Getting a Job - I have a curse on me!

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I’ve been trying to land a computer position at this point any computer position will do as I’m in a desperate situation and I honestly believe I have a curse on me, even with a regular non-computer position which I don’t want I can’t get a call back or for some positions an email back even if it’s a reject. Is there a special system I don’t know of that everyone taps into that brings them fortune or do I have a curse on me, because it’s frustrating to find work and tell everyone what you know and slowly people specifically your own family tell you it’s a pipe dream. I don’t have any savings, I don’t have anything for retirement I want to start building myself without having to get in debt over living expenses or going back to school coming out saying to myself “what did I learn I didn’t know or couldn’t know with some experience”.

I’m not so concerned with strangers as so much to say to family “see you assholes, I did it” it’s a foot in the door. Most don’t have faith in me only in my cousins who will be doctors,lawyers <sarcastic> as I am the oldest Grandchild but where bets are on I’ll be on the street in a year or in a ghetto (or less at this stage), no computers, begging for change eating dog food (and to be honest, my grandmother told my mother that roughly 5 months ago)

I don’t want $100K a year position just an entry position to get myself in the door heck even if 2 hrs a day before I can do computer work I have to serve everyone coffee, I’ll take it and with Glee they’re coffee will be served as well.

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I think you should go with ralph.m, there are many online sources available now.

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How is the freelancing coming along ? Are you making money regularly ?

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It comes down to people knowing what you can do which I was told. There are acctually a few things I thought could use a updated design or an animation, maybe I should offer, while I look for other work to sustain my living. Alex was gracious enough to take a look at my resume a few weeks ago, but I’ll let it go though a second pass :slight_smile:

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Charities are a good thing, as are non-profit groups (if you Google you should find plenty - perhaps some even related to animation in some obscure way). It really depends as to what the project needs as to how long you do the work for it, but honestly, it could be anything from doing a few bits of quick coding (a couple of hours) to something more (perhaps even paid work). Community projects and charity groups are often just grateful for the assistance, even if it’s just a small amount. As for getting work out of it the real problem is that you don’t have any relevant industry experience and that leaves you in a situation where you need to “do” something to increase your employability and awareness levels. You’ve got some experience in retail and other sectors but nothing related to technology (beyond education) - this is where the problem is. You can’t expect a job to arrive if you’ve nothing to show you know what you’re doing. Having a portfolio with relevant stuff is VERY important, so I doubt you wouldn’t get anything from it - that is unless you either did poor work or if your approach remains slightly off the mark. :slight_smile:

I had the same issue and in today’s competitive industry, you simply can’t just expect job offers to arrive on their own. The key turning point for me was undertaking something (that didn’t pay) to simply showcase my abilities and skillset, and that recognition and reflection upon my portfolio got me paying gigs which lead sky high. 90% of success is down to selling yourself, the other 10% is the work you’ve got to showcase. If you don’t have either - you’re screwed :lol:

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While I know you don’t feel at a point to work for free, sometimes you have to sacrifice a little to get somewhere. As your portfolio is very “hobby” centric (at the moment) and your resume and cover letter read almost like someone looking for work experience (or internship) rather than a job, if you want to prove you have the skills to be able to work in that environment you need to have some proper portfolio pieces - and without having any of those no employer will even consider you (as you’ll seem totally inexperienced), which is why a couple of non-paying gigs might give you what you desperately need to have a proper portfolio (with real work pieces), a resume that actually has relevant experience (in animation or whatever) and some employers who may give you some good references. :slight_smile:

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It took me ages to get a job when I was looking for one. I had little experience freelancing and all of my IT knowledge is self taught. I was frustrated most resume/cv examples were focused on education and work experience. Finally I came across some sites that focused on skills/knowledge rather than experience.

As someone who has looked at many resumes (real people applying for real jobs) I can definitely say almost no one knows how to write a real resume and most sites that try to help really dont.

