From: D. Mark Andrews (email suppressed)
Date: Thu Oct 16 2008 - 11:20:16 PDT
Santi,
There are three relevant points going on in response to your post:
1. Find immediate work to keep yourself from starving. This work may or may
not be related to film. Flick's post is brilliant, but extrapolate from it
as well. Small gauge films of weddings are big right now. Shoot the wedding,
transfer to DVD and set it to music. Check CL under the artist section. In
SF, there are posts each week looking for someone to shoot their band,
wedding, party, etc. Work as a photographer's assistant. Photographers
usually find these folks on CL or from brochures left at camera stores,
Samy's for example in LA. Sign up to work as a temp. Shit work, but it will
pay the bills. You can also ask to be assigned to arts organizations so you
can network. I have a buddy in Portland, OR who works as a artist's model.
He makes $20-100 and hour to hold poses in the nude--be creative.
2. 20 rejected resumes is absolutely nothing. Pace yourself and your
emotions here. Now for some facts. Nearly every posted position you applied
for was already filled before it was posted. Less than 10% of all jobs are
gained through your approach. Companies usually have someone they want to
hire in mind before posting, but legally they have to post the job.
Frequently they will even interview you (waste your time) so they can
justify that the intern/boyfriend/girlfriend/school buddy/etc. that they
have in mind are the best candidate. If you continue along this path you
should expect to submit 50-100 targeted resumes for every interview you hope
to get. Posted positions generally garnish hundreds to thousands of resumes.
Cisco (not your industry but stick with me here) reports that they receive
upwards to 10,000 resumes DAILY for EACH job posted. The odds are dismal and
akin to pissing in the wind. Networking is key. You need to email, call,
solicit every friend, school mate, professor, etc. you know and let them
know you are looking for opportunities. Appear upbeat, NOT desperate!
3. Truly consider, once you have some steady income, the possibility of
getting some vocational type training. After obtaining undergraduate and
graduate degrees I went back to school to become a registered nurse. If you
already have a BA in another field you can go through an accelerated program
and get your license in about 12 months. Nurses in LA and SF (where I live)
are the highest paid in the nation. New grads here start at about $104,000
and generally work 12-hours shifts, but only 3 days a week. So I work full
time, but have 4 days off a week. I get to my studio at least 2 of them. I'm
a single dad with two fulltime teenagers or I would get there more.
Feel free to email me offline for additional assistance. I was an overpaid
consultant and executive before fixing my life. I've interviewed hundreds of
people and teach healthcare managers every other month how to screen and
hire employees.
But most importantly, don't let this process get you down. There is a high
rate of depression with job seekers. It is very dehumanizing. This often
comes through during the interview. Go jogging, do yoga, eat, create, but
don't fall into the trap of personalizing the rejection.
Mark
-----Original Message-----
From: Santiago Vernetti [mailto:email suppressed]
Sent: Wednesday, October 15, 2008 1:37 PM
To: email suppressed
Subject: sustenance
Dearest Frameworkers,
I moved to Los Angeles a little over two months ago. 20 rejected resumes
later I find myself anxious and without income. I spent my last twelve
dollars yesterday night at a screening where I got to see a 35 of Peter
Tscherkassky's Outer Space, and the new video by Takeshi Murata - Monster
Movie. Though worth every penny... it was every penny.
This might be a bit unorthodox for the list-serve, but maybe it will
generate some interesting discussion on the topic of experimental film/video
sustainability for the recent grad.
Does anyone have any suggestion/leads/contacts for a film and video artist
searching for a job related to those passions? Though my unemployment has
allowed me the time to work on my own material and even curate a show for
the traveling festival Cartune Xprez, it hasn't paid my bills.
The call of "The Academy" is a tempting one, and the life of a waiter an
impending one... but I can't help but think I may have left a few rocks
unturned/overlooked.
Hopeful,
Santi Vernetti
--
www.perpetualmotionjellyjam.com
"I sometimes think that good readers are poets as singular, and as
awesome, as great authors themselves." ~ J.L.B tr A.H.
__________________________________________________________________ For
info on FrameWorks, contact Pip Chodorov at <email suppressed>.
__________________________________________________________________
For info on FrameWorks, contact Pip Chodorov at <email suppressed>.