NYC Job hunting
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- err
I'm struggling here.
Been on the hunt for a new job for a few months now.
Currently I'm temporarily working as an in-house creative director. But looking for anything, brand design, paid media design, motion design.This job market is crazy and i feel like I'm just submitting to ai bots.
Does anyone have the hookup on any open roles?
- Continuity1
Have you touched base with any recruiters?
I actually recently exchanged email messages with a legendary NYC-based recruiter who also handles roles in Europe, and she was telling me the US job market is just savage.
- Bruh********
- Did you really just ask if he TOUCHED BASE********
- Sorry, reverted back into work mode there for a sec.Continuity
- Ew********
- I know. I know.
I own that.Continuity - Circle back to me with details ASAP!utopian
- Roger that!Continuity
- Bruh
- err0
I have reached out to recruiters and head hunters. I'm hesitant to work with ones that haven't been recommended to me because a lot feel sketch. And the ones my friends recommended have not been responsive or moved on in their careers.
- Check out Creative Circleok_not_ok
- 99% of what Creative Circle has are 3 week projects. It's always been that way.CyBrainX
- Never found Creative Circle to be good.********
- I’m getting my job through creative circlemonospaced
- AVOID Creative Circle. They charge the clients like double what they pay you, forever and charge crazy fees if they want to hire you. A trap.doggydoggdog
- CC is a staffing agency, not a recruiter. They're good at getting bad designers bad jobs at companies that can't attract good talent.doggydoggdog
- ********1
Every job I’ve had in NYC was gotten by cold-applying on LinkedIn. That said, it’s a different time we’re living in.
Suggestions:
1. LinkedIn profile is as important as your portfolio, and much easier to curate. Read an article about how to optimize your LinkedIn profile, and do it. Even the hard part. (Don’t shoot the messenger, I didnt invent LinkedIn.) The LI algorithm is so basic and corny, figure it out and use that to your advantage.
2. Talk to as many people as you can. Network hard! Most people are being referred.
3. Talk to recruiters. Remember that recruiters are also looking for new, good talent to present to their clients. Listen to their advice, and when you get a sense that you’ve found a good recruiter, cultivate that relationship. Treat them like gold, because they are. Don’t treat the good ones like a commodity. It will pay off eventually.
4. Make your portfolio presentation literally better than every single other person. Be the absolute best, and they can’t ignore you forever.
5. Expect rejection from hundreds of applications. Just get used to it. If you get a call back, know that you’ve crossed the biggest hurdle so don’t squander the interview process. Be your best.
- My friend does these regular, thoughtful Linkedin posts, using it like a blog. he's had loads of success with visibility by treating it like a blog / feed.DaveO
- LinkedIn is DYING for decent posts from authentic people. You can post something authentic and quality like twice a year and it...********
- will put you in front of thousands of people. More important: it will elevate your name when recruiters or managers are searching LinkedIn for candidates.********
- Think of it like SEO and SEM. You want your name on the first page of Ljnkedin search results for certain terms********
- good advice, nb, tymonospaced
- You said it in such a better way. Its hard not to come off like a self serving tosser but if you can post work and do a little fun fact story, it'll be more....DaveO
- ...interesting than most of the fluff that you see on there. Process reels, BTS, development GIFs... kind of helps to have content to post rather than just talkDaveO
- Yup! And if you get LinkedIn gold you can see the reach your posts get. It’s pretty shocking how many people see it********
- CyBrainX2
I'm at a company that is always threatening layoffs. I've been looking for a new job since the beginning of last year. I've had maybe three interviews. I've never seen a job market this bad. I thought after 9/11 was the worst but this is even more bleak. I don't know what I'll do if and when I'm laid off. I have savings but I'd love to be able to retire when I'm 70. Apparently, this is too much for me to ask in this profession. Sorry. I got a little bitter there. It's on my mind a lot.
- Just heard there were several designers let go since I wrote this. I wasn't one of them this time.CyBrainX
- monospaced0
Right there with you. Actively hunting for about a month, but now realizing that just applying through LinkedIn isn't enough anymore. Time to tap the network and start making more of a digital footprint, I guess?
