I've been stressing about it for a while but its coming to a head recently, and I don't know what to do. I work at a retail job at the local mall, and I live in an apartment with my Boyfriend. The rent and other payments are piling up, and I was hoping by now (atleast three months in) that I would have atleast gotten some kind of better paying job. I was shooting for something in my field (Graphic Design) but of course the market is saturated as hell. I feel like my time spent as college was a waste of time. I don't know what to do. I've even applied to places outside of my chosen field, and I still turn up with nothing. Matter of fact I've turned out with less than nothing, because those other fields require a different skill set than what I've learned. Not to mention I've been diagnosed with major depression so I am feeling extra worthless. So I don't know if you guys can actually help me, or if I've just blowing smoke but I needed to talk to someone, and this place seems pretty cool.
I'm in the same boat, and it's sinking >.< But as far as keeping your spirits up, you have to remember that what you do doesn't define you. Your job is just what you have to keep in order to maintain some sort of lifestyle. If it doesn't work in the short term, you have to lean on other people to keep going and that feeling of being a burden sucks. Hard. But think about if you were financially alright and somebody close to you needed your help. I think the feeling of getting to prop them back up would be great, and you'd be happy to do it. As far as getting a good job goes, keep your eyes on the prize and be relentless. Maybe just that effort to improve alone will keep the bad feelings down. If you spend hours every day working on your portfolio and showing it to prospective employers, you are bound to get a hit before you know it.
The job market is a terrible place for anyone to be right now. I'm in the same boat, with a degree in a field that pretty much requires graduate school to get a job of any kind. My advice is to check over your resume before you apply anywhere else. Make sure it's the absolute best that it can be. There is a lot of advice online, but my personal favorite is the Ask a Manager blog. She also has a lot of advice on cover letters, if you need to include those with your applications. After that, there's nothing left to do but keep trying. If there's anyone you can network with, particularly colleagues and people in your field that you know, reach out to them. Good luck!
Your post really moved me because I can relate to it so much. Here are some suggestions from my experience and the experience of others. You might want to consider freelance work in Graphic Design. Design some business cards and hand them out to local businesses, especially ones where the owners know you. Tell them you do design work. Many people would love help designing signs and flyers for their businesses. This will give you a chance to do some work in the filed while making some money in addition to the job you already have. Some people have actually been able to drum up enough business this way to start their own freelance business. It also forces you to get out there and do some networking. Networking is the best way to find any job, since every job gets hundreds of applications anymore. I know that the idea of networking and talking to people you don't know is really, really hard when you have depression. It's easier said than done. So there's one other thing you can do. There is a book called Artists and Graphic Designer's Market which you can use to help you find places that might want to buy your work. No matter what, take care of yourself. One thing that I remember when I've been upset is a saying I read somewhere along the line: "The most important things about you aren't on your resume." I'm pretty sure your boyfriend would agree with that, wouldn't he?
You just gotta go from job interview to job interview to job interview. Took my dad 6 months but he eventually got a job. You can too, it just takes patience and persistence.
