Another wall, questioning why life is punishing me.

Got a rejection from an interview today. I am really upset about it. So much that I am pacing and can’t sleep. I don’t think it was the job itself but the fact that I really went for it and still a no.

I’m 27. Live with my parents because since uni over 3 years ago, I haven’t been able to get my career going.

I’ve not been able to find a partner either. I just seem to be unlucky there too.

Constantly hitting walls. Like I am being put though nightmare senarios as a test for the “right job” or “right person”.

Genuinely feel defeated and wonder what to do now. I feel like curling up into a ball and just giving up.

Can anyone give me hope that it’s worh all the pain and disappointment. That things will get better. Any stories or advice would be very much appreciated.

Thanks

Have you gone to career counselors and done mock interviews? You may be doing something catastrophic in the interview

Hey. Yes I have had advice. Nothing I am doing wrong. Just not the “right person” for the job at this time.

Sounds like you need to change the perspective. Knowing that you don't do anything wrong or off putting is a good start, but not enough. That's just the most basic of basics. Now you have to go several steps further and start working out how to be "the right person for the job." Being the right person is really just a matter of presentation and selling yourself so that they believe you aren't just right but the guy they can't wait to work with. So you really have to convincingly answer two unspoken (or sometimes spoken) questions in the interviewer's mind - why should they hire you and can you really do the job and immediately take care of whatever problems they are having.

What kind of jobs are you going for? Could you possibly be overreaching?

My son is multilingual and has a major and minor college degree plus work experience and he had to start out with a minimum wage retail job after he graduated from college. It took him nearly a year to find a job in his preferred field.

Try volunteering in your field to gain experience.

What kind of jobs are you going for? Could you possibly be overreaching?.

So originally I trained to be model making in film and tv. Realising the industry was hire fire contract work I decided I would retrain to be digital artist. And currently trying to get into game design. Applied for a teaching whilst training post at my old college. Thought it went really well and got the email saying no sorry unsuccessful. I have asked for feedback currently waiting on it.

I am going for my level. Traineeships really. So bottom. I’ve applied to a variety of roles etc. Currently still and continuously building portfolio.

Just feel like having a crisis of my age, still living at home. Having to work in retail to have some form of money coming in.

Sadly I haven’t found volunteer roles for creative industry. I offered to drama groups to help set design. Nope.

Realising the industry was hire fire contract work I decided I would retrain to be digital artist.

Which is also an industry that is highly freelance contract-based.

Working in retail stores won't move you closer to your goal. Apply at creative agencies, but also regular temp agencies, and not just a couple. At least 3 per week, starting with a radius closest to home and working outward.

You can't just send a resume and expect a call. Temp agencies only place people on their 'active' roster, and in order to get on that roster, you'll need to make appointments for interviews and to test on any applications you claim you can use. If you do poorly on any given app, you can return to use their tutorials, then retest to raise your score.

Don't be discouraged when they tell you they have no jobs at the moment. No good agency has jobs laying around, they fill them immediately with active applicants. Getting on those rosters is how to get inside of companies, where you can learn different cultures and apply for more suitable jobs that are never opened to the public because they fill them from WITHIN.

The role you take inside a company is irrelevant. You can form relationships in marketing, art departments, visual merchandising, and you can freelance or apply for jobs in those departments while having the edge from those relationships. Even if they hire you only as a freelancer, you're building a commercial portfolio and gaining experience on your resume that's relevant.

Give yourself a nice reward after each interview and incorporate regular interviews into your schedule each week. You'll feel pride for actually doing something to move yourself closer to your goal rather than lamenting over a lack of opportunities.

I've worked in an art department for the last 12 years. I was placed in a non-creative marketing role by a temp agency that was several counties away. The job is 10 minutes from my home, and most of their art work had been outsourced to a firm states away. I had no art experience beyond some Mac classes, but I parlayed my IT background to help this company build an image database and bring their photography, production and design inhouse. You never know what kind of opportunities you can create when you position yourself INSIDE of companies, because it's often less about your current talent 'on page' and more about your soft skills in working with people to make stuff happen.

Head high, and start hitting the pavement instead of the Internet. You'll start moving bricks in your wall, and that's how the magic happens.