Tag: #jobhunting

  • ODDS and ENDS: Job Hunting, St. Ann’s Puppet Lab, and Super Bowl Halftime Show

    (Stuff and other stuff.)

    This morning as I was doing the Alt Side Parking Dance, waiting for the sweeper to go by, on a whim, I decided to see if there are any theatre job openings in the City. For the past year, anytime I looked for a theatre admin job, it just ended up turning my stomach. But, I also know that we are just getting by financially, and getting ahead would be a better situation to be in. Hence why, on a whim, I decided to see what was out here. And I saw something that didn’t turn my stomach, and was also kind’a right up my alley. I’m now thinking about submitting my resume. If I did get the job, it would mean a huge change to the life we have been leading for the past two years. But, getting out of debt would be nice. I don’t know yet. I’ll take the weekend to think it over.

    One thing that I do need to get on top of is figuring out if I can make it to St. Ann’s Warehouse for Puppet Lab next weekend, 2/17 to 2/20. I got friends who run it, and I also got friends who are in it. That right there makes it totally worth going. Then, there is the fact that I haven’t seen a live show in three years, which I would like to remedy. A long, long time ago, I took part in a piece in the Puppet Lab – I think it was the first theatre gig I got when I moved to NYC – so I have a soft spot for this series. The Puppet Lab is a two-year program where puppet artists create and develop work with support from the people in the program, as well as St. Ann’s Warehouse. The performances are the culmination of this long process, and showcases inventively creative and experimental puppet works. Shows like this I find exceptionally inspiring.

    And this year, we will introduce our daughter to the world of nachos and hot wings, commercials and halftime shows. But most importantly, she will learn that Prince’s halftime show was the greatest halftime show of all time. It’s a fact.

  • Interviewing

    I have been on a handful of interviews this week and last. (Waiting to hear back. No offers yet.) I have written before that I am very anxious about finding work, at least to just help contribute to the family’s finances. I don’t like feeling useless, like I’m not helping out.

    I don’t think I am good at interviewing to begin with. It reminds me so much of auditioning which, out of all the steps in a theatre production, was my least favorite. I remember a professor in college telling me that I need to find a way to love all the steps in the process, to be a well-rounded and to keep my sanity, as it is a tough business.

    On all the interviews I have been on, everyone has been really nice, and no one is pulling any “gotcha” questions to trip me up. I dare even say that they are trying to make me feel as comfortable as possible.

    The issues are all on my end. I need a job and I don’t want to fuck it up.

    Also, talking about myself feels very weird.

    I feel like as a child I was told so many times to be humble, and not conceded, so when I am put in situations where it is expected of me to speak about myself, I find myself clamming up.

    I have been pushing myself to talk more in these situations.

    Trying to think of it as another opportunity to grow and break out of old bad habits.

    Hopefully, it will lead to a job.

  • Keep It Together

    I have been trying to stay positive through the move to California, all the changes that it has brought, and the fact that I am way outside of my comfort zone. It has been messin’ with my head.

    The biggest issue that I am having right now is that I haven’t been able to find a job. I have sent out 20+ resumes to prospective jobs in the span of 6 weeks, and I have only landed two interviews. It has made me start second guessing myself, and then on Friday night I started down the spiraling path of self-destructive thinking by beginning to believe that I would never find a job, and that would cause us to default on all of our bills, and that it is only a matter of time before we are homeless…

    And then I read this opinion piece over the weekend, all about rejection.

    It did put a few things in prospective, which I needed, so thank you Emily Winter for writing it.

    I still need to get a job to pay bills, that part hasn’t changed, but it reminded me to start thinking about longer term goals. What are the steps that I need to be taking now? And there is a difference from just “trying” at something, and working hard at it. As Emily said in her piece, “I’m so tired, and that’s how I know I did it right. If I weren’t exhausted, it would mean I’d just spent the last year asking for things without putting in the work to earn them. To me, there’s nothing more off-putting than entitlement.”

    She has a very good point.

  • Purpose of Being

    I guess the positive thinking thing worked. I have an interview next week, and it is a relief just to have that. As I stated before in the earlier post, I was beginning to get worried that there was something wrong with me. I’m not sure if this is the job for me, or even if I will be offered a job, but I’m glad that I have been scheduled for the interview, and let’s be honest, if they offer me a job, I will be taking it.

    Okay, so, what have I learned from this month of getting constant and consistent rejection?

    Besides that it sucks…

    I do need to feel productive and help contribute to my family. Right now, that feels like I have to have a job and bring money in. But I started to have a thought; what if I didn’t have to work? Such as, what if my wife brought in enough money that it wasn’t required for me to have an income?

    We have already been in the situation where she earned more money than me, and that didn’t threaten me in any way. I am confident that her earning all the money wouldn’t be an issue.

    I think that this situation would manifest itself into my need to have a purpose. As long as I had that, a goal, then I would be okay. If I was the house husband, supporting her career, and looking after the kid, while still having the time to write, that I would be okay with.

    Not that we’re are in that situation.

    I just need to get a job, and I am one step closer.

    And things don’t look so bad anymore…