Eleventh Blog Post
“…I will crawl on my belly over broken glass [in order to be someone worthy enough for you to hire].”
I actually told this to somebody yesterday.
Upon further examination, I realized that this is actually more or less what I’ve been telling everybody as part of my job search. In fact, I might even say it does a good job of summing up the lion’s share of the world’s job-seeking advice. This is strange considering the job market today technically favors job seekers.
At least, that’s how it seems to me; I can’t know for sure. The only thing I do know for sure is this: I haven’t been doing right by myself for a very long time.
It’s true that I’ve exhausted my last dime. It’s true that I both maxed out my credit card and depleted my savings just trying to survive the last two years. It’s also true that I’m under-qualified (on paper, at least) for most design job openings as they’re posted on job boards. It’s true that my cell phone is broken and I can’t afford a new one. It’s true I have not only my mouth, but four cats’ mouths to feed as well. It’s true I don’t have an automobile in a town that punishes its citizens for not having one (which is par for the course in most American cities).
But there are other, more valuable truths to keep in mind. Perhaps the first one is that graphic design was never my dream. I chose graphic design as a compromise field, something in-between what I thought I liked and was good at, and what would be in-demand and lucrative. I was wrong on both counts.
And what’s more, I’ve been far too willing to cannibalize and prostrate myself for a compromise. I don’t hate doing graphic design, just like I don’t hate lifting boxes and running a cash register. And I’m more than willing to do any of those things for a paycheck, for the right people (maybe not lifting boxes, but that’s only because I jacked up my shoulder last summer), but I’m no longer willing to beg, supplicate myself, or crawl on my belly through broken glass for any of it.
It’s also true that I have a place to stay that’s allowing me to work to earn my keep, and I also have the help of family and friends. It’s also true that I’ve learned to live, and dare I say, thrive, with very little money and very few possessions.
It’s also true that my Helvetica, Adobe Illustrator, and T-square is no worse than a “more experienced” or “more educated” designer’s Helvetica, Adobe Illustrator, or T-square. It’s also true that I bring other skills and experience to the table, like HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, and even a (very) little bit of C. It’s true I can draw, which is something far too many graphic designers aren’t even capable of, despite their “creative soul of an artist” rhetoric. It’s true I would be doing, practicing, and learning all these things for fun, even if they never made me a nickel. It’s true my seven years of military experience, four years living in a foreign country, and the self-taught ability to speak, read, and write their language, were all far more educational than any number of baccalaureate degrees. Shit, either one of those would be.
It’s true I’m one of the last few people who doesn’t spend 75% of his work day bragging about how how they’re “grinding it out” or whatever on his cell phone.
I’m the weird one who spends his work day, you know, working.
And if nobody wants what I have to offer, it’s seriously not me that’s the problem.
And if I’m not getting jobs because I don’t have the “social media marketing” experience employers crave, the sad reality is that anyone with a fifth-grade reading level and a smartphone can call themselves a “social media marketer” nowadays. The whole “industry” is nothing more than a race to the bottom, and the returns are ever-diminishing: If you’re spending any more than maybe $50 a month on social media (including ads), you’re wasting your money. Ditto on SEO, by the way.
One thing’s for sure: Far too often I’ve been asking myself if I was “good enough” for a job when, quite frankly, the opposite question may very well be more apropos.
Well, I’m done with that.
I’ll keep my social media accounts open, and I’ll check my email every so often, but I’m going to spend more of my time unplugged. If someone has work they’d like me to do, and they can find me, I’d love to hear about how I can be of service. And when the mood hits me, I’ll write the occasional Yelp review because I like knowing people actually read them. But I’m tired of feeding the guy who obsesses over stupid things he has no control over.
And you should be, too.
I actually told this to somebody yesterday.
Upon further examination, I realized that this is actually more or less what I’ve been telling everybody as part of my job search. In fact, I might even say it does a good job of summing up the lion’s share of the world’s job-seeking advice. This is strange considering the job market today technically favors job seekers.
At least, that’s how it seems to me; I can’t know for sure. The only thing I do know for sure is this: I haven’t been doing right by myself for a very long time.
It’s true that I’ve exhausted my last dime. It’s true that I both maxed out my credit card and depleted my savings just trying to survive the last two years. It’s also true that I’m under-qualified (on paper, at least) for most design job openings as they’re posted on job boards. It’s true that my cell phone is broken and I can’t afford a new one. It’s true I have not only my mouth, but four cats’ mouths to feed as well. It’s true I don’t have an automobile in a town that punishes its citizens for not having one (which is par for the course in most American cities).
But there are other, more valuable truths to keep in mind. Perhaps the first one is that graphic design was never my dream. I chose graphic design as a compromise field, something in-between what I thought I liked and was good at, and what would be in-demand and lucrative. I was wrong on both counts.
And what’s more, I’ve been far too willing to cannibalize and prostrate myself for a compromise. I don’t hate doing graphic design, just like I don’t hate lifting boxes and running a cash register. And I’m more than willing to do any of those things for a paycheck, for the right people (maybe not lifting boxes, but that’s only because I jacked up my shoulder last summer), but I’m no longer willing to beg, supplicate myself, or crawl on my belly through broken glass for any of it.
It’s also true that I have a place to stay that’s allowing me to work to earn my keep, and I also have the help of family and friends. It’s also true that I’ve learned to live, and dare I say, thrive, with very little money and very few possessions.
It’s also true that my Helvetica, Adobe Illustrator, and T-square is no worse than a “more experienced” or “more educated” designer’s Helvetica, Adobe Illustrator, or T-square. It’s also true that I bring other skills and experience to the table, like HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, and even a (very) little bit of C. It’s true I can draw, which is something far too many graphic designers aren’t even capable of, despite their “creative soul of an artist” rhetoric. It’s true I would be doing, practicing, and learning all these things for fun, even if they never made me a nickel. It’s true my seven years of military experience, four years living in a foreign country, and the self-taught ability to speak, read, and write their language, were all far more educational than any number of baccalaureate degrees. Shit, either one of those would be.
It’s true I’m one of the last few people who doesn’t spend 75% of his work day bragging about how how they’re “grinding it out” or whatever on his cell phone.
I’m the weird one who spends his work day, you know, working.
And if nobody wants what I have to offer, it’s seriously not me that’s the problem.
And if I’m not getting jobs because I don’t have the “social media marketing” experience employers crave, the sad reality is that anyone with a fifth-grade reading level and a smartphone can call themselves a “social media marketer” nowadays. The whole “industry” is nothing more than a race to the bottom, and the returns are ever-diminishing: If you’re spending any more than maybe $50 a month on social media (including ads), you’re wasting your money. Ditto on SEO, by the way.
One thing’s for sure: Far too often I’ve been asking myself if I was “good enough” for a job when, quite frankly, the opposite question may very well be more apropos.
Well, I’m done with that.
I’ll keep my social media accounts open, and I’ll check my email every so often, but I’m going to spend more of my time unplugged. If someone has work they’d like me to do, and they can find me, I’d love to hear about how I can be of service. And when the mood hits me, I’ll write the occasional Yelp review because I like knowing people actually read them. But I’m tired of feeding the guy who obsesses over stupid things he has no control over.
And you should be, too.
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