It sucks.
Kidding. Mostly.
Basically, I applied to the few job postings I could find in the city and followed up with one or two classmates that said they might have something for me to check out. Neither of them went anywhere. After much hesitation, I finally decided to do some cold calling in order to dig up some sort of lead. It took me about a week to put together an "A" list of studios in the city and find specific creative directors to contact, along with their contact info. It should've taken me two days.
Finally on a Monday morning, I decided it was time to pull the trigger. I sat down in front of my computer, with phone in hand, and promptly spent the next two hours squirming and procrastinating. It was really strange; I could tell that there was some very reactionary, instinctual need to not touch that phone. I mean, yeah, I generally don't like calling anyone as a rule. But this hesitation was 10x worse and felt like a physical object lodged in my nervous system, preventing me from dialing. And the thing was that I knew I had nothing to fear. Worst case scenario, I call these people I never met and they decided they don't want to speak to me further. That's it. I had some fear of people I've never known not liking me. And even if that happened, there's a solid chance I would continue to never meet them. So... What's the big deal?
It was just one of those things where there's a severe disconnect between the logical and instinctual parts of the brain. On one hand, it's kind of fascinating to see what happens when you push yourself to such a limit that you have such a tangible reaction you can't control. On the other hand, it's also a giant pain in the ass because it keeps you from doing something you want to do.
Eventually, and with the friendly prodding of a friend called Maria via chat, I picked up the phone and dialed the first place on my list. I got the receptionist, who told me that the person I wanted to speak with wasn't currently in. I asked when they'd be available. She told me. I thanked her and hung up.
Well that was easy.
Then I went through the other 12 places on my list over the next 45mins. I only got ahold of 2 people I wanted to. I've interviewed at one place with encouraging results (they liked my stuff and want to give me a freelance project. If that goes well, I might get a 3 month contract. If that goes well, I might get a proper job). The other person I got ahold of sounded slightly annoyed and wanted me to email them my portfolio URL and cc the HR person. I figured that was just a brush off, but he emailed back a week or two later saying that he'd like to meet with me some time after Labour Day.
Not bad. That means that over one hour of work, I managed to get ahold of 15% of the people I wanted to speak with. Of those, 100% agreed to see me. While I still don't quite have a job, that's still not bad.
And yes, I know that I currently have a lead that might turn into a job. I'm a bit hesitant to be hopeful, though. Even if things do go well, I'm still looking at another ~4 months before I have a full time position. But it's something.
-Cril
And there's no desert sun that is hot enough to feed your fire
We shipwreck like fools only to become the ocean's choir
And the sun dies until it's reborn
But there's no road that ain't a hard road to travel on
Got lost on the way, but you found the road again
Stay true to your friends, 'cause they'll save you in the end
Sam Roberts - Hard Road
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