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Topic:
Job Hunting
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Blackthorpe
Registered:
Feb '03
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Date Posted:
1/7 4:08pm
Subject:
Job Hunting
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This is something that I have been having trouble with, so I thought I'd toss it out there out of curiosity: How did you find your job?
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When I left you, I was but the learner
Now I am the Master!
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_Vengeance_
Title: Oregon FF VIP
Registered:
Jul '02
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Date Posted:
1/7 6:51pm
Subject:
RE: Job Hunting
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You just gotta be at the right place at the right time and have the right approach. *shrug*
or you could take my approach and call them nonstop until they hire you 
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A great man (whose name has rather humourously long since been forgotten) Once said that "Though the apple falls not far from the tree, the coconut will roll for many miles." ------ I dislike my username. 
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Colt1326
Title: Former Oregon FanForce CR
Registered:
Nov '07
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Date Posted:
1/7 10:43pm
Subject:
RE: Job Hunting
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I actually applied at places online non-stop. It came to a point where I lost track of who I applied for. I mean I applied for EVERYTHING. About a month later I start getting phone calls, from people I don't remember applying to. And then I had them competing to hire me. And I went with the person ho would pay me more 
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I'm not evil, I'm just misunderstood!
I'm not afraid of dying... I'm afriad of surviving....
And getting to the end of the war and discovering that I am all alone. That everyone I knew and cared for is gone.
May the force be with you.
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crashdown
Title: Oregon FanForce Former CR
Registered:
Nov '03
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Date Posted:
1/8 7:51am
Subject:
RE: Job Hunting
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_Vengeance_ posted:
........or you could take my approach and call them nonstop until they hire you
You know, I've seen that work more than once.
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"The Jedi's true enemy is the jungle"
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AramysStrael
Registered:
Mar '04
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Date Posted:
1/9 10:05am
Subject:
RE: Job Hunting
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It always helps to have friends be on the lookout for job opportunities. I got my job down here at the World Trade Center because my friend, and fellow trooper, gave me the heads and the rest is history.
If the usual spots (newspaper want ads, or any of the various web job agencies or online resume` sites) aren't working out then I would suggest any of the many temp agencies that are located throughout the metro area.
- Bill
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"In for a micron, in for a meter. No one makes a victim of folks I'm sworn to protect."
Corran Horn
Corellian Security
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jawafett
Title: Oregon Fanforce Chapter Rep
Registered:
Mar '03
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Date Posted:
1/9 6:39pm
Subject:
RE: Job Hunting
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There is the old saying, It's not what you know, but WHO you know.
If you know people in the field of your chosen work, ask them questions. Intern for places where your education will be of value so that you have a clue as to what you are learning about from school/college/vocational training.
I found my job by applying at places that would need my skills, and payed well. There is a lot of resources now days to find a job, (newspaper, net, school message board, etc).There will always be "grunt" jobs out there, so stay in school, further your education, pursue your dreams, and make a living at it. There is always the bottom to work your way UP from.
Then again, you could join the Military, learn the skills, and use that knowledge when you get out. Do your research on it first, before you sign.
-----signature-----
May the Force of the others be with you!
Never Tell Me The Odds!
FanFilm Preproduction: Red Knights -2010
Rebel Legion/Kashyyyk Base Member-ANH Han Solo
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Bowen
Registered:
Sep '99
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Date Posted:
1/24 11:50am
Subject:
RE: Job Hunting
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I hired myself as President and Head of Production for my company, but it is who you know, because meeting my business partner was a lucky accident. We find our clients through connections, through aggressively pursuing not only new clients but also people who know potential clients, then we pay them commission. So for us it's a lot about connections, too.
We started this company and we didn't know hardly anything about production, I mean just enough to get by, but now I have a firm grasp of what my responsibilities are as producer and I have met with many talented, professional directors who will work with the company. I have a lot of professional contacts up and down the crew list, so even though I personally don't know how to do a great job at any position whatsoever, I can get the people who do, so of course there are production companies with 100 times the experience we have, but we can compete because of our connections, not mainly because of what we know.
My main experience is actually interviewing other people looking for job opportunities, but it's not the same with what I do and what most peoples' process is to find a job. I usually only call someone in if they have a great reel, I couldn't care less about their resume, where they went to school, if they went to school at all, none of that makes any difference to me or to any other producer in the industry. I just care about whether they can do great work. The rest is nonsense.
