that founders step down as CEO and hand the job over to a business guy they supplied. Bush seemed old and tired. To get a complete picture, just add in every possible disaster. I stopped watching it. Odds are it will be a junior person; they scour the web looking for startups their bosses could invest in. What are we going to do if one of the founders in a startup can stay in grad school, but at YC culture wasn't just how we behaved when we built the product.
Indeed, food is an excellent metaphor to explain what's wrong with the usual sort of job is a consulting project in which you can move into a big one or from which you can move into a big one or from which you can build whatever software you wanted to sell as a startup. We could hire employees, but we want to be able to convince; they just won't be able to brag that he was an investor. I didn't enjoy the short stories we had to read in English classes; I didn't use expert systems myself. But most founders, because it takes most of the ideas in an essay to happen after you start writing it, they had some new ideas. Television, for example, about how to approach VCs. So on demo day I told the assembled angels and VCs in that they're actual companies, but they pay more attention to deals recommended by someone they respect. In a startup, managing them is one of the most difficult problems for startup founders is deciding when to approach VCs, which VCs obviously don't need to write it again. They may if they are, we have a remarkable coincidence to explain. They also spend a little money on a freelance graphic designer. Y Combinator doesn't require vesting, because a they ask who else you've talked to and when and b they talk among themselves.
As for how to write well than most people realize, because they know it's true. You can't just sit there. And what's especially dangerous is that many happen at your computer. I'm not saying that issues don't matter to voters. And microcomputers turned out to vary a great deal of profanity. Fear of failure is an extraordinarily powerful force. Some we helped with strategy questions, like what to patent, and what to charge for and what to charge for and what to give away. Needless to say, you should be nice to and who you can get. I think of it, we were surprised how frightened most of them were of competitors. If someone pays $20,000 for 10% of a company, the company is still just an idea.
That might be worth exploring. Many investors explicitly use that as a test, reasoning correctly that if you let people in their early twenties get into debt, because their expenses grow even faster than the salary that seemed so high when they left school. Is anyone able to develop software faster than you? People this age are commonly seen as lazy. So just do what you'd do in any complex, unfamiliar situation: proceed deliberately, and question anything that seems odd. Control of a company is only two months old, every day you wait gives you 1. There are millions of small businesses in America, but only for a small one, and if not, they say they want to be forced to figure out what you like is to look at what you enjoy as guilty pleasures. Microcomputers turned out to be very disciplined if you take the latter route that the lawyer is representing you rather than merely advising you, or his only duty is to the investor. There was an authenticity that everyone who walked in could sense. And you can't approach some and save others for later, because a we invest such small amounts, and b it means that Y Combinator, and it seems to me the increasing cheapness of web startups. If the Democrats had been running a candidate as charismatic as Clinton in the 2004 election, he'd have won. If people have to choose between something that's cheap, heavily marketed, and appealing in the short term, and something that's expensive, obscure, and appealing in the long term the right answer for dealing with Internet distractions will be software that watches and controls them.
Both now compete directly with VCs. I decided one night to start it, and 50% of those you start with to be wrong; be confident enough to cut; have friends you trust read your stuff and tell you which bits are boring the paragraphs you dread reading; try to tell the reader something new and useful; work in fairly big quanta of time; when you restart, begin by rereading what you have so far; when you finish, leave yourself something easy to start with; accumulate notes for topics you plan to write about, then write down what you said; expect 80% of the ideas writing would have generated. I was a kid, computers were big, expensive machines built one at a time. There are few large, private technology companies. Inexperienced founders make the same mistake when trying to convince investors to let you do it. To convince yourself that your startup is worth investing in, and then only in a vague sense of malaise. The company may do additional funding rounds, presumably at higher valuations.
In a startup you have lots of worries, but you don't have this protection, as we found to our dismay in our own startup. Bush seemed old and tired. And since success in a startup: to be a time when one failed to do something they'd promised to, even by being late for an appointment. If you walk around a museum trying this experiment, you'll find you get some truly startling results. Something that used to be safe, using the Internet. In fact, nice is not the brand name or perhaps even the classes so much as the people you meet. A group of 10 managers is not merely a group of 10 people working together in the usual way. So if you hear someone saying we don't need to write it again. That's a known danger sign, like drinking alone. We often tell startups to release a minimal version one quickly, then let the needs of the users determine what to do next. And that required very different skills from actually doing the startup. Startups often pay investors who will help the company in restricted stock, vesting over four years, and the terms end up being whatever the lawyer considers vanilla.
You get to work on juicy kinds of work, like designing software. This way, they were going to be hearing in the press about what Jessica has achieved. Financially, vesting has little effect, but in startups the curve is startlingly steep. This essay is derived from a keynote at FOWA in October 2007. Sales people make much the same way that living in the future big companies will have both a VP of Engineering responsible for technology developed in-house, and a CAO responsible for bringing technology in from outside. VCs will own a third of the company 2/4 2. Of course the odds of any given startup doing an IPO are small. A quarter of their life. The fact that seed firms are companies also means the investment process is more standardized.
Excite did, for example, because no one said anything definite enough to refute. If Jessica was so important to YC, why don't more people realize it? The traditional series A board consisted of two founders, two VCs, and we make a point of exerting less. I've since learned had quite a brief life, roughly coincident with the peak of magazine publishing. So working for yourself makes your brain more powerful in the same portfolio-optimizing way as investors. And getting rejected will put you in a slightly awkward position, because as you'll see when you start fundraising, the most common question you'll get from investors will be who else is investing? So if some friends want you to come work for their startup. Procrastination feeds on distractions. I now leave wifi turned off on my main computer except when I need to transfer a file or edit a web page, and I can't think of one.
#automatically generated text#Markov chains#Paul Graham#Python#Patrick Mooney#A#firm#investors#school#people#computer#anything#coincident#effect#founders#lawyer#question#protection#computers#time#October#amounts#test#Clinton#Bush#startups#notes#VP
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How I started my own successful YouTube channel reviewing tech products
To do a viral video, buy software from here.
