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Has anyone experienced applying to recruitment companies who will place you in the film industry?

What Am I Doing Wrong?

  • My job search is making me extremely upset and depressed. What am I doing wrong? How can I push through the constant disappointment? Please hope me. I was laid off two weeks ago, out of the blue, wasn't expecting it. It wasn't for cause. I have since applied to between 15-20 jobs literally every single day. I have signed up with temp agencies. I have reached out to people I know and I have tried to enlarge my network. I know two weeks isn't that long, given the economy, and many people have it worse, but I just got a call back from a temp agency that had a 6-month placement for me that they figured was a shoe-in, but the company decided to pass on me. This has completely destroyed my already fragile self-esteem. I have a competitive resume and lots of useful skills. I graduated from college 5 years ago and have been working ever since - this is the only time I've been unemployed and I am so scared. I'm thinking, god, if a temporary placement passed on me I must really suck. I know this is not rational, but I am sitting here crying like a baby over this. I had a phone interview for another position last week and was passed over because the company was looking for someone with closer to 10-15 years' experience - fair enough, I don't qualify for that at this point in my career. But a temporary position where I would be answering phones and doing internet research? I don't understand why I was passed over for that? I'm not trying to suggest that office support positions are beneath me (I started out in one such position and I am considering anything and everything at this point), but I am just so thrown for a loop right now. In addition to applying for jobs online (which I know is a crapshoot) I have joined a couple of networking groups - I haven't met anyone face-to-face yet, but a meet-up is scheduled at the end of the month and I am looking forward to that. I'm also taking this time to enroll in a couple of relevant certificate programs to my field (with the generous assistance of a family member). I'm reading What Color is Your Parachute right now. I'm trying to stay active. I've been going swimming and walking. I've been keeping a routine and not sleeping in till 11. I have tried to connect with people through LinkedIn by asking my connections for introductions, and while I've gotten a few introductions that way, I haven't been able to take things to the next step by getting anyone to agree to meet me for an informational interview. I have tried, without being overly pushy. I have sent messages to the effect of "I'm looking to get a position doing [x related to this person's job] and was wondering if you'd be willing to give me some advice as to how best to do so." And then I've offered an email chat, a phone chat, or face-to-face time (offering to buy them a cup of coffee) and said I wouldn't take up more than 30 minutes. No one has responded. What am I doing wrong? No seriously, I am sure I'm doing something wrong there, can someone help me and tell me where my approach isn't quite right? I've identified a few companies I would like to work for and have thought about contacting them directly, but I have no idea what to say in such a letter. Begging for a job is desperate, but what the hell do I say? These are small companies that don't have a "careers" section on their website but welcome you to contact them. I've heard of people landing jobs like this but I just don't believe that it could happen for me. I can't even get a freaking temp placement. What would I even say? What am I doing wrong? I am desperate for any help at this point. My health insurance runs out at the end of the month, I won't be able to pay my bills if I can't even land something temporary, and I'm just so angry and upset and disappointed in myself that I'm in this situation after I worked so hard to get to where I was. I wasn't like some impressive department head or super manager or anything, but I was a good worker, not entry-level but not a manager yet ("experienced non-manager"? "associate"?). I am a good writer (the incoherence of this post aside - I'm just very upset right now and rambling) and I'm comfortable with technology and I know I'm just one of so many people out there looking for work right now and the odds are not in my favor, but I feel so lost and scared. I've spent the last 15 minutes staring at my computer and crying after the temp agency called to say that the company had passed on me for a 6 month position. I have no idea what to do. I am freezing up. What am I doing wrong? How do I get beyond this? How do I not let this destroy me? I don't have a lot of friends nearby and my network isn't that big - I don't even have any 2nd degree connections on LinkedIn at any of these companies I'd want to work for and am thinking about approaching. I went to a really good college - a really overpriced Northeastern liberal arts college - and you'd think the alumni network from a place like that would be useful but apparently I am the only person in the entire history of the school who has decided to go into my field, so the network isn't terrible useful to me. If it's relevant, I'm in my mid-20s, in the NYC area. Relocating is not an option right now due to a family situation. Any more specific information about my situation (industry, etc) I'm willing to provide via MeMail if anyone wants to help me. I am very scared and upset and I can't stop crying.

