Job Hunting

Job Hunting. I have become a consummate expert at this task. As an artist I’ve often had to find the proverbial “day job” in order to fund the ongoing artistic ventures that I’ve been participating in. It sucks but no matter how cheaply I was willing to live, I still had to pay rent, buy groceries and all those other things you have to do to get by in the world. Not to mention the costs of pursuing a career, which often required headshots, duplications, coaches, classes, union dues - you get the idea. And if you’re an artist you are aware of these challenges.

I once had a voice teacher tell me that long ago there were ‘patrons’ and ‘benefactors’ of artists and these days we have to be the patrons of our own artistic endeavors. Thus, finding the appropriate day job is very important and job hunting is essential and sometimes a constant.

Even once you’ve found the ideal ‘day job’ you are often pursuing landing a ‘real job’ in your chosen artistic profession.

I’ve found some of the essentials of finding a great ‘day job’ is to first map out what is needed in the appropriate job. Often these things include:

1)      Most money for the least amount of time invested

2)      Flexibility

3)      Ability to drop at a moment and pick up again when needed

4)      Low intensity of mind numbing, demoralizing work which creates exhaustion and depression and leaves you incapable of pursuing or creating your artistic endeavors.

When looking it’s important to ask yourself the following questions, starting with, “Even though this is not my ideal job…”

What do I enjoy doing? And what am I good at?

• Talking to people
• Working as a team
• Working independently
• Managing others
• Customer Service
• Computer work
• Typing
• Consulting
• Sales
• High Tolerance for medical
• Unusual Jobs

Remember you will be spending a good amount of your time at this job. If it drives you insane or makes you suicidal, it will not help your cause. Once you’ve identified the things you do well and the things that are most important to you. You can first look at common jobs and then look at less common jobs and of course jobs you create yourself.

In the additional pages, I’ll give you examples of good jobs for each skill set. Great resume designs. Job hunting tips and ways to present yourself so they think this ‘day job’ is what you’ve been searching for all your life.