Get it now
CNBC’s “College Voices 2020” is a series written by CNBC summer interns from universities across the country about coming of age, launching new careers, and job hunting during a global pandemic. They’re finding their voices during a time of great social change and hope for a better future. What money issues are they facing? How are they navigating their student loans? How are they getting work experience, networking, and applying for jobs when so many opportunities have been canceled or postponed? How important are diversity and a company’s values to Gen Z job seekers?
Covid-19 has rocked the economy in ways this world has never seen. Many people have found their lives turned upside-down, including students. I know right now a lot of students are finding themselves in challenging situations. Many are stuck at home, have lost a summer internship, or can’t find a job. However, even if the path ahead is not clear right now, it’s important to remember there is always something you can do to move forward — even when you’re stuck at home!
To do a viral video, buy software from here.
Jennifer Frick, a career consultant in the Career & Professional Development Center at Carnegie Mellon University, suggests using this as an opportunity for students to focus on their professional development. There are many ways for students to go about this. Students can:
Do remote research or coursework to get ahead on their studies. A good resource for this is LinkedIn Learning.
Write a blog on a topic you’re passionate about — so you become an expert yourself, instead of waiting for someone to offer you a chance to become an expert.
Start a YouTube channel on something you find interesting or enjoyable.
Contribute freelance articles to online publications.
Network in online forums for topics you’re passionate about.
For me, the choice was a YouTube channel. I decided when I was a sophomore in high school to make my own path — and not wait for something to be handed to me in college or beyond.
Where to begin - Get it now
I’ve always been fascinated by consumer technology. Ever since I was a little kid, I would get extremely excited whenever a new phone or tablet was released, and I would do just about anything I could to get time to interact with them. So the idea to start a YouTube channel where I get to explore all the latest in consumer technology and review it for others to see and learn about, came naturally to me. Especially after seeing other fellow tech enthusiasts like Marques Brownlee and Unbox Therapy find so much success on the platform.
The catalyst was a new printer I received that year as a holiday present. I thought this would be a perfect time to start a YouTube channel where I could talk about the printer and about another future tech I might receive. So I popped up my phone, sat down on my bedroom floor, and walked through the unboxing and setup of this Brother MFC-J450DW printer. You could definitely tell I was a newbie!
More From Invest in You: It’s a tough outlook for graduates in the Class of 2020Job hunting amid the coronavirus pandemic: How to network … from your couchHere’s what one resourceful grad is doing to find work in this tough job market
But the more I worked at it, the better I got at making my videos. I saved up money from various little jobs and birthday presents and bought myself new tech to unbox for the channel. I started to get more and more interested in the production aspect of making these videos and would challenge myself to make each new video better looking and more engaging than the last. I watched hours of YouTube tutorials on lighting, sound, editing, and storytelling to try to consistently improve upon my craft. Not only did this allow me to improve my videos, but it also let me build up valuable expertise and experience in the process.
To do a viral video, buy software from here.
At the same time I improved my production skills, I also improved my SEO (search engine optimization) abilities. I would consistently study analytics YouTube provided me on my audience. I learned that the vast majority of the people watching my videos were men between 20 and 34 years old, so I started finding products and video ideas that would better suit that demographic’s interests. As I did this, I noticed my organic traffic from YouTube’s recommendations began to grow. I continued to refine and optimize my videos to garner as much organic traffic as possible.
I finally knew I was on to something after I made an unboxing video of the iPhone 7 that got 100,000 views in the first month it was life! I kept creating more and more content over time, and I’ve been fortunate to have a few videos perform really well on YouTube’s platform. I was super excited when last summer, just 5 years after I started the channel, I hit the 10,000 subscriber milestone.
Ben Boxer in Paris, France, vlogging during his semester studying abroad.
Source: Anthony Aldana
Not only am I doing something I love, but my YouTube channel has acted as a sort of living portfolio of my work, and has been a major factor in me getting into my dream university, landing an amazing first internship, and acquiring my first video clients when I started my own production company, Boxer Video Productions.
Extra income
My YouTube channel has also acted as a form of passive income which has given me the flexibility to focus on my studies and other hobbies like music, without having to worry so much about acquiring work to fund the channel. After years of building up YouTube ad revenue, sponsorships, and generating Amazon affiliate links, my channel now pulls in about $15,000 per year that I use to cover the cost of the products I review in the videos as well as reinvest into building an arsenal of film gear that I use to make even more videos for the channel and for my company’s clients.
The mechanics behind starting something like this was quite simple and is really a repeatable process for any starting YouTuber. I simply:
Figured out what I was passionate about and wanted to make content around — new technology.
Set up accounts with YouTube, Amazon Affiliates, and AdSense.
Ordered an affordable tripod to start filming videos with my phone (This is a good one for beginners).
Learned to edit in iMovie (a free piece of editing software included with Mac) through the plethora of free tutorials available on YouTube.
Shared new videos with my friends and family to get in some initial views, which helped the algorithm pick up my videos and share it with a larger audience.
Placed Amazon Affiliate links for the products I talked about in the description of the video to generate some income that would fund future videos.
To do a viral video, buy software from here.
It wasn’t until I got really comfortable with this starting setup that I slowly expanded into buying more professional film gear and experimenting with different editing techniques. It was a process that took time, persistence, and dedication. It didn’t happen overnight.
The point of all of this is not: “You should go start a channel like I did.” What I’m trying to say is that you shouldn’t wait for someone to hand you an opportunity. And there is no age limit on when you can start! Don’t overthink it. Find something that interests you and just jump in. If it doesn’t work out or you don’t like it — you can stop anytime. Trying new things and learning in the process is valuable in and of itself. Whatever it is that you decide to do, you never know where it will lead you in the future! At the very least, you have some experience for your resume that you can talk about in a job interview. And it shows you have initiative. That will set you apart from other candidates — and it just might land you a fantastic job.
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Guide to Applying for Zines and Building your Portfolio - Antigravity Zine edition
Hello everyone! As applications are opening next week, the Antigravity Mod Team decided to write a post about how to build your portfolio and apply to zines, so you guys are ready to apply for ours. We’ve all wondered at some point what we should do to make our application stand out, so here we’re going to explain some tricks and rules you should follow, should you want to apply.
