Based on the painting "The Fallen angel" by French artist Alexandre Cabanel. It was painted in 1847.
To say the least, job hunting is difficult; in fact, even in the most "entry" level jobs, it can be difficult to get your foot in the door.I feel like most of my life has been filled with delays and rejection. Even when I was in high school, I got nothing but rejection from jobs like McDonald’s and the local Woolies. My first job just so happened to be at a pub, where I was recommended. I was just getting rejected by everything.
I returned to Australia to attend university after leaving the pub to pursue an internship in New York. I was doing my university work experience, but I was turned down by every pub in the area and couldn't even get a job at an EB Games "which I would've loved."
I would graduate from University during a pandemic, but not officially until September 2020. Then I would score an unpaid remote internship. Wow, maybe things were turning around. It would end in February 2021.
Here is a quote from the lovely Michelle Pretorius, who oversaw my work in this internship.
“Brendan worked for me as a design intern and I was greatly impressed with his creative spirit coupled with his professional approach. His enquiring approach made sure to cover all aspects of design and I found his turnaround time and scope of work refreshing. I would be remiss in not mentioning his highly evolved artistic ability which he converted into usable, professional designs which were fresh, modern and innovative. I would highly recommend him.”
Then back on the rejection loop for another 2 months, until Wow someone wanted to give me a chance! “Thank you for believing in me.”
In fact, I am going to quote my senior designer here from ACEL as he said on my LinkedIn
“ Brendan definitely left his mark on our company in the time that he worked with us.
ACEL (a member-based not-for-profit organisation in the education sector) hired Brendan as a Design and Communications Assistant, where he worked under myself on a wide range of design, content and marketing tasks. He was a vital player in helping the organisation cope with it's marketing and member experience through an uncertain 2021.
Brendan assisted the team with facilitating two of our national conferences. He designed several paid publications as well as produced over 40 podcasts that we released in 2021.
I am impressed with his ability to adapt to the role and the speed in which he carried out his tasks. He was always hungry for more work and chased me up whenever he was out of tasks. Our whole team has been proud of his journey and still miss him around the office.
Brendan will be a fine asset to your organisation. His willingness to learn and his genuine friendliness is refreshing in his industry. I strongly recommend you interview Brendan for your team.”
- Nals Perera, An Amazing Manager from ACEL!
I would find myself picking up another job in 2022. It wouldn’t work out in the end, but I did learn some valuable things and pick up a few new skills as a content creator.
I don’t have a quote from my manager, which I would’ve loved to get as I loved how my manager at that job loved my creative approach to things and my passion when it gets flared up by particular topics.
But what I do have is a Quote from my at the time my Co-pilot in Content Creation, the Lovely Priscilla Sisopha.
“I had the pleasure to work with Brendan at Informa where he built a reputation of always being ready to help and passionate about design. Despite the pressure, he never fails to deliver exceptional and timely results, whilst supporting the team with his positivity. Much of my training and technical skills harnessed are thanks to his guidance. Undoubtedly, Brendan is an outstanding designer, mentor, and colleague.”
During this time, which was between August and November, I would get rejected constantly. I was given a lot of useful support and advice on where I wanted to go. I attended networking events like Beer and Pixels and the Powerhouse, which were gaming events. I've started to enjoy networking and see it as a fun way to meet like-minded people. It’s probably the reason I enjoy LinkedIn so much.
The next opportunity would be a great opportunity for growth and a peek into a world where I wanted to head. It would be brief, and I had been looking for work since getting out of COVID in mid-January.
Now I am in rejection hell once again. What prompted the need to create this job posting? Like anything, it was a job application, something I was very keen on. I know I could have done it too. I made sure everything was perfect for it. However, it was all for nothing, as I saw a rejection email in my inbox.
“Hi Brendan,
Thank you for your interest in COMPANY and for taking the time to send in an application for the position of ROLE in Sydney NSW, Australia.
Unfortunately, we decided to move forward with other candidates this time but want to thank you for giving us the opportunity to read about your skills and experience. Please check back on our Careers page as we publish new vacancies frequently and we hope you’ll keep us in mind for the future. To stay in touch, you can also follow COMPANY’s career Twitter account.
We would like to thank you again for your time and your interest wish you good luck in your job search.
Best regards,
Recruitment Team”
I've grown accustomed to rejection and have lost count of the number of applications I've submitted only to be told no. Jobs like this can throw me a curveball sometimes. It can shake me to my core and really send me down an emotional spiral. I do feel like maybe I am just not good enough and won’t be able to get anywhere. I feel like giving up at this stage. I feel so stuck and like I have nothing for myself.