- I see a lot of juniors getting jobs and projects on X just posting non-stop even mid designs
Us seniors have for some reason a hard time promoting ourselvesgrafician - I'm the worst at it. And now that I'm not actively working, I have very little to post about haha.monospaced
- Bring out the archives, you would kill it on X, just post post postgrafician
- ...unless NDAs :/grafician
- hmmm...monospaced
- Working in house for years on a single brand really fucked me it seems.monospaced
- Average time to get a new job is like 6 to 12 months probably. Fucked up********
- That’s so fucked.monospaced
- System is broken.********
- I see a lot of juniors getting jobs and projects on X just posting non-stop even mid designs
- grafician-1
I see plenty of jobs on instagram feed from agencies in NYC
Also places like this
https://the-brandidentity.com/jo…
design twitter as a community on X lots of posts looking for US/remote designers
Here also
Just apply even if not 100% on the job requirements
- Agencies posting the jobs on their profile unfortunately, so if you don't follow you don't know :/grafician
- "we will begin winding down operations on Read.cv and Posts on January 17th, 2025."CyBrainX
- There are still a lot of job posts for now.CyBrainX
- Ah yes, they were acquired by Perplexity AI for some reason...
But yeah, the job board still solid 100%grafician
- grafician-2
is this thing still working?
- Pretty worthless for non-North America folk.
Not unlike the old Krop job board.Continuity - Sure, this is a NYC job hunting thread no?grafician
- For EU, old Linkedin jobs with filters works just finegrafician
- This is really interesting.monospaced
- Pretty worthless for non-North America folk.
- grafician-2
Contra network really hot rn
- monospaced32
After nearly 3 months on the hunt, things lit up this week. Two recruiters found me, I have an agent now, and I just completed a second round interview and am moving into a final round next week for a really nice spot. I have experienced new lows the last few weeks, so this feels really good. Wish me luck! I might be the leader of a fledgling in house creative team at a bank soon. :)
- There’s only so many automated “no reply” email rejections someone can take before they start to lose their mind.monospaced
- Good luck!
Stay strong.palimpsest - Go you!spl33nidoru
- Good luck mono, best wishes!OBBTKN
- Thanks! It went from months of total silence—nothing at all—to 3 solid leads in a week. Just breathe.monospaced
- Good to hear it... same kind of work? Did you ever look for remote "expo jobs" in Las Vegas?canoe
- Banking much better! Same font, but more stability
Good luck!grafician - Nice!YakuZoku
- Good luck and right one will come for sure.Beeswax
- Cheers,I hope that you land the gig.utopian
- Good luck, mono!!! <3PonyBoy
- Good luck! Please say it’s not the one with a brown logo and a very dickish CEOmaikel
- good luck mono! hopefully you land the gig!lvl_13
- Good luck!!!!!instrmntl
- Awe shucks ... and it’s not JPM. I passed on a shitty paying position at Bloomberg because fuck how they treat employees.monospaced
- Brown logo lol********
- Go! Go! Go! This is great to hear. Good luck with the final round!microkorg
- Good luck! It does seem to take forever to get a bite. Not sure exactly why that is. Wife just went 10 months and her resume is stellar********
- Bank work!bainbridge
- Get it mono!garbage
- Yeah boiii!!!ideaist
- Great news!!dmay
- good for you mono.milfhunter
- nice!renderedred
- Hope it happens!stoplying
- monospaced33
Accepted the offer. Senior AD and studio lead for a well established financial company building its first in house team. Here we go!
