Screen Magazine: Vol. 28, Issue 16

Screen Magazine - Index

Screen Magazine - Screen Magazine: Vol. 28, Issue 16 - Index

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The line at the job fair wrapped around the
lobby and all the way back to its head again,
like a snake eating its tail. A colleague of
mine looked around and joked, “Well, looks
like I’m not getting a job today.”
I, trying to be optimistic, reassured him.
“They’re looking for a lot of different things,”
I said. “Maybe a lot of people are here for
other jobs, too.”
Moments later, we realized that the line
was only for creative. Everyone in the giant,
snake-eating-its-tail line was there for the
same purpose. We all wanted a creative job
at Team Detroit.
Someone came out and asked for anyone
looking for an entry-level position. The
gentleman in front of me chuckled to himself,
“I’ve been doing this for 15 years.”
The reality of the hiring situation was
sinking in. Not only would we have to show a
killer portfolio, and have a fantastic screening
interview, but we’d have to do anything we
could do to set ourselves apart from the
competition.
Not to paint a totally bleak picture of the
market in Detroit. There are jobs, and agencies
are winning new business all the time. The
problem is that for every one job available,
there’s a very long line of people waiting to be
given a shot.
Some of these people have decades of
experience and some of them have someone
on the inside. The rest of us land somewhere
in the middle.
After two hours, I had my chance to tell
someone why I was the right person for
whatever jobs they had. I said my piece, showed
my portfolio, and left. I did everything I could
possibly think of to make sure someone would
see my resume and say, “Oh yeah, I remember
that guy.”
As I walked out, I noticed there were as
many people in line as there was when I first
walked in…possibly more. I’m not sure quite
what Team Detroit was expecting, but what
they got is a pretty accurate representation
of what it’s like to be looking for a job in
Detroit today.
There was a gentleman who summed
it up when an HR rep asked him if he
was in the right line. “What am I here
to interview for?” he replied. “Writing
mostly, but I’ll be an account manager, I’ll
be a project manager...I’ll be whatever as
long as there’s a job involved.”
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