I feel like I am running out of time on my dreams, and I am only 27. I am very work-driven and passionate about what I do. I just have so much pressure on me. I just don't know if I can keep going with this job search if it's going to be futile and put me in a bad mood. I try to be as positive as I can be. Sometimes, I just can’t be.
I’m going to leave a link to my resume here: (for anyone interested)
yes this is my resume
Let me tell you a story about my friend; they will know exactly who I am talking about when they read that. (Hey there!)
So my friend is in the position of having a job that has turned a bit sour. The opportunity is fantastic, and in all honesty, it sounds great for growth and all that jazz. So they are job hunting on the side and are getting so many, and I mean SO many interviews. They get disheartened when a job simply won’t get back to them, especially when it is positive. I think they already had three interviews lined up this week. I believe they are skilled enough to be able to do anything; I even find myself having to give them pep talks because they tend to get into a negative mindset based on the above. Sometimes I wish I had taken my own wise counsel.
The moral of this story is to stay positive, even when things don't work out the way you had hoped. Don't let negative thoughts stop you from reaching your goals. Believe in yourself and your abilities, and keep pushing forward.
I can honestly say I wish I had this luck with applications. I have a positive 90% success rate once I have an interview. With the application process, it’s about 45%.
I wish I had three interviews lined up. I wish I could have all of that.
This blog might be starting to sound like a poor man on a soapbox. It's more about dealing with it all. It’s incredibly soul-crushing for someone to go months without a job and be unable to get one. It’s demoralising to have to turn to Centrelink for support at this time only to be treated like a criminal when I exceed my job quota.
I don’t know what to do anymore. I am honestly terrified of not being able to get anything. I just want to find the right role and grow. I just don’t know don’t feel like I am growing, even if I am staying positive, drawing till my fingers bleed and trying to stay creative. Maybe because I care too much.
In fact, I will take a note from my own book for a change and it would say…
“My advice to you is to stay focused, stay positive, and keep pushing forward. Don't let rejections or negative experiences discourage you from reaching your goals. Keep networking and applying for jobs and believe in yourself and your abilities. Make sure you take the time to celebrate your successes and the progress you have made. It can be hard to stay motivated in the face of rejection but try to remember that there are many paths to success and that the right job is out there for you. It may take time, but don't give up.”
Let’s fill this blog with a bit more hopeful speaking going forward.
With my skills on my resume, have I worked as Concept Artist, Digital Content Creator, Design & Communications Assistant, Graphic Design & Marketing Intern, Junior Designer and Design Intern.
What could I work as…
Concept Artist
Graphic Designer
Illustrator
UX/UI designer
Social media manager
Art Director
Game Designer
Game Design Consultant
Marketing Artist
Graphic Artist
Product designer
Look Dev Artist
Visual development artist
Video Editor
Community Manager
Look at all those roles...
What roles would I love a job in? I personally would be happy with any of them.
Concept artist
Illustrator
Graphic Designer
Marketing artist
Graphic artist
Visual development artist
UI/UX Designer
Community Manager
What companies would I love to work for?
Ubisoft
Bethesda/Zenimax
Electronic arts
League of Geeks
Microsoft/ Xbox
Sony/ PlayStation
Walt Disney Company
Warner Bros Entertainment
Lucasfilm
SMG Studio
Activision Blizzard
THQ
Nintendo
Pokemon
Weta Digital
Playside games
Rockstar games
Canva
Rare
The Mill
MPC
Preymaker
Games Workshop
Bandai Namco
Sega
Wizards of the coast
Insomniac games
Santa Monica studios
Square Enix
2K games
Naughty Dog
Gearbox
Tantalus
Riot Games
Atlus
Big Ant Studios
Gameloft
Animal logic
Industrial Light & Magic
Netflix
Google
CD PROJEKT RED
Paradox Interactive
Flying Bark Productions
Massive Monster
Blowfish studios
Pedestrian Group
Mighty Kingdom
Wicked Witch
Mode Games
GIRRAPHIC
ADOBE
Creature lab
Team Cherry
Bithell Games
Video games deluxe
Epic
Procreate
Immutable
Cloud Chamber
Notably
Playground games
Amazon Games
That is only to name a few. Look at that list. I am positive there is someone out there willing to give me a chance.