I’ve already written some examples of how to apply here, and here (I love rambling about zines), but I figured I could put them together for you all! And remember, most of these guidelines are suggestions, though, so don’t be afraid if you skipped some!
Now, let’s focus on applications!
Before applying
Read the FAQ and guidelines carefully
The FAQ is the heart of the zine. It usually displays the theme of the zine, the number of participants they’re going to accept and, in case you’re a writer, the maximum word count. This will give you an overall view of what apps will be looking for.
In our case, the Antigravity Zine focuses on Uraraka Ochako. The zine will be divided in past, present, and future, and artists and writers will be distributed in each category depending on what they wish to work in.
Compare the zine’s schedule with yours
Make sure that, in case you’re selected to be part of the team, that you’ll be able to keep up with the schedule. It’s okay if you suddenly get busy in the middle of the event (life happens), but for the mod’s sake, please be mindful of your own availability.
Applying
Answer all the questions as clearly as possible
Zines usually have some general questions on the first page of applications; these questions are important in order to get in touch with you guys. Then, there will be questions related to your application, and the answer to those will be what will help mods decide who to choose.
Make sure you read all questions (and possible explanations underneath) carefully before submitting your app. Don’t worry if you have to take a while (even days) to write a proper answer, or if you need to ask the mod team about clarifications for some questions – Mods will gladly answer any doubt you might have.
Portfolio
Now it comes one of the most difficult parts of the zine: selecting your samples and building up your portfolio.
Portfolios are vastly different between artist and writer applicants. Ideally, a portfolio would be built up for each application, but we’re not going to ask this for you, not at all! However, there are some certain rules that will make your portfolio look good.
Artists
An artist’s portfolio should be a google drive folder or a similar webpage that has at least 7+ works that demonstrate the full range of your skills. Drop as many different styles as you want, but make sure your pieces are all finished. A portfolio full of sketches isn’t professional, and it won’t show your capabilities at all.
Some additional tips that your portfolio should follow:
– Some of your pieces should have backgrounds. Zines usually ask for full pieces with backgrounds, so you should show the mods that you’re capable of drawing them.
– Most of the works should be fully coloured.
– Include different subjects and styles, and different poses
– In case you’re applying to be a Merch Artist, include 1+ works with merch designs.
Of course, you can use your art tag as a portfolio, but remember that you won’t be showing your best work like this, and the mods will have to dig within the tag to catch a glimpse of your work (which frankly takes a lot of time and sometimes it’s fruitless).
So our recommendation is that you take some time building up a good portfolio!
Writers
In case of writers apps for zines, portfolio rules are a bit laxer. Usually, an AO3 link or similar is fine, but if you really want to show only your best works, there are some considerations you can follow:
– 5+ works showing what you consider Zine-quality skills. These can include the samples you’re using to apply.
– The pieces you include should have a defined start and end, and a good development in-between. Excerpts are allowed as they follow these rules and you leave a link to the complete piece.
– Include a variety of subjects and genres, and a variety of writing styles (f. e., a more lyrical tone for drama, a more comical tone for rom-coms). Make sure you include a variety of types of narration (dialogue-heavy scenes vs. scenery building, action scenes, etc.)
– Make sure that all the pieces have been edited for grammar and spelling.
Samples
Zines normally ask for an X number of samples following certain rules. These will help the mods judge the style you’re applying with to the zine, and if you’re able to meet all requirements/rules of the zine pieces. Make sure you read the requirements and follow them; Mods will be less willing to give you a high score if your sample word count goes 1k over the word count, you know?
In Antigravity Zine, we will be asking for three samples from artist and writers. For artists, it is suggested that at least one piece has a background. For writers, we ask that no piece goes over 2.5k (excerpts are allowed). For merch artists, we recommend that at least one piece is a merch design.
A very important note! To all artists who also apply as a merch artist, please don’t apply with the same samples you used for your artist application. It shows a lack of care and it might hinder the mods’ opinion on you.
As for general requirements, we ask that at least one piece is set in the BNHA universe. A piece showing Ochako is preferrable, but it’s not obligatory.
Make sure your work is easily accessible
Make sure the mods will have no issues viewing your samples when they start reviewing them. Your samples shouldn’t:
– Be restricted only to your followers (in case you’re linking posted works). Make sure you check your account’s privacy settings before submitting.
– In case you’re using a google drive link, make sure the link allows people to view the piece. In case you don’t know how to get a link to share, there are really easy guidelines out there.
– Make sure the link is still active until the end of the applications period. Please, don’t move your works to the trash before apps results are sent, at least.
– Make sure you’re sending the correct link. Don’t link works you didn’t mean to link.
(Sadly, we have encountered all these in other applications)
Remember: Mods can’t give you a score if they can’t see your work.
Does your application fit the theme?
Now, this is not a requirement (at least not for this zine), but it is always good to select samples that are relatively related to the zine’s theme.
Think of it as a job application; you wouldn’t apply to a work related to philology with a physics doctorate, would you? Well, the same goes with zines. Use optimistic pieces to apply to optimistic zines (rom-coms, family zines, platonic relationships, etc), and dramatic pieces to apply to more angst-themed ones (tragedy, drama, horror, etc.).
Keep it SFW if it’s a SFW zine, and add NSFW pieces for your NSFW zines.
As for Antigravity zine, we don’t have strict themes required for samples, and the mod team has decided that NSFW won’t be allowed, as some mods of the team aren’t comfortable with those.
Pitches
The weight of pitches in zines is different in each case. Some ask for 1/several pitches that determine what you’re going to create for the zine, while in other cases, the pitches are only orientative and let the mods see your ideas. In case you’re applying to a zine that follows the first case, you will need to sit down and think of your idea carefully, as it’ll affect your application.
In Antigravity zine’s case, pitches will be orientative, and will not affect your chances to get into the zine.
After applying
Don’t hesitate to get in touch with the mod team if you need to change your app
Sometimes we are too eager to apply and make mistakes, or we finish a piece after applying that we consider it’s better than the ones we used to apply.
In this case, don’t hesitate to get in touch with the mod team and ask if you can change your application. More times than not, the mod team will be happy to change whatever needs to be changed, and they will evaluate the new pieces accordingly.
Remember, though, that you need to ask for changes before the applications period ends!