- Congrats!hardhat
- It's Friday!utopian
- hell yeahgarbage
- Congrats Monospaced!antimotion
- Dope!!!! Congrats bro!_niko
- Congrats, mono!! <3PonyBoy
- awesome! congrats mono!sea_sea
- Congrats. But didn't you want to work for grafician and one of his agencies?NBQ00
- Congrats mono, good riddance!OBBTKN
- bravo!neverscared
- Nice1 Mono happy for you matefaxion
- all the best!renderedred
- Congrats!thenohero
- Congrats, mono! Make that money!bezoar
- Now you can finally hire grafician.palimpsest
- Thanks all. This is a true turn for me. It’s a significant pay cut but will put me on the right path in my career. A lot of unknowns right now navigating thismonospaced
- Awesome! Congrats!Krassy
- great stuff! congrats!rzu-rzu
- Huge congrats!instrmntl
- :)monospaced
- That’s great to hear, onwards and upwards. Now that you’re employed again don’t forget to buy lolcubes!maikel
- 15 more years! Congrats!grafician
- Congrats!colab
- Fantastic!stoplying
- monospaced8
Recruiter I do not know reaches out to me via email about a creative leadership role at financial company a couple weeks ago. We talk briefly, I send over some additional samples and a bulleted professional bio upon request (thank you for the help there chat gpt), and long story short, I just had an interview on Friday morning with the president of a major investment company looking for someone to come in and bring this established institution up to date and make them look good. They need real help, and way more than one person in my estimation.
Crazy how I can apply to a hundred jobs and not get an interview, and the one major interview I get is for a job I never would have applied to, as it’s above my pay grade, in my mind at least. But here we are, and they think I’m the one for the job, but there are major red flags. They don’t have an established creative organization, no true brand stewards, and expect everyone in the office 5 days a week. Huge pay but at the expense of family life balance. A real crossroads for me in my career and so much to consider.
- "Death is the end of life; ah, why Should life all labour be?" Feel the same, is any amount of money worth time away from the family?_niko
- Fuck You Pay Meutopian
- Honestly, I would rather change sectors, and reduce expenses to the minimum possible to compensate lower salary, than lose the freedom I have now...OBBTKN
- its a crazy world....neverscared
- Everyone in the office 5 days a week is a big ask after everyone has been used to fully remote. Most places asking for 2-3 days tops.microkorg
- no room to negotiate a hybrid package?lemoucheron
- I’m seeing this as all about negotiation, and also with my current position where I just launched a team, but the pay is low.monospaced
- Does your wife work @monospaced; you're in NYC, yeah?
A tough call indeed!ideaist - We both work from home in the burbs now, with two young kids in school and activities. It’s a commute to nyc now (under an hour) but that’s a significant cost.monospaced
- A lot of the higher salary would go straight to commuting costs and extra help, meals, etc since I wouldn’t be around for as much.monospaced
- Honestly, as a dad who seems to have a similar situation, kids and what not, I took a lower paying job to be fully remote.BonSeff
- The lower stress and time with family is invaluable.BonSeff
- That’s where I’m leaning. At least for now.monospaced
- I too am in the "lower stress" / "time with family" boat... Seem to be making good household income on paper, BUT also seem to be buying a lot (also on paper).ideaist
- Let me ask you a question that may help. Do you need more money?maikel
- a) I don't think that 5 days in an office is a big ask. It was normality a few years ago.
b) What everyone else is saying. Personally, I want time with my kid.Nairn - "At what cost more money?"Nairn
- A few years ago I could have walked. But the world shifted and we moved, so commuting is a burden on time and family.monospaced
- Yeah, I could always use more money :)monospaced
- Less pay for more life is worth it (if you're able to keep up with all your overheads that is)sausages
- Thank you all. Confirming and supporting my own feelings. Let’s see where this goes. Thanks.monospaced
- Mono this sounds GOOD. It feels like you hold the aces here and could set terms re family/work/life balance. A two year plan + then review.Horp
- add some tariffs for higher pay...neverscared
- I’d say, fucking congratulations man. Having options in a job market as dry as the current one is a pretty big feat.maikel
- Chinatown, Mono. Financial Company is going to be a conservative environment. 5 Days onsite is the norm. That's the culture; not pajama parties with llamas.MrAbominable
- Get ready to do the work of three people, to never get approval for recruiting, and to get sodomized on hours until you burn out into a festering heap.cannonball1978
- That’s my primary concern, cannonball. Cheers!monospaced