  • Answer:

    First of all, even with a recruiter I doubt that I could find a job within 2 weeks-- some of the companies may not have even reviewed the applications yet, so if possible, try to relax on that front. From the way that this seems to be stressing you out, can you change how you look for a job? Perhaps 1 hour/day max or 2 days a week, but spend the other days doing something fun and/or look at your other needs. Unemployment can play with your mind, so please, please don't spend every waking moment looking for a job. I'm going to try to give suggestions as to how you could try to do the same things that you list but modified. There is no wrong or right answer, but some of the things that I will mention worked for me in the past. LinkedIn Instead of appealing to strangers to connect and get an information interview, join the LinkedIn groups related to your industry (find large groups). Watch the group a bit (some have great content, some have people spamming or telling you about their latest blog posts). If you find a good group, try posting a few questions such as "What job skills should I develop for an -X-position?" Eventually, do post your "would anyone be willing to meet with me for an info interview" or "Would anyone be willing to share companies in our industry in the NYC area." (I've seen people do this last question and people replied). I'd also make sure that your LinkedIn Profile is detailed (like a CV or resume).You can list a status update so mention that you are looking for a job in X in whatever general location. I suspect that this may not turn into a job for your industry, OP, but you never know. Info Interviews I do the same thing that you mention for info interviews. However, I do( if possible) mention what I may have in common (degree in X, friend that works at Y). Also, please think about this OP .People will ignore your request--but that's fine. You are playing a numbers game. Send ten emails; nine may ignore you, but one will reply. The people who didn't reply-meh-they were busy or don't want to do them. It doesn't matter because they will forget they even had a request. One more thing...I never used info interviews to approach people who hired, but people with the job titles that I wanted (colleagues)...because they would review my resume, tell me other ways to get into the job, etc. etc. By the way, if you join those LinkedIn groups- you can send brief request to some group members for free. Look in other places too (are there organization that you can join for your industry? Can you google people in your industry specific to your location? Approaching companies by email I've actually done this quite a bit (as a freelancer)and landed projects. First, how to think about this differently. You are not "begging for a job." OP, you have a skill set, 5 years experience , the ability to learn skills, and enthusiasm; the company may need someone right now. So if they have a need and you have a need,it is a symbiotic relationship...no begging involved. Here is what I would write if I were in your shoes (after you check out the company website to have an idea of their needs): To (company name): I have 5 years experience in the hospitatility industry. I have experience doing (list 3 bullet statments-be broad but try to have it apply to their company). I am looking for a position as a Purchasing Coordinator or Purchasing Project Coordinator. Best regards, Theremix [Contact info details] If they need info they will call you back for your CV, more questions, etc. I really believe that you are probably more likely to get a job this way than competing with a herd. Someone has a need (someone just quit or the company expanded), they are really busy, and ....your email falls in their box with the needed background. Go crazy and approach many, many companies You mentioned that you are in the NYC area so I assume this can work for you. The NYC business library has specialized industry books, with lists describing companies and contact info. Go talk to a librarian to find the (most recent) book for your industry and photocopy away. Send your email from above to some of these companies. There is also a database (RefUSA) that lists these companies...bring a thumb drive and save the info after doing a search. But this you can approach lots of companies in your industry and in your location. Temporary gigs Can you find temporary gigs to help allay the $ fear? It sounds like you are young. I don't know how you feel about children, but you could list"babysitting" skills on Sister city or a similar website. You could also look through craigslist for temporary gigs. Also list your own services if you have any (film?). Also, please remember that you are not your job. You had a job before (for 5 years) and you will have a job again. This is just transient. If you want other eyeballs to review your resume, etc., feel free to memail me.