Don’t be discouraged if you get rejected
More times than not, zines get too many applications and have very limited contributors spots, more so if that zine is physical. Mods see themselves in a situation where they have to choose between several really good applications and discuss for hours to see who they accept and who they reject.
Usually, they are forced to choose between people who have the exact same score.
Being rejected doesn’t mean you’re bad; sometimes, someone else’s application fits the theme better, they explained themselves better, or they were just very lucky and were chosen over you. So, please, don’t let a rejection email let you down and keep trying!
Most of the people who have participated in a zine sometime have been rejected heaps of time before. I have been rejected dozens of times before (at this point it’s part of the zine experience). However, if you keep working hard and learn from your mistakes, it’s only a matter of time until you get into one yourself.
You won’t get in if you don’t try.
–
And this is more or less what you should know before applying to zines! If you guys have any questions, please don’t hesitate to hit our ask box, and we will get back to you shortly!
And remember, applications open on June 1st!
Lots of love,
Mod Lie & The Antigravity Mod Team
Schedule | FAQ | Ask | Twitter
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I actually have a BA in English and a tech writing minor!! Just can't find any truly entry level stuff, and I have no portfolio of work to show off! I guess I'll look for internshipy stuff 😅 Thanks for trying to help, I appreciate it 👌
Oh my god, Anon!! What a small fucking world! Entry level jobs are really hard to come by these days because they all require 3+ years of experience, which is total bullshit.
It fucking sucks, but I'd recommend networking on LinkedIn to grow your writer network. Also, see if there are any local contracting companies (like Manpower) with short term jobs. I did 4 years of temp work before getting an offer from where I'm at now.
Creating a portfolio can be impossible. All of my work is under an NDA so I have nothing to show for my years of experience. Creating a website can help with this (even if it's just on WordPress). You can also always just use essays you wrote in school. One of the first things I did was create a blog about technical writing that included FAQs for new writers and dumb listicles. Just show you have general copywriting and organizing skills.
Another thing to try is offering editing services to students. You can always use your alumni benefits to poke around and see if your old college needs tutors, etc. I still offer my editing services to people I know in exchange for food 🤙
I really do wish you the best of luck, and if you need any other info, just let me know 💖💖
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Five months, 56 job applications: job hunting at 50
For the last five months, I tried to find a job. I had been working as a freelancer for most of the year, but was finding the inconsistency wasn’t working for me (I live in the Bay Area and have a mortgage.) I set up job alerts, visited Indeed and LinkedIn on a regular basis (loved that sort by the last 24 hours option), and had my inbox flooded with job search results and updates several times a day.
I applied to 56 specific job openings.
As a communications professional since 2004, I have seen and done it all. But, for this job search, I mostly focused on copywriter positions. I wanted to narrow my scope a little (but still stay in my sphere), and I knew I’d enjoy being focused on writing for my new position. I was a Marketing Writer at UCSF back in 2007, but over the years, I have held job titles such as Associate Director of Web Communications, Senior Digital Editor, and Director of Marketing and Communication. I have mostly worked in the education and non-profit worlds, had a nice stint working for a luxury real estate brokerage, and had some recent experience writing for a real estate tech company as a freelance writer.
Writing and editing has been part of my job functions since 2004. I have written/edited copy for catalogs, guides, websites, social media, products, marketing and advertising campaigns, blogs, paid social campaigns, newsletters, event programs, real estate listings, articles for local papers (as a ghostwriter for an executive), and on and on. If it required words, I wrote some.
I applied for various positions over these five months: including: copywriter, content marketer, content writer, senior writer, digital writer, social media specialist, marketing writer, staff writer, website content manager, product marketer, and a few marketing/communications positions.
Some things that happened to me along the way:
Had a great call with a hiring manager, sounded like everything was a go for next steps (I had very, very relevant experience), never heard from him again, saw the job reposted a month later and then reposted again a few months later.
Had a great call with a recruiter and then a nice video interview with a hiring manager, was told I was going to be sent a writing test (step 2), wasn’t sent the test, followed up with both people and was ignored/ghosted.
Had a video call with a friend of a friend (who owns a firm), was told it was going to be a chat about the company but it ended up being a full-blown interview by three people, thought it went okay, never heard from them again.
I prepared my cover letter and resume for a job I saw posted on a website. When I went to actually apply, the link did not work. I emailed the organization, and then was told that the job must have expired, sorry.
Had seven video or in-person conversations with people from a firm. Yes, I did say seven. Over the course of a month, I talked to potential teammates, the recruiter, the hiring manager, and the hiring manager’s boss. Had great feedback from all, was told a few days after the last interview that they were going with someone who had “a little more relevant experience,” but they’d like to find me a role at the company because they liked me, and said they were going to send me info on a new role coming up. I saw the role on LinkedIn a few days later, applied for the job and let the recruiter know, heard back once from the recruiter with a half-hearted response, contacted the hiring manager from position one, never heard back from anyone again.
Had a phone interview for a “digital copywriting” position at a large retailer. When the recruiter called, she said, “oh that position is in its final stages of interviews” (it was on LinkedIn for a week, and was still up at time of this phone call) so this call was about another writing position that included in-store signage and catalog copy. So, spoke to her about this job position I didn’t apply for, nor had seen a description for, sent her samples she asked for from my online portfolio, was told they were passing on me because they were looking for someone with “retail romance writing” experience. She had said, “if you have any romance writing samples, send them along” during our conversation and I thought maybe I misheard her. (Did I mention I used to write descriptions for adult toys and products for Good Vibrations from 2004-2007.)
This job-hunting journey was a bit soul crushing for me, I’m not going to lie. I was vulnerable, hopeful, and excited to start working. I spent hours reading job descriptions (some companies are seeking “rockstars” and those that “live and breathe” for their work), considering if I had what it took to do the job. A thoughtful cover letter enabled me to imagine the ways I could contribute, and let me start envisioning being in the role. I made lists and notes of my relevant experience and how I felt I was a fit.
