Rut in career:I feel I suck in my career.

Horus

Basically the recession hit me 4 months ago and got lay off from my job after being there for 1 month. I left my previous job of 3 years. I got over it and began searching for a new job. Five months later I only landed about 3-5 interviews which I did not get the job. Now its getting to me psychologically that I feel maybe I just suck in my profession. Even worse I feel I have graphic designers version of writer's block. I even posted on Craiglist for people won't mind me working for them for free just as long they share their experience and advice. I got myself enrolled for graduate school since its something I wanted to do and hopefully move my skills into new roads and opportunities.

I come here asking people maybe to review my resume which I had professional writers review maybe I am representing myself in the wrong image or I am doing something wrong I just don't see.

Thank you for your time and consideration in helping me during my time of darkness and most of other unemployed Americans who are struggling finding a job.

To view my portfolio website check my sig which I need to update.

Name
phone ▪ email ▪ website
Print ▪ Web ▪ Typography ▪ Photography

Career Development
Graphic Designer (8/01 – Current)
Assorted Works Los Angeles, CA
• Appropriated marketing campaigns about professional clinical trials to increase recruitment for X’s clients.
• X TV, marketing campaign for local and national events, designed to follow art and pre-press guidelines.
• Science X, presentation layout for conferences about laboratories and Google Ad sense.
• Pro Bono X (nonprofit), marketing layout materials to bring awareness to non-profit group.
• Network Vendor X (Unicine), designed Kiosk look for distribution in major shopping centers nation wide.

Graphic Designer (8/05 – 4/08)
TV Network Los Angeles, CA
• Reduced production time by pre-planning the mechanicals and grid layouts for marketing department in packaging, POP, one-sheets and trade publication advertising.
• Established a strategic partnership with affiliates (Cable and Satellite) to increase network distribution resulting in 3% growth in high profile campaigns.
• Layout e-newsletter for monthly circulation with an average 300 industry subscribers increasing marketing campaign partnerships with Univision.
• Generated web 2.0 content for campaigns with dynamic video, image galleries and web forms to build branding.
• Leveraged resources of quality branding and web solutions for affiliates and marketing department.
• Maintained digital assets insuring easy use for Marketing department, affiliates and vendors to appropriate for marketing campaigns and oversee affiliates pre-press.
• Managed projects for large prints and booth designs like X and Y securing rights of talent images, managed the production and assembly of graphics, and maintained the production schedules on budget.

Promotions Intern (2/05 – 8/05)
Local TV Station Los Angeles, CA
• Designed promotional packages for distribution to increased recognition and ratings for Los Angeles Local TV Station.
• Ability to cultivate a harmonious and cohesive team, inspires the corporation and confidence of others, and promotes the common purpose of the team.
• Performed photo retouch of newscast talent to produce versatile quality of marketing campaign pieces.
• Assistant producer for Local TV Station , facilitating communications production crew and advertising clients for commercial spots.

Library Aide (8/01 – 8/04)
Library Lennox, CA
• Conducted following duties on daily basis; survey research to determine community needs, update library records, ordering materials and prepare statistical reports.
• Introduced Library promotions of community events through marketing pieces brochures, posters and décor increasing library's attendance.
• Fundraised local bookstores to donate over $500 of books.
• Obtained funding for damage AV materials, saving the library 75% replacement cost with the support of local media companies.

Education (note to reader this masters is for me to head into digital assets management and Information Architect)
Masters of Information & Science 2009-2011
San Jose State University
Fullerton, CA

Web Design Publishing Ongoing
Santa Monica College
Santa Monica, CA

Bachelors of the Arts 05/2005
Studio Arts & Spanish
Loyola Marymount University
Los Angeles, CA
Sigma Delta Pi – Spanish Honors

Awards/Recognition
2008 Direct Response
Connect with X company

Certificate of Volunteer Appreciation Nominee 2008
Library

Awards 2006 1st Direct Mail
X International Event Marketing 2006

Training/Seminars
Adobe Dreamweaver and Flash CS3 2007
Knowledge Works Los Angeles, CA

Photoshop CS3 - Bert Monroy 2007
Kelby Training 2007 Los Angeles, CA

Adobe Flash CS3 Seminar 2006
Lynda.com – Colin Smith Portland, OR

Organizations
President of Library 2007-2008

National Association of
Photoshop Professionals (NAPP) 2007-2009

Uncle Long

Just a couple things: first, and foremost, being unemployed, looking for work, and being unable to find it are hell to a guy's psyche. What's worse is that a lot of your friends and relatives tend to be way less supportive and oftentimes antagonistic. There's not a whole lot you can do about this save for continue going after jobs. It's a shitty experience.

In the Resume, how long is this thing? I don't know about your industry but usually keeping things to a single page with readably large font is a plus. I'd trim off your "Library Aide," position, your Organizations, Conferences and possibly the Awards headings ( I don't know anything about those awards, maybe they're impressive and you should leave them there). In education, I don't know what the middle line is, the ongoing publishing bit, and I think you could get rid of it.