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Oh man. You need to calm down. From the point of view of somebody who's done hiring, I've got to say that two weeks is really too early to freak out like this. Hiring timelines vary widely by job and circumstance, but this is not unusual in my experience: Week 1: Employee gives notice. I fill out paperwork to begin recruiting and send it up the HR chain to get approval. Week 2: HR gets back to me with a job description and the ad we ran last time we recruited for this position, and I suggest changes and discuss recruiting methods. Week 3: Employee leaves; job ad starts running for the first time. Weeks 4-6: We continue collecting resumes. Weeks 7-8: I weed through resumes and sort them into three categories ("super stars"; "could be good if we can't afford the super stars"; "no chance in hell"). Weeks 9-10: Phone interviews with super stars. It can take a couple of weeks, because some may be traveling or it could involve phone tag before we connect. Establish that they haven't been hired since applying for our opening and that they're willing to work for what we pay. Field phone calls from candidates who haven't heard anything yet, and just tell them that the hiring process is taking a long time and you can't say more, since that's the truth. Weeks 11-12: In-person interviews with super stars. Week 13: Pick best candidate, get my boss' approval to hire, get HR in the loop to conduct background and reference checks. Week 14: Wait for HR to finish reference checks. Week 15: Offer job to best candidate. Find out s/he's just accepted another job. Get "I'd like to withdraw my candidacy" from second-best candidate. Start sorting through the "could be good if we can't afford the super stars" resumes. Weeks 16-17: Phone interviews with next-best candidates. Weeks 18-19: In-person interviews with next-best candidates. Week 20: Pick best candidate, get my boss' approval to hire, get HR in the loop to conduct background and reference checks. Week 20: Wait for HR to finish reference checks. Week 21: Offer job to best remaining candidate. S/he requests a few days to think it over. Week 22: Best remaining candidate accepts job. We direct her to take a drug test within 24 hours. Then within 3-4 days the lab gets back to us to tell us she's passed. Week 23: Finally tell other job candidates they didn't get the job.

croutonsupafreak

Also you didn't mention this. Did you file for unemployment benefits? It's not a huge amount of money, but it should help you keep your head above water.

pyro979

I've been exactly where you are - applying to tons of jobs I'm ostensibly qualified for and getting no responses. I was depressed because I assumed any job I applied for, 1000 people were applying for and in that pool one was bound to be more qualified than I was. The "shotgun" method of sending your resume to any job you're remotely qualified for is flat out wrong. You didn't apply for 15 colleges a day, and you didn't ask to date 15 people a day - so why apply for 15 jobs a day. You should be applying to 1 or 2 jobs a day max, and these should be jobs you can really get passionate about, and you should put that passion into your cover letter. Some points. 1. Your resume should be a list of accomplishments (quantified if possible) not a list of job responsibilities. 2. You should view as many job ads a day as possible. 3. You should only apply to jobs that you're really interested in (note: this may be doing something different from your previous job). 4. You should convey that interest in your cover letter - you're only applying to one or two instead of 15 so you have time to research the company and convey exactly why you're the perfect person for that job and why they're the perfect company for you. If you can't do that with sincerity, don't apply. 5. What you're doing is sending out an average resume, with an average cover letter. That gets you an average result. This puts you in the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_deviation. If you want to get a job you need to do what other people are not doing - which is what I briefly outlined above and in more detail http://www.marktaw.com/b/career/how_to_find_a_job/.

MesoFilter

You have a couple of different issues: one, you need to find a job. Two, you need to deal with depression and anxiety. For your job search, as a matter of fact, things are going quite well. You've had interviews, which means that your profile is desirable to employers. However, it can take time to find a job. What Color Is Your Parachute estimates it can take 1 month for every $10k of annual salary desired. The book itself is not really intended for people who are looking for work, fast. Instead, it is a transformational book. My biggest takeaway from the book, believe it or not, is to have faith that everything will work out. You can have faith in Jesus or a Higher Power, as the writer of the book does, or you can have faith in yourself, knowing that if you keep on doing the right things, everything will work out. As for anxiety and depression, it may just help to talk with someone. Just relax. Everything will be fine - you're doing the right things. When I moved back to Canada with family in tow, I worked hard to land I job I really wanted. Unfortunately, I was let go in the fall. In December, just a few weeks before Christmas, with just $1000 in the bank, I resigned myself to working at a call center. The day that I was to begin my shift in this hellish place, someone phoned me up and offered me a contract making with a very good hourly wage... they had heard about me from someone else. I had worked hard to expand my network for three months, and it paid off. So have faith.

