[scadboy]

So, I had my first interviews on this past monday! The first one was with a local advertising agency that is looking for a junior graphic designer to add to their staff as they're in the process of expanding their business.

The first interview went incredibly well. I met with one of the company's two principles, and he was very impressed with my work, he had even seen some of the things I had done for the Mellow Mushroom and knew one of my managers from Mellow and my manager at the hotel I'm working at. He enjoyed my presentation so much, he blew off the next interviewee for an extra 20 minutes to pick my brain about a couple of the projects.

At the end of the interview, he asked if I'd be interested in coming in to work with the design team for a day to get a feel for how I work, how fast I work, how comfortable I am with the software and how I get on with the team. He said he'd give me a call "soon." I already sent a thank-you note, including when I would be available to come in for a day for the next couple of weeks.

I was planning on calling him on thursday to follow up, but I don't know if it would be more appropriate for me to wait for him to call, or if I should make the first move. He should get the note by tomorrow (wed), and I think it would be wise to follow up with a call the day after (thu). Any suggestions?

I really want the job, it's an awesome firm, they have a really diverse range of clients, both local and national, and work in a range of media, from print to web, to tv, and even packaging (which is my favorite). I just don't want to screw it up by seeming pushy and calling him before he calls me. He was very adamant that he would call me, so I just feel kind of iffy about it� Interestingly, the entire firm, except for the one principle I met with, is all women. Which I'd be completely fine with, since, as a gay man, I tend to get on quite amicably with women at work, and I think I'd fit right in.

Okay, so the second interview was kind of unexpected. I had submitted the r�sum� a month ago, and it was before I had rewritten it, so I was surprised when they called. So, I went up to Hilton Head for the interview, about a 45 minute commute, which isn't a big deal to me. The second interview went even better than the first, more raves for my portfolio. But, and this is a big but, the job isn't nearly as, well, glamorous. I'd be doing nothing but yellow pages advertisements.

Regardless, the pay is still competitive with the job in savannah, plus full benefits, and in case I don't get the one in savannah, I still feel I should keep this one as a backup. So I'm scheduled for a second interview with them next week with the art director and general manager. I interviewed with the art director on monday, and she was so impressed with my portfolio, she didn't even bother having me go through the software test they usually subject the newbies to.

I don't mean to gloat, but after months of not receiving any response and building up a great deal of self doubt, my first two interviews went extremely better than I expected, and I'm feeling much more confident in my abilities now. I just need some help on how to land this job in savannah so I don't get stuck doing yellow pages ads for the next couple of years!

any suggestions?

michael

[art_director]

hey m,

congrats on the smart showing out of the gate.

take your time. don't rush a call with the first shop. call friday if you must but do it in the a.m.

good luck and let us know what happens.

[scadboy]

Actually, it's abit moot now, he called me on tuesday, quite unexpectedly, and only a few minutes after I posted this. I'll be going in on Friday to work with the team and see if we mesh.

wish me luck!

hehehehehehe

giddy

oh, and my second interview for the company in hilton head got moved up to tomorrow morning, woo-hoo!

michael

[art_director]

Originally posted by scadboy:
Actually, it's abit moot now, he called me on tuesday, quite unexpectedly, and only a few minutes after I posted this. I'll be going in on Friday to work with the team and see if we mesh.

wish me luck!

hehehehehehe

giddy

oh, and my second interview for the company in hilton head got moved up to tomorrow morning, woo-hoo!

michael

good show. do let us know how the test drive goes. the other interview as well.

[Corys]

Good luck!
it's nice to see someone get a job around here..

I have a friend that has been unemployed for over 18 months now...

starting to just call him retired

[scadboy]

Whoa there buddy, hold up, I don't "have" the job just yet, don't go jinxing me there.

Hehe, but seriously, I don't HAVE it, just a good shot at it, at this point. So, yeah, we'll see come friday.

thanks for the vote of support, anyhow.

So what has your friend been occupying himself with for the past eighteen months, that just sounds absurd.

ciao,

michael

[andi*pandi]

if they both give you offers, be aware that the yellow pages job a) has less room for advancement/skill growth; and b) will drive you batty with boredom.

Good luck!

[scadboy]

I consider the yellow pages job tantamount to career suicide, as you said, no room for advancement or skills growth, and absolutely no chances I'll be able to put any of the work in my portfolio. I had my second interview with them today, I think they want me bad. They're extremely short staffed, as two of their designers left in the past month (warning sign?). Their human resources people are going to make me an offer in the next couple of days.

I really don't want that job. Commuting 45 minutes a day, each way, to make yellow pages ads just seems asinine. But, it pays better than my current asinine job, so if I don't get the job with the Savannah firm, I may try it out for a few months.