A lot of those things can be dealt with in a cover letter if you really feel they merit a mention.

The only other thing I see is that there's a bit less action-oriented verbage in your career development section than there should be.

For instance, "Network Vendor X (Unicine), designed Kiosk look for distribution in major shopping centers nation wide." Could be a bit more catchy if it read "Designed Kiosk for nationwide high-traffic centers increasing signup for serviec by XX%"

Numbers can be good.

Anyway, everyone has a different style when it comes to Resumes and CVs, this is just my take. Again, don't get down about your prospects, it'll only hurt you when you come into an interview looking desperate. A lot of the times they don't pick the best candidate. It's your job to present yourself in such a way that you are, in their eyes, the only candidate worth picking.

Jimmy King

Well, I don't have any very good tips for your resume, I'm not resume master myself. To me, the big thing is to make EVERYTHING you have done at past jobs sound important and critical to the success of the company. I don't know the graphic design industry at all to really give pointers in how to do that or tell how well you have currently done it - it looks to me like that was your goal with a lot of the things you wrote.

I have been where you are, though. In March '06 I left a stable (for the time), but contract position doing a little development and a lot of more upper 2nd level support root cause analysis stuff, training the helpdesk guys etc. for a full time, direct hire developer position. 5 months later I bought my first house. Before I even made my first mortgage payment I got laid off along with several other guys. I spent the next 6 months getting beat down. Entry to mid-level support type jobs didn't want me because I had time as a developer and doing pretty high level support, I was obviously going to keep looking. Dev jobs didn't want me because I only had 6 months full time dev experience and a couple years on and off dev experience from the job before that, both in very low demand languages, not the languages they were hiring for. I got re-hired by the company that laid me off during my very last week of being able to collect unemployment checks. It is now time for me to start looking again because the company is collapsing and I'm being taken advantage of. I do not look forward to it, I'm very nervous, and have very little confidence in my ability to find something better. I know exactly what you're going through, man.

Keep busting your ass, eventually something always comes along. Being a contractor for so many years, I've done the unemployment thing many times. It gets awfully scary, but it always works out.

You're doing the right thing in trying to find projects you can work on even if you don't get paid to build up your skills and experience. That's a lot of what got me re-hired at my current job. Everyone I've ever talked to has been very impressed by that.

supabeast

I’m an unemployed designer going through similar stuff, I meet lots of other designs in our position. The design job market sucks right now from coast to coast, so don’t let it get to you. Your portfolio is excellent as is your resume. If you really want to do grad school and have the money or can actually get the loans, do it while the market sucks.
Other ideas:
• Make sure to have some kind of PDF portfolio to email people who ask for them instead of sending them to the web site. Some people just have an assistant print twenty portfolios to look over at once instead of spending time checking web sites.
• Use your skills to create revenue generators—create a stock photo library or design some typefaces.
• If you’re an AIGA member make sure that you have a portfolio on aigadesignjobs.org; it’s a high-end Coroflot. I set my portfolio up two weeks ago and 3 days later I landed a huge client for multiple jobs.
• Look at design leads web sites, they sell leads (almost all web design) to freelancers at pretty low rates.

Horus

supabeast wrote: »

I’m an unemployed designer going through similar stuff, I meet lots of other designs in our position. The design job market sucks right now from coast to coast, so don’t let it get to you. Your portfolio is excellent as is your resume. If you really want to do grad school and have the money or can actually get the loans, do it while the market sucks.
Other ideas:
• Make sure to have some kind of PDF portfolio to email people who ask for them instead of sending them to the web site. Some people just have an assistant print twenty portfolios to look over at once instead of spending time checking web sites.
• Use your skills to create revenue generators—create a stock photo library or design some typefaces.
• If you’re an AIGA member make sure that you have a portfolio on aigadesignjobs.org; it’s a high-end Coroflot. I set my portfolio up two weeks ago and 3 days later I landed a huge client for multiple jobs.
• Look at design leads web sites, they sell leads (almost all web design) to freelancers at pretty low rates.

How much does AIGA membership cost? Good to know other designers are struggling like me and I need to take advantage of this slow time to learn new things. Currently I am learning Flash, After Effects and PHP. I am going to start selling my collection of photography.


supabeast: How do you network with other designers? I am struggling finding any places or events just for creatives other than seminars.

supabeast

Horus wrote: »

How much does AIGA membership cost?

supabeast: How do you network with other designers?

$315 for someone with your level of experience. If you’re unsure about joining you can start by volunteering to get into events for free, which is a great way to network with dedicated designers.

Networking is mostly about getting out and talking to people. Join every local design club and go to the meetings. Go to design conferences and stay up all night drinking with strangers. Take handfuls of business cards to parties. Wear nerdy design t-shirts and go hang out at coffee shops while you’re working. Teach undergraduate students and talk to the other faculty. Go to lots of art openings.