Jeni’s Design Diary

I’ve now been looking for employment for 1 year and 3 ½ months. I’ve heard it’s typical to be on the “job-hunt” for 6 months; but over a year? I have to admit I’m getting burned out. Your thoughts are screaming at me saying, “So, what are you doing?” I’d like to answer them by sharing my thoughts and tactics.

First off, I should clarify what I’m looking for. I would like to be hired for an interior design position that is not sales* and is within my commute threshold (about 20 miles). That’s my criteria. Since my husband is extremely good with money, a job is not financially necessary. That gives me a cushion to be a little more picky and able to hold out for a job I really want. There have been positions I’ve wanted, but they weren’t offered.

During this quest for employment I’ve been graciously offered several interviews, and have sent out numerous resumes.

Multiple times a day I look for new job postings. It’s easy with Google Reader! I love being able to check job searches from six different sites all at once. The sites I check are:

ASID Job Bank
Craigslist
Hotjobs
Monster
NW Jobs
Simplyhired

Each RSS feed is for a specific search, so I only get design related job postings. With Monster, I had to broaden the search in order to get interior design. That means I also see software design postings. Not really what I’m looking for, but oh well. =)

As soon as I see something I’m qualified for I review my resume, do some research on the company (if that information is given**), write a short email letter with a link to my portfolio & attached resume then send it off. I then wait for a response. If it’s a position that I’m extremely interested in (and had a contact email other than CL) I’ll send a follow up email or call a week or so later. I normally don’t hear anything back.

I’ve read lots of articles on networking. I’ve asked everyone I know to be on the lookout for me. Sadly, I must be in the wrong people group for design. I’ve joined a couple networking groups on Facebook, and posted my request for job leads. Surprisingly, I did get a response. But, when I responded, I heard nothing back.

My next steps are going to be:

• Contacting the career services department at AIS and asking if she has any leads. Their services were offered to me for 6 months after I graduated, but at the time I was working and so didn’t need any leads. (or so I thought) I probably will also try contacting other design school career services as well.
• Researching local Interior Designers and begin to approach them (one at a time) offering my services on a volunteer basis, in order to gain some experience.
• Stepping up my studies. I feel that some of my skills are still entry-level. I want to be able to offer an employer more than entry-level knowledge. I’ve registered for a CAD course, and will be looking for others. Hopefully I can find some for free since we are now without income. =)
• Offering my services as a barter on Craigslist. I’ve thought about this for a while. And well, what do I have to loose?

* To me a sales job = any job where your paycheck is related to commission – in any way

**Craigslist apparently does not require company’s to put their name in the job posting. So you often see a job posting that looks great, but don’t know who they are or where they are, and have no way of finding out other than the CL email provided. It’s more than a little annoying, and should be changed