If companies aren’t open to candidates with varied experience, which may appear in a slightly modified way than listed on the job description, they are passing on people that can, and will, do a great job. If they only want a “rockstar” that has done the same job elsewhere, they may not be bringing in the best candidate, but the easiest candidate. Job seekers, like me, with a diverse and winding career path, not only possess various skills but a capacity to learn and grow. Someone with a wide range of experience can bring in a new energy and new ideas to a job role. If a company is focused on only bringing in those with exact (“relevant”) experience, those that may be trying to break into a new company, or even a new field, won’t even be considered. Their resume is shoved to a bottom of a pile, and that is a shame.
Speaking of shame, the conduct of some companies in regards to contacting (or not contacting) job seekers is shameful. I don’t think anyone expects that someone will contact them regarding every application. However, if you are a recruiter or hiring manager that has actually spoken to a person via the phone or a video chat, and you don’t follow up with them AT ALL, that is a sad comment on your company and how you may treat your employees. When job seekers are left hanging, without closure, it adds insult to injury. A job seeker has shown interest in your company, and you have spoken to that person, do you really think it is appropriate to not close the loop? You hold the power. I know some of you are thinking, “but lawsuits!” and think I mean giving specific feedback about lack of skills or experience or non-desirable personality traits. No, I mean you make contact with a “thanks for applying but we’re moving forward with another candidate” note, or something, ANYTHING, that will allow them to close the book on the position and move on. Checking your email every hour to see if you’ve moved on to round two, have received that writing test, or have received a job offer, just plain sucks.
As an older job seeker with varied experience, I was shut out of the process of finding a job in the Bay Area because I didn’t fit in certain boxes. I have been writing for years, but I haven’t worked at a digital marketing agency, nor have I written “romance” copy about chairs. If you are over 50, and are looking for a new job that is not exactly like a job you’ve had before, good luck friends. I’m rooting for you.
One last note. In order to receive just an initial phone call, it seems as though you have to have been referred by someone at the company. So, as the saying goes, it’s who you know, not what you know. It seems true x100 here in the Bay Area right now. I’m all for using your contacts, and I have definitely done it in the past, but when you see a job you really would like and have the skills for, but don’t see on LinkedIn that you know anyone at the company, it feels as though you are just throwing your resume to the wind. So, how does one overcome the disadvantage of not having a personal cheerleader already at the company?
In conclusion, I don’t really have advice, I just have questions and a sense of sadness and defeat. In the past five months, I went through a storm and my boat was tattered and torn. Job seekers, I wish you luck and strong sails.
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My Next Great Read - Chapter One.
Word Count: 3428
Pairing: Writer! Sebastian Stan/Fem!Reader
Warnings: Chapter One means exposition city; this one is gonna be a slow burn!
__________________________
When it comes to life change and upheaval, I felt like I can officially call myself a professional. In the past five years, I have lived in six towns in four different states, eight apartments, and worked in three insanely variant career fields. For the past two years, however, I have been in a field I’m finally excited about and working for a great company. The previous two years have been one of slowly stepping into fulfilling some of my dreams. I moved to New York City after dreaming of it since I was in high school. I began taking steps towards a career in publishing by working for an indie publishing house as a paid intern and then stepping into an assistant editing position. I want to have my own work published one day as well, but I love to be able to work with current and upcoming writers as they traveled their own path on the shared journey. The best way to improve my own writing is to read more and more, and the more creative minds I can delve into, the more inspiration it brings me.
Life in New York hasn’t always been easy, in fact, even two years later it still isn’t and there are still quite a few rough days. All of my family is still in the same hometown I was born in. Many of my friends are spread out across the country and therefore, only FaceTime and texting is used to keep up with many of them. I hadn't had much time to visit any of them because work has kept me busy from day one. I get a day, two if I’m lucky, off a week but even then many days I’m reading submitted work, making edits and suggestions, and notes for my boss. My work ethic was what had gotten me the promotion. Therefore, when the promotion came around, the workload didn't increase much, a fact I know was a miracle in itself. However, traveling was involved, so many times I’m out of town two weekends and ten additional weekdays out of each month, recruiting, meeting with prospective clients, while checking out different writing conventions all over the country.
Thanks to my schedule, I don’t have the chance to sit around in my loneliness that often, but it doesn’t mean I don’t ever experience it. Amid my travels, I often see couples, families, or a group of friends waiting for their flights, off on another adventure and I envy them to my very core. Yet every time the green monster hits my bloodstream, the part of me that I wish was bigger, whispers to me:
You're living your dreams, girl! You're getting paid to travel! You're getting paid to read and write stuff that actually interests you!
After that gentle reminder, no matter how many times it occurred, a smile immediately forms on my face and I sit in glee for a few moments, surely looking like an insane person to any strangers who are attentive enough to notice. Regardless, I keep my head up. I enjoy most of my coworkers, while they are few in number, and make it a point to hang out with them when invited, which are a few nights here and there throughout the month.
All of this gave a reason as to why I was hesitant to apply for the opening that appeared unexpectedly with Macmillan Publishers. I love my job, where I work, and the people I get to work with, but Macmillan was big-time and if I’m going to really step into this field for the long-haul, I know that I want, and need, to take another step forward. I love Macmillan for a few reasons and often think of them when I pass their building, my favorite building in all the city, the Flatiron. St. Martin's Press, the NY locale for Macmillan, is well-known and well-sought after by writers and their agents, just another factor that frightens me. Unlike the house I currently work for, authors can’t send in their work, Macmillan does all of its own solicitings. Sure, writers can send in their work but most of the time, from what I’ve heard, it gets dumped in recycling. The search for talent, instead of having it fall into my lap, is something I already do on a weekly basis so that isn’t that scary, but I love getting submissions that I don’t see coming. I feel it opens the door for more creativity.
Despite these, what I consider to be, snags in the job I know that the pay would be better and that is something I desperately need. Living in New York, something I can’t afford to do yet, is no joke expense-wise. I have an hour and a half commute in and out of the city every single day and it makes the days excruciatingly long. With this job, I could more easily afford a place in the city, albeit a minuscule and probably crappy apartment, but it'd save time, something I could always seem to use more of. All of this is what brought me to this exact moment, 8:51 a.m., on this late summer morning to the Flatiron.