I’d be glad to have a look at your resume :slight_smile:

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Is there a particular reason why you don’t want to share it in the forum? You could always post a copy with your personal details (such as address, etc) edited out (if that’s what you’re worried about) leaving just the “meat” of the content (such as your self-description, history, background, etc). As we’re all trying to help you here it would just be useful for more than one or two of us to be able to read it in order to give you balanced and a range of feedback. :slight_smile:

I would be willing to look at both, you can either post them here (which is what I would do) or PM them to me and I’ll post my responses in here to continue the discussion (quoting any specific non-identifiable issues I see). It’s better to get your resume “in order” and then apply for jobs rather than applying with a poor one.

Not sure I would agree, though I respect your opinion. Sure there’s a lot of designers out there but it doesn’t mean if you don’t really graft and sell yourself well you won’t find work. I live in Brighton which in terms of the country (UK) has the highest density of web professionals and web start-ups relative to anywhere (including London), and even though some of the worlds most prestigious design studios (ClearLeft and Buffalo come to mind immediately) are right on my doorstep (along with a few thousand other pro’s) it’s not really stopped me getting clients. It really is a case that in any industry, 90% of the job is selling your skills correctly. :slight_smile:

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While I sympathise with your situation I wouldn’t agree that jobs are very scarce. While there are a lot of web professionals out there, the facts are that there is plenty of web design / development / graphic work out there if you (1) know where to look, (2) know how to sell your skills effectively and (3) have a good solid portfolio to back-up your skillset. In relation to what you thought was going to work out a year ago, am I to assume that it was your online business (The Creative Sheep)? I maintain with the earlier statement that the reason that people tend to be unable to find work is usually relative to how they run their business or the jobs that they apply for (either on the basis that they apply for the wrong thing or that they don’t conduct themselves properly). It’s a good thing that you’re not giving up (as that would probably leave you in a worse position) but it’s important to know where you’re currently going wrong (if you’re going to be able to move on without making the same mistakes again). As for the applications, with what you’ve said thus far I can see a couple of potential problems. The first is that the jobs you have been applying for is quite fragmented (is it fair to say that you’ve been jumping between job descriptions to see what work you can find?). In respect to what you’ve sent off to try and gauge a response you have mentioned that your resume is mainly comprised of retail work (which doesn’t relate to the kind of jobs you are applying for in terms of graphic / web design). And the lack of a cover letter to boot (which I feel is important to explain why that business should employ you) could be potentially problematic. In respect to your portfolio, if you have a good backlog of previous work perhaps there’s a better way you could be showcasing it.

Based on what you’ve said above, I think one of the major reasons why you’re not getting the interviews or even a response is due to the fact that you’re almost appearing as a contradiction, you’ve said that your website needs updating (but are still applying for jobs when you say that it’s currently substandard) - which almost certainly will reflect poorly on you, as an employer won’t consider someone who’s work isn’t portrayed well. Your resume has little relevance to what your aiming to get (which unfortunately disconnects you and makes you appear unprofessional) and the lack of a cover letter could in co-ordination with the non-relative resume and the vulnerable portfolio will give them enough reasons to just throw it on the not interested pile. One thing which every web professional can agree upon is that it’s not what you can do that matters, it’s your ability to manage and sell yourself and your skills that is important. You could be the best graphic designer in the world but if you’re one opportunity to get noticed for a job is made up of some weakly constructed elements then you won’t catch their eye (I’m sure they get a lot of applicants). While I know you want to get a job and soon, your best bet would be to analyse all the things that need improving to your website, resume and the consideration of a warm and thoughtful cover letter and work on those first. The simple truth is that until you get your “self-selling” issues resolved, you won’t even get considered - and whilst you do want to get a job as quickly as possible, if you don’t sort out these fundamental issues, you’re going to make it impossible for yourself (and you’ll just be unemployable). Getting those things in order may not earn you anything right now, but it will pay off and get you that job you want in the future. :slight_smile:

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I know this sounds cheesy but keep your head up and keep trying! Luck will come to you but don’t try to seek it. Everyone already gave great advices, good luck!

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got to the contact us page of either of the two websites and send me an email. Please make reference to this thread. Roland.

