Life’s all about setting goals, right? We’re born, we graduate from pre-kindergarten, do our 5th Grade banquet, get into AP Calculus by the time we’re seniors in high school and go to college. All milestones set as points to reach and then when reached, celebrated as markers of success.
One assumes part of the American dream is finding success after school, out in the real world. Unfortunately, as my friend Kate and I often commiserate: the real world sucks and reality bites. You spend all this time and effort rising to the top only to beg, plead and sell your soul to the devil for your first real job where . . . you make coffee and make sure conference rooms are reserved.
Wait, I needed to stress about a senior art thesis and independent studies in feminist thought and masculinity to make burnt bean juice? Seriously?
But ya know, that’s how it works. We all start somewhere, paying our dues and learning the “biz” from the bottom up. Eventually, we’re promoted, given more responsibility and attain a livable wage, where paydays aren’t the goal. Rather, it's delaying gratification and paying off the credit cards from your previous life wrestling against the very real desire to buy Apple’s new iThingy.
10 years after college, I’m back in Washington, DC. I’m looking for a “real” job again. At this point, it’s a familiar space: résumé’s polished, portfolio’s shiny and lauded in superlatives from the four corners of the globe.
From past experience I know that finding a job in this town is all about who you know. I’ve networked with previous bosses and professors, asking for references and leads, reaching out to strangers with elevator pitches on my skills and career goals. I’m working with recruiters, because well, networks are their jobs.
This brings me to yesterday. I had two interviews, one for a direct-hire job and other for a temporary position.
The direct-hire job looked promising. The job description matches my skill set and experience, though the title—Mid- to Senior-Level Graphic Designer—is below the last two positions I’ve held (Creative Manager and Art Director).
I can rock this job. It’s all work I’m used to doing, I’ve excelled at it, proven my worth and been promoted into new positions of greater responsibility because of it. And there’s the crux: I’m nervous about taking a job like this because of the reverse mobility it shows. It’s that goal thing. I want to move forward, not backward. I want to be appreciated for the things I bring to the table, not under-utilized and taken advantage of.
I decide to give this opportunity the benefit of the doubt. After all, sometimes you need to take a step backward to move forward, right? And this company draws on both of my degrees. (I hold a double BA in art and political science.) This company specializes in communications strategy for federal agencies and programs. It’s a great “in” to a lot of the work that goes on in the DC area; it's work that I don’t necessarily have experience doing. It’d look pretty good on my résumé for a future position.
Except that I can foresee having to explain to someone why I went from being an art director back to being just a graphic designer. I’m sure it’s justifiable and understandable given the economy and the need to work. Only, the economy in DC is a bubble. It hasn’t suffered the way that the economy suffered in the rest of the country. The job market is great here.
Case in point: last time I job-hunted in 2008, I looked for 8 ½ months, applying to maybe 5 decent positions. Granted, I lived in Colorado, a much smaller “comms” market. This time around, I’ve applied for 15 great positions in the last 4 weeks. DC is a bigger market for marketing professionals. There’s just more going on here.
So I’m back to wondering: is it worth stepping backward and taking the gamble that I’ll be able to move up with this new company, doing great work, getting exposure to a new set of variables to use as marketable skills? (Federal contracts and the processes for dealing with them as a vendor are a big deal.) Or should I hold out for something better?
Here’s the deal as far as I’m concerned: I’ve got 8 years of design experience under my belt. During the last 4, I’ve demonstrated leadership ability in crafting an organization’s visual brand and in getting their deliverables produced. These are skills necessary for creative management.
Then there’s the clincher. One of the guys interviewing me asked if I would mind and could handle taking a new job where I wouldn’t use all of my skills.
The very simple answer is "no."
When I interviewed candidates for my assistant designer at Rocky Mountain Institute, I had another art director apply for the job. Again, it’s a tight market in Colorado. Design jobs are hot commodities and sometimes you settle for less to go where you want to go. This person came to me with all the qualifications. The deal-breaker came in attitude. How could we get along well when this person is used to having control? Sometimes there’s a necessary chain of command. And maybe that makes me a jerk, but I want to know that my authority to call the shots is followed when it matters. I expect my junior to do what I ask without question sometimes. I wouldn’t expect someone I consider a peer to do the same. As a peer, you’re expected to push back and question, offer alternatives and constructive critique.
So yeah, I wouldn’t hire me into this position. Why would they?
All this said the interview itself went well. I got along really well with the art director giving the interview. It’s clear we’d be fast friends, making some great work together. I’m sure of it. Unfortunately, working well with one person isn’t selling me on the job. I just can’t wrap my mind around the pro-v-con list in order to feel comfortable saying yes.
Luckily, when it rains, it pours. After weeks of sitting around waiting on applications to get some attention, I scored two interviews in one day. And if the first one ain’t gonna work, at least you have the option of the second.
The second place needs help. Its website is excruciatingly boring. That probably has a lot to do with it being a corporate training company. Can’t say that corporate training is all that exciting. Necessary? Yes, of course. Exciting? Only if you like sitting in pale gray rooms, lit with fluorescents listening to someone drone on about how to make better websites. (Maybe someone should take their own courses, because yes, they offer courses in website programming and management.)
And it’s a temp job. It’s an 8-week assignment. But it’s graphic design and I’m all too happy to earn some rent money doing what I love, rather than having to wait tables. (I really enjoy, waiting tables, by the way. But we haven’t arrived at a point where that option needs to be considered.)
I showed up with little expectation. It turns out, sometimes that’s the best way to approach a given situation. When you expect little, anything you get is a welcome surprise.
The art director with this organization turned out to be very entertaining. We hit it off immediately. I can definitely see working with this guy and having a great time doing it. We bonded a bit on our experiences working with linear, left-brained senior leadership. As creatives, this can often be our greatest challenge: convincing non-creative people of the best design solution to a given problem.
I feel pretty great about this second opportunity. It’ll allow me to work in my field, possibly add another piece or two to my portfolio, continue to build my personal network and give my recruiter a great reference to continue promoting me a great candidate for the perfect full-time position.
Then I hit rush hour coming home. I may have to rethink this one. 2 hours to go 20 miles is not my idea of a good time. It’s just 8 weeks, though, right?