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Author of Anticipation: The Real Life Story of Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace http://www.AnticipationBook.com And Revenge: The Real Life Story of Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith http://www.Episode3Book.com
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Quick1966
Registered:
Dec '07
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Date Posted:
1/24 1:55pm
Subject:
RE: Job Hunting
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I Quit my previous Job when I was engaged to my wife about 20 years ago.. Her father was dealing with a Swimming Pool business and needed help... He retired, and I took over 2 years later...Now i have been running this business for 18 years.. 20 years all together with some of same clients.. Right place and right time and knowing the right people.. Good luck with your search...
Peace, Allan
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Blackthorpe
Registered:
Feb '03
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Date Posted:
2/5 9:52am
Subject:
RE: Job Hunting
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Thanks, all. Unfortunately, I don't know anyone in the field I want to get into (publishing, though I would love to be involved in movies). Maybe I'll try one of the temp agencies around here. Corvallis doesn't have a lot of opportunity and, because my car is a POS, I can't really commute unless the job pays REALLY well. We'll see what happens!
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When I left you, I was but the learner
Now I am the Master!
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Bowen
Registered:
Sep '99
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Date Posted:
2/7 2:57am
Subject:
RE: Job Hunting
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There's not much of a film industry in Portland, no disrespect to the city, but I moved to Los Angeles for a reason, haha. I'm sure there's some indie work going on but as far as a real industry, no chance, the majors are all down here or in New York.
Film is such a who-you-know business it's ridiculous, but it's also just sort of a random connections business, because for what we're doing, which is indie video work for companies, bands, etc., you just never know who you run into might need your services. It could be someone next door to you at the office who is doing some work that requires video work, or could be a dude you met who has a band he plays in on weekends or something. It's really random how you make connections, which makes it tougher to plan.
I wouldn't recommend the film industry to anyone without a lot of money, though, honestly. It's just nonsense. I mean everyone down here spends $50,000 on equipment and then charges nothing for it to rent it out or you see people buying $7,000 in camera equipment and then being willing to work for $110/day, which is less than minimum wage (film shoots are almost always 12 hour days), even though they're bringing knowledge and equipment to the shoot. It's slave-labor wages. There are too many people trying to do the same thing, so there's no money for anyone basically except at the top. I think you have to be well-funded or have a clear idea what you want to do, like say you happen to have amazing connections within some particular ethnic community and you think you can soak up most of that work or make movies that would appeal to them on tiny budgets, that's the way to go. Otherwise forget about it.
It's really bad when me and my business partner have as much cash as we do to spend on the industry and still aren't positive we'll be able to compete even in smaller markets, because too many people are willing to work too cheap (even though they're making awful work), and the big guys are taking the big projects. Not to mention the writer's strike killed business, because even though you think it doesn't affect the little guys (that's what I thought, at first), you're wrong. The big guys all go for the little work, because they'd rather be doing something than nothing, so they start renting out (no joke) like $100,000 in gear for $500/day with their time, because they're just bored and tired of sitting home all day. So the little guys end up not having any work at all because they can't compete with the veteran pros offering such great deals.
Then on top of that the music video industry sucks, and keeps getting worse seemingly, because music sales are terrible, so now you never see $1 million videos anymore, it's really rare, and $2 million? No chance. So much work is now being done on microbudgets like $7,000, even from record labels. We wouldn't accept a $7,000 project from a label unless we could use our own system, otherwise there's no money for us in it (their system is based on big budgets and the revenue we'd make on a $7,000 video on their system isn't worth bothering with at all). So we're mostly trying to find indie projects from well-funded individuals, or small companies that can afford us but can't afford bigger companies.
The film industry is like Vegas, a few people win and everyone crowds the casinos hoping they're next, but really, the odds are terrible and most people walk away broke and frustrated. If music videos aren't going to be a good training ground for directors anymore, I have no idea where the next generation of directors will even come from. They don't come from film schools as often anymore, if they can't come from music videos, I don't know if it's going to be new media like YouTube or what, but most of what you see on YouTube is a joke. 99.9% is total crap, my first short film was 100 times better than almost anything on YouTube and I made it for $600. But that's what happens when you let alone upload video of them picking their noses or harassing their cats or something.
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Author of Anticipation: The Real Life Story of Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace http://www.AnticipationBook.com And Revenge: The Real Life Story of Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith http://www.Episode3Book.com
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crashdown
Title: Oregon FanForce Former CR
Registered:
Nov '03
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Date Posted:
2/7 12:28pm
Subject:
RE: Job Hunting
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Nice overview of the Hollywood "rat race", Bowen.
That's the Glamor industry for you. It would not be "glamorous" if everyone and is brother could get in.
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"The Jedi's true enemy is the jungle"
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Blackthorpe
Registered:
Feb '03
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Date Posted:
2/8 8:19am
Subject:
RE: Job Hunting
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That's why I'm leaning more toward publishing, Bowen, which goes with my secondary love of writing. Still, that's not much easier to get into.