Tomorrow is the big day, spending it over at the ad agency I interviewed with here in Savannah on Monday. I had been doing drills in Quark for the past few days, to refresh my memory on its myriad esoteric keyboard shortcuts, and wouldn't you know it, sometime in today's commute and the interview shuffle I managed to damage the power socket on my powerbook, so the power adapter isn't making a secure connection and the batter isn't good for more than a few minutes.

So now I'm really hoping I get the job in Savannah so I can at least afford to repair it properly. Though that old 'book has been through so much, and I've replaced so many parts myself, I think she's earned a long-overdue retirement, so I'm trying to convince my b/f that I really "need" to buy a new machine if I get the job in savannah, hehe. And I was just hoping to get myself a new iPod.

Anywho, big day tomorrow! Wish me luck, thanks again guys!

michael

[art_director]

don't waste your time with the yellow pgs job. sure you'll make cash but you will limit the time you have for other interviews. hold out for the gig you want.1

[scadboy]

So today was the big day! I had so much fun, the principle I met with on Monday teamed me up with one of their graphic designers, and to start she took me around the office and introduced me to everyone. It's kind of strange, in that the whole place, save for the one principle I met with, all are women. It's like a colony of Amazons running an ad agency, ha ha.

Anywho, the woman I worked with threw a few assingments at me. She took me through their process step-by-step, gave me a job jacket, told me what everything on it meant, how to find the files, what to do when I was finished, etc. I ended up doing five jobs, she'd give me the job jacket, I'd do it, look it over, print it out, then save the files, call her over, and we'd look it over, talk about my approach, and then she sent it off to proofing.

She had only planned on giving me three jobs, but I ripped through them all in short order, and with good results, so she ended up giving me two "real" assignemnts, the previous three were all projects they'd already finished, and really just exercises to see my thought process and how I handle the software.

She said she was impressed with my work, and my efficiency. She was very impressed with how quickly, and effectively, I managed to cut through everything. I attribute this to a solid understanding of the software, and my time management skills. I was particularly concerned about my speed, during the interview, the principle looked over my work and basically said, "wow, this stuff is great, but I bet you're slow as hell." He was half joking, but that really stuck with me, and kind of bothered me. My number one fear going into the try-out today was that I'd be too slow, but quite the opposite proved to be true.

The place itself is great, it's a pretty small agency, but for Savannah it's big. The building is basically a converted ranch house, well, actually, two converted ranch houses, joined together. Executive offices, conference room and design are in one end, business offices, media buying/planning, and the all important office kitchen are in the other. The company stocks the kitchen with snacks and drinks, including beer (too bad I don't drink), and encourages employees to take their lunch breaks there.

When I was done, I took a little break in the kitchen, and talked with the principle that interviewed me on monday over some ham sandwiches and little miniature cheesecakes. He ribbed me a little more about my speed, until I mentioned that I had finished everything the designer had given me, plus two other projects. He told me that they had one other person coming in monday for a test run, and that he'd give me a call on tuesday to let me know.

So, after that, I went and talked with the designer for a little while. She really seems to enjoy working there, and I can see why. Everybody seems to get along really well, and both of the principles really seem "intouch" with everyone, very reasonable, understanding and supportive. It just seems like a really fun place to work, and when the time came, I really didn't want to go.

I had spent the day as a designer, and faced another night as a front desk clerk at a hotel.

By the time I got to "work," I found the giddyness that I had been overcome with while working at the agency for the day had disappeared, replaced with a thick, impenetrable malaise, as I contemplated my future as a hotel clerk. I was consumed with dark thoughts of what I would do with myself if I didn't get the job at the agency. And imagined for myself a future of dead-end low paying jobs. Working by day while struggling to find freelance work to keep myself sane as my degree became progressively more obsolete.

Thankfully I snapped out of that about five minutes ago. If I don't get this job, I will most likely pass on the hilton head job, and just keep looking for other positions here in Savnanah. This experience has atleast reaffirmed my faith in my own skills, and prepared me for more interviews.

Woo-hoo, now I'll just be going crazy until Tuesday. It's so nerve racking when I've gotten through all of this, and now it almost seems like it's up to a coin toss. It's either me, or them.

So who's it gonna be?

michael

[scadboy]

In case you don't follow the lounge, where I set up a poll on friday.

I GOT THE JOB!


wooooooooooo hoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

anywho, thanks to all who contributed and critiqued, I appreciate your input, and don't know if I could've done this without y'all's help.

hehehe, there is hope

michael

[andi*pandi]

excellent. Glad to hear it.

now, back to my boring brochure... <yawn>