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I understand what you’re saying. Although I don’t feel I’m at a point to work for free, your point is well digested, but I’m just stating the position I’m in :slight_smile:

I am mostly self-taught, I did attend a brick and mortar school but that was many years ago and probably has lost some weight in terms of how you look at it. I’m basically going in this as self-taught, I’m at the point that I have to make the money from what I know and then take it from there :slight_smile:

I’m all for the self-taught genius, glad to see another one as yourself Alex.

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Yes but how it’s formatted is still a huge part in whether it’ll even be read. It’s like web design, unless it stands out it won’t even be noticed. :slight_smile:

Self-taught experience still qualifies as experience. Are you saying that under the Creative Sheep you’ve not actually done any work? (as in being paid to do whatever it is you do most often). Because a portfolio which simply has a few hobby projects and nothing other than a sales pitch won’t qualify as a proper portfolio. If you really have the experience and knowledge and want to flesh out your portfolio to make it more appealing, I would be tempted to do some free work for a few non-profits or charities. They can boost your portfolio, give you extra experience and it may end up as a good reference if you and the person paying the bill enjoys your work. Being self-taught is not an excuse against working though, I’m entirely self taught and have managed to find work, some of which have turned into long term deals.

Well there’s a couple of major points… first is the initial impact. Does the resume stand out from others and does it inspire people to want to read. Second is layout, is it well structured and categorised to ensure readers get what they need. Next is the important one, the content. Does the content accurately match what you’re applying for, is the info complete (so they won’t feel like you’ve held out on them), and is it well written (not a novel or haiku) and good spelling and grammar. Your cover letter and resume should sell your skills as should your portfolio, you need to understand how to market yourself effectively - it’s mostly common sense. :slight_smile:

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Where do you begin for some of your suggestions, say I’ll do a few free gigs ? Where do you find free work ? How long would I have to do it ? At a time when most people are looking for income what if after I do a few free gigs and nothing continues to come from it ?

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OK, I’ve looked through those documents and have a few questions and comments:

The first question would be as to how you go about laying out your resume? What you’ve shown me is a copy pasted document (or am I to assume you just paste it into the email), do you attach it as a formatted Word or PDF document for example? Secondly I would say that you need to seriously have a look at the way you write the resume itself, not only are there very basic spelling mistakes in there (troubleshooting is one word!) that would not be expected by a professional, your employment background is very disjointed from the resume itself. Yes you have mentioned the years you worked for the businesses but you don’t really have any details about what was involved, what experience it’s given you, and especially in the design related stuff there’s nothing to suggest you did anything! What’s scarier is that apart from having a very basic list of your employment history (much of which doesn’t even relate to design) you have little to nothing to showcase what kind of skills you have apart from saying “I can do this, this and this”. You cover those technical aspects but with no idea as to your experience level, the skills you have (practical) or what you’ve done with those skills. The reason why you’re not getting any responses is simply because your resume is unfortunately poorly thought through, doesn’t stand out and gives employers absolutely no idea as to why they should consider hiring you. You pretty much just name drop with no explanation (which is not a good thing). Also: Your resume doesn’t actually showcase any design related work you’ve done, there was no mention of the Creative Sheep, there wasn’t anything!

In regards to your cover letter, it honestly reads like a stock document that you just mass send out to a bunch of people (not sure if that’s the case), it’s very short and says what type of personality you feel you have, but it doesn’t really highlight that you understand their business and / or that you are worth giving a closer look. Neither your resume or cover letter mention any of your achievements or why you would make a good employee (above the “I work well in teams” stuff that everyone uses), it’s just not in a good way at all. Someone who reads that cover letter will just feel like you have built up to something that’s never really happened. I know this is all pretty harsh but with so much competition in the industry for vacancies you can’t go in with substandard material. It does seem that while you may have some good skills to be taken advantage of, you’ve put little to no thought (or effort) into trying to make yourself an asset and sell your skill-set effectively. :frowning:

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The first question would be as to how you go about laying out your resume? What you’ve shown me is a copy pasted document (or am I to assume you just paste it into the email), do you attach it as a formatted Word or PDF document for example?