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When I left you, I was but the learner
Now I am the Master!
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Bowen
Registered:
Sep '99
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Date Posted:
2/9 3:26am
Subject:
RE: Job Hunting
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Yeah I did some professional freelance writing back in the day, the goings were much better when the Internet was newer because everyone and his brother thought they could make millions just starting a Website, so they would pay a lot more for articles. I got $50 a week to write a 400-500 word article on the movie industry of my choosing, basically. I was not always happy with the situation though because my editor didn't seem to know much about writing yet he wanted to correct my writing word for word. To be honest I was just being stubborn because I wasn't at 100% as a writer by any means, I've come a long ways since then, and I shouldn't have been so stubborn with some of the suggestions. But also everyone has a different voice or style, and it can be frustrating having someone try to impose their style on your writing, when you are both technically "correct" grammatically, you just want to state matters in a different way. It was fun, though, mostly, and the pay was great. I would take at most 2 hours to write those essays / articles, and for being in high school $25/hr was pretty nice, but that's the problem as a freelance writer, your pay per hour is always extremely high compared to what you could get for anything else, but your hours of work per week or per month are extremely low.
I got paid $75 for this other boring article I wrote on how to be sure you are shopping with a legitimate, secure site when entering your credit card information online. The article was 300 words, and took me seriously 45 minutes, it was a joke, I whipped that thing out off the top of my head basically looking at Amazon.com and thinking about wherever else I had ordered from. They accepted the article, it was like an article house basically, a middleman between writers and publishers, so who knows where that article got published or sold, or if it even ever did get sold, but that wasn't my concern. I got my paycheck (late, but I got it) and made $75 for seemingly 45 minutes of work. But I swear I spent another hour or two trying to get my paycheck.
Every time I have done freelance writing it takes 2-4 times as much time to find the work as it does to do it! It's frustrating. It reminds me of my friend Erik who posted on these boards way back in the day. He's an excellent amateur photographer who is capable of doing professional work, and has made some money at events and such, but he told me that with a lot of professionals they spend a large portion of their time fulfilling orders, making prints, and dealing with the business aspects rather than actually taking photos. I suspect that's how it often goes being freelance, because I know for us doing film most of my time won't be spent on set or even in the editing room. It will be dealing with paperwork, making phone calls, sending e-mails, arguing with people over pay, fixing broken equipment or finding someone who can, taking care of the equipment, etc. There's 90% nonsense and about 10% of what you want to be doing, but it's still worth it I think. It's all part of the fun.
I always wanted to try an experiment where I would push really hard for a month to find every freelance writing job I could and see what I could make in a month doing just freelance writing. I always wondered if I could make $1,500 somehow, but that'd be a huge challenge even. It's just not easy unfortunately, especially because a lot of times they don't really want a freelance writer who does it as a profession, per se, they want a doctor or a lawyer who knows his stuff and happens also to be a good to great writer. I saw so many job postings where it was like, "Looking for registered nurse to write article on the health care industry and caring for terminally ill patients" or "Looking for lawyer to write up article on the Supreme Court system for (whatever)," and I kept going down the list, "Nope... nope... nope... nope," then finally you see some cake-walk article like looking for an article about the entertainment industry or looking for an opinion piece on this or that from a young person, and you're like, bingo, that's the one. Of course a lot of times those ones also have a ton of competition.
I think I'd make the most money doing editing because that's one of my strengths. It's boring as all heck and tedious if the writing is lousy, but people will pay for that kind of service because it has to be done on all kinds of articles or Websites or brochures or research papers, etc. Especially thesis papers, I saw a lot of those, and was working on one of them for a bit once when ultimately the guy choose someone else to edit after I sent a sample of my 5 pages or something, wasted 1.5 hours on that. I know I could edit circles around the other dude who was competing but he was an engineer and the paper was on engineering so he was probably a better choice because I had no clue what that paper was talking about, LOL, I was just editing for spelling, grammar, organization, sentence structure, etc. It was a $1,500 project though! Not too bad...
Whatever you decide to pursue, I still think, for me at least, you can be happier doing something you love even if you don't make as much money than doing something you despise just because it pays a bit better. But everyone has to draw that line in the sand, I suppose. If it was $2,000 per month in film for the next 10 years or $15,000 a month working for my dad, I'd go work for my dad, because I can always do film on the side as a hobby and I don't want to be stuck with $2,000 a month many years from now. But if it was $2,000 or $5,000, I'd choose $2,000! It's film 
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Author of Anticipation: The Real Life Story of Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace http://www.AnticipationBook.com And Revenge: The Real Life Story of Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith http://www.Episode3Book.com
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