Hi,

I am looking for a job in Los Angeles.

I do have A Lot of experience, have been a producer for advertising agencies and production companies for tv commercials and stills.

However.. it seems SO hard to find a job.
I have no idea whether this is because I am European or whether the market is full of ambitious self-starters, but it is getting a little frustrating...

What are the best ways to find a job in LA ?
Would a headhunter be recommended, what is the best way to get started here ?

Gypsy

avataress

Dear gypsy456,

You might want to try www.craigslist.org Try the creative jobs and gigs. Look back over several days, maybe a week's or more entries, and try every day. I found only one job on that site, one that didn't work out, and a couple of near misses, the whole time I looked (over a year), but that may not happen with you. I have communicated with others who've used that site who said they'd gotten a steady stream of work.

I don't know about in LA, but it can be difficult to find just a regular job in fields where jobs are plentiful almost anywhere in the U.S. So, the only thing I can suggest is perseverence and hard work at looking; it's a numbers game, you know. The more places you try, the better chances you have of success. That seems to be with almost anything, including dating!

Finally, it took my sister about two years to find a job she liked and she's in a pretty mundane field, had a BA from the U.S. and then went on to get an MA, then finally landed a job she really liked. Good luck!

gypsy456

Hi.....


I tried Craigs List.. let me correct myself: I am still trying Craigs List.
After sending out approximately 100 mails I had 1 reply last night.... from a company producing heavy porn.... Well, it must have been my lucky night
But I see what you mean... it takes patience, a lot of patience.
Coming from Europe it's just such A Big Difference... !!!

Thanks for replying, it's highly appreciated.

avataress

Dear gypsy456,

I understand your frustration. One of the people who told me she got work from craigslist who is a freelance editor, told me that she often got work by replying to ads immediately after they were placed. I don't know how much luck you'll have with that, but I just thought I would pass on the tip to you as she told me.

Would you mind telling me over what period of time you replied to 100 listings on craigslist, if you remember? Also, I'm curious to know how long you've been looking for work. I kept stats on how many places I replied to on craigslist over about one year and how many responses I got. I must say, although I've forgotten exactly what the stats were, I got at least 5% response, and I believe it was closer to 20%. And I did get that one brief writing gig.

In any case, I was looking in varied mundane fields for work and perhaps that is why I got more response. One guy wanted to take pictures of my hands and feet! He was paying $25.00 an hour for 2 hours of work, which sounded too good to be true. He wanted me to come to his studio and I refused. We tried to negotiate, but I backed out, eventually because I didn't trust him.

Anyway, it seems that perseverence really is the key in anything. I believe I'm an excellent writer, have always been, not to mention having a very wide breadth of knowledge on many subjects, and I have only been published here and there with much trouble. On average, it has taken me two years to get through the door to get the brief articles I got published. It was a real trial, but also a real accomplishment. No one can take away the fact that they DID finally publish me. I have a book that I've been trying to get published for two years. As I have advised you, I will just keep on trying until I succeed in my accomplishing my dreams.

I'm glad I could offer some encouragement, if nothing else, and I wish you all the best in your search! Cheers! !