I had just copied and pasted from the original resume into the email.

Secondly I would say that you need to seriously have a look at the way you write the resume itself, not only are there very basic spelling mistakes in there (troubleshooting is one word!) that would not be expected by a professional, your employment background is very disjointed from the resume itself. Yes you have mentioned the years you worked for the businesses but you don’t really have any details about what was involved, what experience it’s given you, and especially in the design related stuff there’s nothing to suggest you did anything! What’s scarier is that apart from having a very basic list of your employment history (much of which doesn’t even relate to design) you have little to nothing to showcase what kind of skills you have apart from saying “I can do this, this and this”.

I have years working but the experience that I’ve gotten from the Job is typical, I really don’t know what to else to write. As for the design because I don’t have anything that relates I don’t know how to present what I can do. I can’t say that I’ve done something in design when I haven’t my current Job would probably classify me as everything that I’m not because they want to “clean out” older workers so they are trying everything in hopes to fire them or they quit on there own and so I can’t really use them as a reference because they have a history of slandering people for other employment etc who they didn’t like.

You cover those technical aspects but with no idea as to your experience level, the skills you have (practical) or what you’ve done with those skills. The reason why you’re not getting any responses is simply because your resume is unfortunately poorly thought through, doesn’t stand out and gives employers absolutely no idea as to why they should consider hiring you. You pretty much just name drop with no explanation (which is not a good thing). Also: Your resume doesn’t actually showcase any design related work you’ve done, there was no mention of the Creative Sheep, there wasn’t anything!

Well most of my experience is self-taught how can I land a position when most want 2-3 years of experience and all I can say for that is that I know how to do what needs to be done if I have a chance ? Creative Sheep is something that I’ve done for me as a name of my portfolio, that is nothing I’ve done for someone else.

In regards to your cover letter, it honestly reads like a stock document that you just mass send out to a bunch of people (not sure if that’s the case), it’s very short and says what type of personality you feel you have, but it doesn’t really highlight that you understand their business and / or that you are worth giving a closer look. Neither your resume or cover letter mention any of your achievements or why you would make a good employee (above the “I work well in teams” stuff that everyone uses), it’s just not in a good way at all. Someone who reads that cover letter will just feel like you have built up to something that’s never really happened. I know this is all pretty harsh but with so much competition in the industry for vacancies you can’t go in with substandard material. It does seem that while you may have some good skills to be taken advantage of, you’ve put little to no thought (or effort) into trying to make yourself an asset and sell your skill-set effectively.

I’ve read so many ways to change or make your resume or portfolio, I really don’t know how to go about this then the way that I have I don’t know how to change so I do get replies.

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I would appreciate if someone could take a look at a cover letter and my resume ? I have some position’s that I’d like to apply for, hopefully with still time to apply I could have my resume and cover letter reviewed before applying.

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I understand as I’m in the situation. I don’t want to throw it out, I realize that because the situation is extremely serious that I have to pursue other avenues I’m at the mercy of doing any such risk I can, this situation was sprung upon me which in all honestly without going deeper into the situation could have been forewarned but was out of my control, which would have helped prepare in advanced instead of days.

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I’ll be direct: Don’t do graphic or web design and anything related to it. I know this must sound horrible to you and I know that you love animation and consider yourself an artist. That is all good and well but I think that your situation right now is far too serious to be holding tight to an illusion that may simply not withstand reality. The competition is fierce, and yes, in this particular case I do see the glass being half-empty.

Do graphic design and animation in your free time, as a hobby, as your passion, and get a job that brings food on the table. For now. Making your passion/hobby your profession is something that many of us dream of doing, but it isn’t always wise to pursue that dream.

That’s my advice.

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I can only take the suggestions and feed back offered and use it to the best that I can. I would be willing to show my resume but not on the forum, if someone wants to take a personal look and review it I can show them.

I will soon give a more in-depth response soon :slight_smile: