I wanted to quickly debrief my recent phone interview with a web hosting company the other day. I got a phone call from the recruiter and had a discussion about how I did. They informed me that the company has elected to go with other candidates to bring in for face-to-face interviews. And I don’t blame them, really. The recruiter offered some constructive criticism – basically how the client felt about my performance during the interview. In short, I just wouldn’t shut up. They felt I was unable to curtail my responses and rambled on and on and on. They felt that if I got this way with a client, I would get chewed up and spit out. Fair enough. I was nervous and I just kept talking…and talking. My heart was racing and I felt the shakiness in my voice. I told myself the shakes would go away if I just talked it out. It never did. (more…)

It’s been over two months since I left NYC and I’ve worked one day. And now that the small financial padding I’ve built for myself slowly and steadily dwindles down to a zero balance, I will have a major decision to make. The decision I speak of is the same decision many artists (I REALLY hate using that term to describe myself) have faced and will face so long as our society is driven by consumption – should I sell out?

In my case, selling out means deserting the film career I started when I left CA a year and a half ago, and going back to the industry that had taken very good care of me – technical support for an internet company. Earlier today, I had a phone interview with for a technical support position a large web hosting company. (I totally bombed it, by the way. I was more nervous than I thought and I just kept talking like I was unsure of myself. Oh well, these things happen) Anyway, it sounds like a really good opportunity – a permanent position in which I get health benefits and probably 401K. And a position like this, especially in this economy, won’t be available too long. (more…)

Just added a new plugin called Wordbook, which pretty much links your wordpress blog to your Facebook page. Let’s see if it works!

My non-film resumé is no longer as strong as it used to be. It feels wishy-washy. I’ve had the opportunity to work for some pretty good companies in the past twelve years – VeriSign, Inc, eBay (well, kind of since it was only a small division of eBay) Verizon Wireless, and Bose Corporation. My work experience mainly covers retail sales, customer, and technical support. But in the past year and a half, I have been self-employed. So I feel obligated to include this in my resume, which takes up the top spot in work experience section. And glancing at now, it just looks like I’ve dabbled in various industries – not what a potential employer would want to see.

I’ve been lucky, though. I’ve gotten most of my jobs via recommendation. I had an inside man, someone who was able to get my resumé to the top of the pile. I think I interview pretty well, but getting the interview is the usually the hard part. And now that I’ve been in the real world for over 12 years, it’s really who you know. This of course makes it difficult when moving to a new locale. NYC was like that. It took me a while to get in with the guys who get regular work. As I worked more jobs, I exerted less effort in finding work. The phone just rang and rang. Again, I was lucky to have integrated myself into the scene in such a short amount of time. It still took about 3 months before I got a paying gig. (more…)

Our living room is almost done. We’ll just need some small things here and there. I like how it’s looking so far.