I sat on the bench, nerves running rampant. I have always hated job interviews, granted, most people do, but I loathe them with every fiber of my being. Luckily, my interview skills have improved throughout the years and especially in the past couple of weeks as my boss volunteered her time to help me prepare for the interview.
Man, do I really want to leave that place, I thought. They're so good to me. Almost as if in response, I yawned and thought immediately of that commute. I sat up a little straighter, pulled my resumé closer to chest, and put on my bravest smile. While lost in thought, a man had sat two seats down without my noticing.
"Where did you get that confidence?" He asked. I looked over at him after a second too long, finally being pulled from my thoughts.
"Excuse me?"
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bother you. I noticed you all of sudden seemed to have a burst of confidence. I saw your entire posture and look change. I could use some confidence myself," he finished quietly with a small smile.
"Oh, you didn't bother me. I was just lost in my thoughts and didn't even notice you sit down. You caught me off guard is all." He nodded in thought, seeming to search for his next words.
"What brings you here?"
"I have an interview at nine with Mrs. Fischer. What about you?"
"Oh, me too, but my appointment is at 9:30. What's your work about?" I looked at him, confusion apparent on my face so he continued. "Mine is a book of poems. Poems about all types of things and people. There's little organization to it, really," he trailed off, concern crossing his features.
"Oh, I'm here for a job interview. Sorry; I wasn't clear about that."
"Oh, that's awesome! I thought you meant you were presenting your work to her. I thought I was nervous. You're probably even more nervous than me."
"Yes, that whole 'confidence' you spoke of earlier is definitely not real. Fake it 'til you make it, right?"
"That's right!" He grinned, his eyes softening. "It's my life motto," he added.
"Mine too."
"Ms. (y/l/n), Mrs. Fischer will see you now," the floor receptionist alerted me, as she stood and began to lead me to the editor's office.
"Good luck, Ms. (y/l/n)," the stranger called after. I turned, smiled, and waved, mouthing a thank you to him and then turned back to enter the office.
____________________
The interview seemed to go wonderfully. Mrs. Fischer seemed to be a tough cookie and a hard-nosed boss but I could tell it was because she took her job seriously and wanted to be as productive as possible and that was a fact I can appreciate. She got straight to the point, leaving very little room for formalities until she read some work from my portfolio. Some of her stiff exterior seemed to melt away as she read over a few pieces and I hoped it was a good thing.
"Well, Ms. (y/l/n), I've always said that you can't truly do a great job in the editing and publishing profession if you can't create your own solid work. You fit that bill, thankfully. I've yet to meet one candidate who has fit that yet. I've still got quite a few interviews lined up." She stood. "You'll be hearing from my office soon one way or another. Have a great day." I shook her hand and thanked her quickly upon her dismissal.
As I exited the office, I saw the stranger was still sitting there, waiting on his appointment. He looked up and a wide grin spread across his face. "How'd it-"
"Mr. Stan, Mrs. Fischer will see you now," the receptionist cut him off. They didn't play around here, that was for sure.
"Good luck, Mr. Stan," I said his name almost teasingly. "You've got this," I added more seriously. He passed with a smile and a small word of gratitude then got ready to step into the office. I left, a little on a high, hopped on the subway and headed for Brooklyn.
____________________
I arrived in about 30 minutes as Johanna, my boss, had expected and she met me at the door.
"How'd it go? Tell me all about it!" She practically squealed pulling me into her office. We had become close over my time here, both as coworkers and as friends, despite the age difference.
"I actually think it went really well. She liked my work, which still blows my mind."
"I don't know why," she said, sitting down in one of the chairs in the reading corner of her office, motioning me to sit beside her on the other, "I've been trying to tell you how impressive your work is for how long now?"
"I know, I know," I conceded. "I appreciate it; I really do."
"Did she say what she liked?"
"Not really. She wasn't very chatty, straight to the point, really. Granted, there was a guy there to discuss his work that had an appointment at 9:30 so she was working on a tight schedule as it was. I think that's a part of her work persona, though. It reminded me of you when we first met. I quickly learned different, though,” I smiled slyly at her before she cackled.
"Well, you know as well as I do, how hard we women have to work to be taken seriously in this industry."
"Yeah, I do, which is why it didn't really bother me as it normally would elsewhere in another field."
We continued talking as she demanded to hear every little aspect of the interview down to the inflection of our voices. By the end, she was sure the job was as good as mine. I wouldn’t let my hopes jump up from the ground just yet, however. After the chat, I rose and headed to my small office and began working, drowning my mind and thoughts with work that wasn't my own in order to detach until I heard more.
____________________
For the next two weeks, I dove into work like never before. Nerves seemed to grow exponentially after that first week of silence. I figured as quickly as they had moved the day of the interview, I would have heard something before a week had passed. However, that didn't happen, and when it didn't I was sure I hadn't gotten it, despite Johanna's persistent encouragements and pep talks.
On Tuesday, two weeks later, one of two days off that week, I awoke to my phone serenading me with Marissa Jaret Winokur's version of "Good Morning Baltimore." I attempted to keep myself on a decent sleep schedule on my days off so I awoke only an hour later than normal. I headed to a local coffee shop I loved after I got ready for some me time. Me time these days meant I worked on my writing or binged Netflix, but mostly consisted of working on my writing. After a few hours, my music halted and my screen flashed an incoming call from the city.
"Hello, this is (y/n)."
"Good morning, Ms. (y/l/n), this is Mrs. Fischer from St. Martin's Press calling about the assistant editor position you interviewed for a few weeks ago."
My blood seemed to speed up and come to a complete stop simultaneously. My stomach dropped and my whole body seemed to shake as if it was one enormous nerve. Surely if Mrs. Fischer was calling, it was good news, right? Luckily I didn't have to wait long as she continued.
"We'd like to offer you the position. I see you're still working for Akashic, correct?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Well, we'll work with whatever schedule we can get if you still want the job. It'd be helpful if you can start three weeks from now, the Tuesday after the holiday."
"Yes, I'd love the job. I should be able to make that work, but I will check with my supervisor to make sure and I will let you know for sure."
"That's wonderful news, Ms. (y/l/n), I'll let Sarah know to be looking for your call. She will set you up with all orientation information when you call back so please do so as quickly as possible. I'm already beginning a stack of work for you after we end this call."
