the whole job thing, parte deux
When I first started looking for a job I was somewhat discouraged. I can design but I’m not a designer; I’ve got a pretty solid grasp on HTML, but I’m not a programmer; I’ve published freelance articles, but have never written ad copy – would anyone want to hire me? I was pleasantly surprised.
It turns out there are a variety of jobs out there (web producer, content manager, project coordinator, etc.) for which I am qualified. Despite having spent an obscene amount of time obsessively checking craigslist postings and going on interviews this summer without actually getting a job, it was time well spent. What I’ve realized is that I need to hold out for the job that offers the best writing opportunity.
Instead of trying to convince potential employers (and myself) that my designing and coding skills are up to par, I’d be much better off using my writing portfolio to try to get some copywriting work or a job with a large copywriting component. I feel like I’ve spent too much of the last few years trying to be assorted things that I am not, and being frustrated with myself for that.
I do two things well: writing and making music. Why should I try to do anything else? Going on interviews helped my confidence, but it also altered my perspective. I felt like I kept trying to convince myself that I wanted certain jobs just because I had applied and was granted an interview. As hokey as it sounds, I feel like I’ve kind of come into myself throughout the process.
On a related note, I quit training jiu-jitsu, which seems a little crazy considering that at this exact time last year I was in the midst of losing ten pounds in a week to compete in a tournament. For a while in the end of the summer I was too busy to train, but my productivity skyrocketed. This helped me take a step back and realize that, despite the fact that I loved training and competing, jiu-jitsu was a huge time (not to mention financial) commitment. It’s O.K. if your job is all you do and aspire to do, but when you work AND have serious creative ambitions, three hours (warm up, class, cool down, travel) is just too much time.
I’ve always been a firm believer that if you want to add something to your life, you must make a conscious decision to take something away (and vice versa). There’s only so much time in the day. All that really matters here is that for the first time in years, I feel like I have my priorities in check – I’ve been steadily productive both on the writing and music making fronts. I’ve also made the decision to grow my ‘fro out, which feels like it should be mentioned here as well.
It turns out there are a variety of jobs out there (web producer, content manager, project coordinator, etc.) for which I am qualified. Despite having spent an obscene amount of time obsessively checking craigslist postings and going on interviews this summer without actually getting a job, it was time well spent. What I’ve realized is that I need to hold out for the job that offers the best writing opportunity.
Instead of trying to convince potential employers (and myself) that my designing and coding skills are up to par, I’d be much better off using my writing portfolio to try to get some copywriting work or a job with a large copywriting component. I feel like I’ve spent too much of the last few years trying to be assorted things that I am not, and being frustrated with myself for that.
I do two things well: writing and making music. Why should I try to do anything else? Going on interviews helped my confidence, but it also altered my perspective. I felt like I kept trying to convince myself that I wanted certain jobs just because I had applied and was granted an interview. As hokey as it sounds, I feel like I’ve kind of come into myself throughout the process.
On a related note, I quit training jiu-jitsu, which seems a little crazy considering that at this exact time last year I was in the midst of losing ten pounds in a week to compete in a tournament. For a while in the end of the summer I was too busy to train, but my productivity skyrocketed. This helped me take a step back and realize that, despite the fact that I loved training and competing, jiu-jitsu was a huge time (not to mention financial) commitment. It’s O.K. if your job is all you do and aspire to do, but when you work AND have serious creative ambitions, three hours (warm up, class, cool down, travel) is just too much time.
I’ve always been a firm believer that if you want to add something to your life, you must make a conscious decision to take something away (and vice versa). There’s only so much time in the day. All that really matters here is that for the first time in years, I feel like I have my priorities in check – I’ve been steadily productive both on the writing and music making fronts. I’ve also made the decision to grow my ‘fro out, which feels like it should be mentioned here as well.
posted by Justin at 4:18 PM
3 Comments:
I can't really comment as well on the job/ju-jitzu situations, but the fro decision is the one you should be most sure of.
Thanks, man - I owe you a pound hug. Other than the one guy at work who thinks it's funny to tell me to get a haircut every few days, It's received nothing but positive reviews.
You realize that you will have to cut your hippie do should you be traded to the Yankees.
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