KokuRyu

Oh, I feel for you. It is so terrible and sucky and terrifying to be unemployed in this economy. But really, two weeks is nothing to feel bad about, and you will be able to find something. You're in with the temp agency, and that's great. I recommend being very active with them: call every day to ask if anything's come in (if they are ok with that, which I'm sure they will be). That keeps you at the top of their minds. Get on board with other temp agencies in town, too. And don't feel bad about not getting the 6-month thing. That does NOT mean that there is something wrong with you. There could be a million reasons that didn't work out. Try to be nice to yourself! And remind yourself that you actually ARE very capable and competent. You graduated from a a really good college, you landed a decent job after graduation, you kept yourself employed, and even getting laid off had nothing to do with your performance or qualifications. AND in only 2 weeks you have gotten a couple of interviews and you have been very active in your job search! You have even started the ball rolling on getting some additional training and certification! You are resourceful and competent, and you will absolutely make it through this. When your brain starts telling you mean things about how worthless you are blah blah blah, just remember that it's the stress/anxiety/depression of the situation talking. Those judgments are not accurate descriptions of your situation or your value. Keep reminding yourself of that. And do your best to nurture yourself. It is great that you have been exercising and keeping a routine. Keep doing that, and make you see and talk to friends and family, too.

aka burlap

My best guess at why the company passed you over for the temp job is that you're over-qualified. Maybe they really need someone who will be there for six months (or longer) and they know that if you find something better, more permanent or longer term, you'd drop your temp job like a bad habit. At least, that is the likely assumption they made and, in this job market, they probably had another candidate with no better options. Stuff like thas happened to me a lot over the last few years when I was unemployed and taking temp jobs but a temp job eventually led to a permanent position for me.

VTX

Can you set up a reward for just going through the process of applying for jobs? Like, for every 5 applications you send out, you do a celebratory dance in the mirror, or check out a new library book, watch a TV show on hulu, or some other free or $1-2 dollar reward for yourself? For every person you talk to for a networking reason, you give yourself a reward. For every new job website you search, you give yourself a reward. You update your resume, give yourself a reward! There are factors you can control in your job search, like the quality of your resume, where you apply, how many apps you send out, and where you search for jobs. But ultimately, you can't control, per se, how many offers you get. Rewarding yourself for doing the factors that you CAN control hopefully will be encouraging and motivating. Best of luck to you!!

shortyJBot

Everyone's covered that two weeks is no time at all. Most positions would not even have closed for applications yet, unless they were really close to done, and then it was probably close to filled already. But the part I stuck on, straight off, was that you are applying for 15-20 jobs a day? Don't. There's no way you can do 15-20 good applications per day. Quality over quantity. 3 a day, max. 3 jobs you are well suited for, where you make an application specifically to them and put some work into them. Research the company, the position, tailor your cv, tailor your letter. Be kind to yourself. You are going to wreck yourself at that pace, and for no gains.

Iteki

Speaking from experience, got laid off suddenly earlier this year (all the more frightening due to a new family member; got a great job soon after, it happens): take a mental health break, for a few days or a whole week. Go see movies, pay 25¢ suggested donations at the museum, visit friends you haven't seen in awhile, go to a nice bar in the early afternoon. Do not get stuck in the fired/hire me vortex. A large part of getting hired is about showing people that you're the kind of person they want to work with. If you're anxiety is screaming desperation and shame, it's no good. Enjoy your unexpected break a little bit. Good luck.

history is a weapon

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