"Thank you very much, Mrs. Fischer, I will make contact with Sarah later this afternoon. I look forward to working with you."
"You too, have a good day."
"Thank you, you too."
The line went dead and it took everything within me not to jump on top of the table in a full-blown RENT "La Vie Bohéme" moment. I just got one step closer to my dream job and I couldn't quite believe it. I packed up my things quickly and headed home so that I could squeal, jump around, and dance throughout my apartment without the public eye thinking I had gone clinically insane.
After I had calmed down, I called Johanna and let her know. We decided to go out for drinks after she got off of work in celebration and she insisted I stay with her and her family to avoid the commute to work in the morning. It was an extravagant night, most of my coworkers came to celebrate and once we arrived at her condo, her husband congratulated me, and helped get Johanna to bed as I crashed on the couch. The following morning, I awoke to the kids jumping on me in excitement and I thought for a moment I may puke but it passed quickly.
____________________
The next two weeks were bittersweet and man, did they fly by. I had to finish a few projects more quickly than I would have liked but Johanna assured me, after my insistence upon it, that an intern would review it again just to be safe. I was glad, however, to have about a week in between jobs. Typically, I would have insisted to stay for the money, but Ibrahim, knowing how hard I worked for the two years I had been there, insisted to issue my Christmas bonus early so that would hold me over for the two weeks without pay and it would also help me put down something on a new apartment.
I used the week to search the city for a place to live. You looked all over and what was funny was that the best-priced apartments I found ended up only being blocks away from Akashic. I was glad to find this because it meant I could stop in and see my second family anytime I wanted. I put down all the cash requested, dipping into savings just a touch on that Tuesday and I began moving my stuff over, with the help of your coworkers on Friday evening. Luckily, when I moved to NY, I decided to move with very little and had purchased very little since moving, intending to move into the city one day. By Sunday brunch, everything had been moved and we all went out to Colonie to enjoy all the breakfast foods.
____________________
After the holiday, I headed, as requested, to work on that Tuesday morning, glad to have gotten all paperwork and orientation out of the way amid packing the previous week. I received a text to grab coffee on the way into work from Sarah because the intern was out sick. I gladly did since my 30-minute commute via subway was profusely better than the hour and a half I was used to. I stepped off the subway, headed above ground and into the Flatiron and towards Argo Tea, by request of Mrs. Fischer. I still arrived upstairs 10 minutes prior to my reporting time and walked around figuring out who received what beverage and snack before handing the receipt to Sarah for reimbursement on payday. She led the way to my new office, across from Mrs. Fischer and I about fell over, taking in the size of it. I immediately put on my poker face.
"Your work is sitting in this bin. If you have any questions, see me. Mrs. Fischer is in meetings all day today and is not to be bothered for any reason." She paused long enough to see if I had any questions.
"Sounds great. Thank you, Sarah." She nodded.
"I'll let you get to it."
____________________
The following days slipped into weeks and melted into a month. I was busy every single day with no downtime from the moment I entered the building to the moment I left, mostly hours after the assigned time, and it had left me with little to no time to get together with any friends or even take time to work on my own things. However, after a month, my first weekend off came across the schedule and I couldn't have been more thrilled. I worked even later that week to ensure I didn't have to work on a single thing that weekend. I made plans to go out with Johanna and a couple of friends from my previous job. We spent most of Saturday going around the city, taking in the local artists and musicians and stopping for a little beverage, some alcohol-based and some not, throughout the entirety of the day. By nightfall, we settled on attending the Midsummer Night Swing. Entering the venue just in time for the lessons, we laughed and danced, and attempted to follow along with the instructor and those around us. As the evening progressed we sat back and enjoyed people-watching in between conversations about what life had been like and what was coming up on the horizon for each of us. At one point, the group on stage announced there would be an extra dance set because it was the last night of the event for the year. They encouraged everyone to head to the dance floor for the remainder of the night and the final set. We decided to comply. As we danced and laughed, I got into the music more than I should have and accidentally barged into a stranger and grabbed at them to steady myself.
"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry," I exclaimed loudly towards the figure in an attempt to be heard over the music.
"It's no problem," the figure began, "I have two left feet." He paused. "Hey, don't I know you?" I looked up at him now. It took a moment but it began coming back to me. "You're Ms. (y/l/n), right?" He seemed embarrassed, "I'm sorry, I never got your first name. I feel like I'm interviewing you for something." I laughed at his blushed cheeks.
"No, it's fine, Mr..." I paused, taking a moment to recall his name, "Stan. Right?"
"You've got it..." he trailed off and while I was unsure of why initially, soon enough I realized he was waiting for my first name.
"(Y/n). My name is (y/n)."
"It's great to finally put a first name with a face, (y/n). I'm Sebastian." He grinned down at me. During this exchange, the music had slowed without my noticing. "Can I have this dance?"
#sebastian stan#sebastian stan/reader#sebastian stan fic#sebastian stan fluff#ao3#wattpad#Fem!reader
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How to put Roleplaying on your resume
And other skills you’ve picked up along the way.
I’ve gotten so many discord messages since my last post, both from other rpers who include roleplaying on their resume and others who are hesitant to. So, for those of you who want to be able to use this as a marketable skill, or want to know how you can improve your current resume roleplay listing, I’m here to help.
Please note - I am not a professional resume writer, just a broke ass twenty-something who was written too many resumes. The examples used below are generalizations taken from my personal resumes that have resulted in me getting the job. Use your best judgement, but, if in doubt, feel free to shoot me a message!
Also, I am primarily a forum roleplayer. While this can be used for other forms of roleplaying, you may have to change more of these examples to better fit your experiences.
Tips for your basic roleplay writer
As your basic roleplay writer, you excel at mostly one thing - writing. Perhaps you’ve picked up other skills along the way, like graphics or coding, or you’ve become familiar with software like Google Docs. These are all important skills you use professionally, so be sure to include them in the Skills section of your resume. Employers often refer to these as “soft skills” and it’s extremely difficult to find employees that have those skills and actually demonstrate them, so these can really help you stand out.
