The Age Old Question

Employment
#1

Hey all,
First time posting although I have been lurking for a while. Anyways I’m going to ask the age old question. If a rigging job requires MINIMUM of a year experience to get and you need the job to get the experience how do you avoid your head exploding? This is one of the most hilariously common paradoxes facing entry level/ college fresh workers. I’d love some discussion on it.

And yes this is coming from direct experience as I am fresh out of college as a Character Rigger and now looking for work to little avail.

#2

So I can think of three ways around the whole, ‘how do I get experience, when everyone wants some first’ paradox. There are probably others.

  1. Know someone already working there who can help get your portfolio past the gatekeepers.

  2. Apply anyway, with a kickass portfolio and hope someone notices.

  3. Do some freelance work on smaller projects, these usually avoid the more checkbox oriented gatekeepers, and they totally count as viable experience. This doesn’t even need to be paid work, but having that experience of working on and with a team can be huge. Also this helps lead back to #1, as folks you work with might be able to help get you in contact with others who are looking.

1 Like
#3

Networking is king as it were. Off chance do you know where one might put out freelancing availability. I have one connection who’s even gone so far as to say he’ll babysit my first couple of projects with him, which is great in my position. That being said it would be obviously beneficial to make some more friends/ coworkers.

#4
  1. We hire people who are directly out of school. Many studios do. Recruiters will go to schools when graduates are presenting their student projects. Attend these events.
  2. People write job postings. Job postings are fallible. Don’t take them as hard law. They have to put some kind of filter up to stop a flood of garbage. Create a good demoreel and apply.
  3. Most people will hardly even read your resume, and just look at the demoreel. Many of the people involved in hiring will not know the details of 3D or tech art. We will usually skim the resume just to make sure you are using the right software.
  4. What you are describing isn’t a paradox. It’s a mismatch of values between job-seekers and employers.

This diagram from “What Color is Your Parachute?” illustrates the problem:

pyramid.png561×782 79.7 KB

If you want to learn more about how the recruitment & job application process is broken, read “Designing Your Life” by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans. Chapter 7 shows how it is broken. Chapter 8 (and the rest of the book) give a way of naturally networking with people. “What Color Is Your Parachute?” also covers these topics. Sending in resumes to job postings is the least effective way to try and find a job, but it is the most common and the most competitive.

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#5

Also, when recruitment folks do look at resume, it is on average for about six seconds.

http://www.businessinsider.com/heres-what-recruiters-look-at-during-the-6-seconds-they-spend-on-your-resume-2012-4

1 Like
#6

Super valid and i couldn’t agree more. I am a proponent of networking (which is why I started the post.) So heres the follow-up. In our industry what is your opinion on the best way for a newbie to network to the point of a basis of employment or referral?

#7
#8