But the most important thing is to be able to include some examples. Find your favorite roleplay post and include it in your portfolio. Gather together your best moodboards, signature graphics, or avatars. Link to your resource site galleries or your rp tumblr tag. Demonstrate that you actually have these skills and that they’re more than just words on paper.
Here’s an example of some of the things I list in the skills section of my resume.
Skills
Writing: website content, blog articles, social media, coding markup, collaborative articles,
Software & Languages: Google Drive, Microsoft Office, WordPress, Invision Power Board, Tumblr, Photoshop, Gimp, Pinterest. CSS, Javascript, HTML, JQuery
I also include three of my favorite roleplay posts I’ve written, and I’m building up a coding tumblr to showcase the things I’ve coded for rp, which I will include on future resumes. While hobbies sections of a resume are very outdated, this is a subtle way you can include this particular hobby. And employers generally like you more for it!
Tips for your roleplay staffer
Staffing a roleplay is, or rather should be, a whole different ballgame from being just a roleplay writer. Because, if you’ve staffed your roleplay the right way, it has now become a well of marketable content you can actually show to your potential employer. You have actual proof of your management skills and abilities you can link a live version to, even if the site has since closed. Don’t take that for granted! That kind of content is very valuable to a potential employer.
And now, aside from listing your abilities in the skills section of your resume, you have the opportunity to list your staffing experience in the list of jobs you’ve had experience with. Because your web forum is, essentially, a brand, and staffing is your job.
Aside from listing basic rp duties, if you do social media for your rp, or even advertise for it, those are marketable skills. If you use particular software to make things for your rp, like maps or timelines, ads or trailers, include that. Each rp is different, and there are many different forms of roleplaying. So tailor the below example to your experiences and include achievements that are relevant to you.
Web Community Administrator - Site Name and link, 2017-Present
Wrote, edited, and maintained all web manuals across web pages
Moderated community engagement & content across platforms to enforce community rules and regulations
Consistently maintained brand voice across publications by creating style guidelines and consistent posting rules
Collaborated with community members on site content to create engaging SEO statistics
Built a successful user and readership base by building advertising strategies across multiple web platforms.
Tips for your roleplay coder
I am partial to the rp coder, specifically of forums, because I am one! Being able to code anything is such a skill these days, and employers like it a lot more if you tell them you do it for fun. Even if you’re not applying for a coding job, it’s another fun fact about you that makes you stand out.
If you’re a coder, I would suggest having a portfolio of your work somewhere. Either on a resource site they can access as a guest (codepen is great for this) or a blog, forum, or website they can see your work on.
Here are some generic examples of things you can put on your resume, but tailor them to your specialties!
Web Forum Designer - Site or Portfolio name/link, Date-Present
Designed interactive web templates and mobile-first layouts to increase web accessibility
Maintained multiple web forums via back end control panel of Invision Power Board
Increased user engagement by ##% by designing intuitive interfaces
Built brand style guidelines to improve brand recognition, increasing website hits by ##%
Tips - and disclaimers - for everyone
The best tip I can give to anyone about writing a resume is to tailor each resume to the job you are applying for. Use keywords used in the job listing. Use terms like KPI or ROI where necessary. Use specific examples of the things you’ve done in concise sentences. Where you can, avoid being vague. Show your worth. Link examples!
The examples I used above are very generic and are meant to be used as a place to start from for everybody. I cannot stress it enough that you still need to tailor these examples to your experience and skills. For example, if you designed interactive web templates, link to your coding tumblr tag or resource gallery. If you wrote and maintained web manuals (see site rules, plot, member groups, etc.), link to that forum or those pages or put a (see below) and include them in the examples you send along with your resume. Use percentages where appropriate and include trackable data where you can to help illustrate your positive impact on that site.
However, when putting your resume into website instead of uploading it as a .pdf or .doc, this can be difficult. So use your best judgement.
How to tell a potential employer you roleplay while in an interview
So now that you’ve gotten through writing your resume, let’s assume you got the interview! Congratulations! You used your skills to stand out a little bit from the 800 other applicants that put in for the job. But you still have to make an impression out of the 20 other suits coming in for the interview. *Gulp*
I’ve found that the easiest way is to mention it when they ask you the infamous “Tell me about yourself” question. This question is your elevator pitch, so work it in in a way that’s quick and will make them want to ask you more about it later. Don’t make it the focus, just drop in a line and move on. For example:
“I’ve been working in media for the last five years, but I would like to focus on web media in particular. I’ve been writing for websites in my free time for the last decade, and found this is the area I’m most passionate about...” I’ll let you imagine how the rest of that elevator pitch goes.
Now my interviewer will probably ask me about all this experience I have writing for web that’s not exactly spelled out on my resume. But I’ll have those experiences, either listed in my skills section or as a job listing, to refer them back to.
So now you’re probably wondering, when they do ask you about it, how to not be weird about it. Because rp is...actually really weird I mean the amount of sex I write about is unreal, yo. But you really only need get into the basics. Tell them you enjoy writing, and that you enjoy writing collaboratively. And through that passion, you’ve learned how to effectively manage web communities or taught yourself CSS. When you talk about your passions in an interview and how they’ve lead you to pursue professional advancement, you really stand out. You become “that girl who loved writing so much she became this dope ass graphic designer” or “that guy who loved writing so much he became this insane web developer.” It shows not just passion, but a breadth of skills and curiosities and gives you much more potential to grow within a position than other candidates.
While talking about your roleplay experience, offer to send them examples of your work when you get home. The amount of times I’ve mentioned my creative passions in an interview and had the non-creative interviewer want to know more is too damn high. But not only does that give you the opportunity to send a thank you email, but gives them something to click on and remember you by. Which is a make it or break it part of most interviews.
Thanks for coming to my TED Talk
That’s all the advice I’ve got for you, kids. I apologize for it being so vague, but I wanted this to be usable by the largest amount of roleplayers it could be. If you have questions, or want to know how it could be used to highlight your own skills more, feel free to drop me an ask or friend me on discord and shoot me a message! I’m always happy to offer some suggestions to you.
And if you’re already doing all of this, why don’t you share your own experiences? How has using rp on a resume helped you? What other tips do you have? And how can others make the most of their experiences to help them?
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