Where to go from here?

Clodfobble · 08-28-2004, 05:50 PM

Well shit.

My employer has been in really dire straits for a few months now (not to mention moderately dire straits for the last two years,) and the axe finally fell today. They declared bankruptcy, and couldn't find a buyer for our studio as a business unit, so we're officially shut down.

We don't expect to get paid for the time since our last paycheck--we've been locked out of the building since last Tuesday anyway for failure to pay rent. Severance packages are not exactly looking likely.

I've never been laid off before. I was, to be truthful, in denial these last several months, hoping the company would pull through despite massive evidence to the contrary, because I seriously don't know how to handle this prospect. I can't even sit still for two days over a weekend, how am I supposed to sit at home all day? One can only job search for so many hours at a time.

Anyway, they're holding a meeting next week to explain unemployment benefits to everyone, and let us get all our personal items out. Anyone know of any sound designer positions in the Austin area?

Dagney · 08-28-2004, 06:16 PM

I've got my fingers crossed for you Clodfobble....that things at least work out smoothly.

Let us know if you need anything, and of course, you can vent here.

Dagney

dar512 · 08-28-2004, 10:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clodfobble

I can't even sit still for two days over a weekend, how am I supposed to sit at home all day? One can only job search for so many hours at a time.

Sorry to hear about your job, Clod. However, I have to disagree with the above statement. Done correctly, a job search is a full time occupation.

- Get yourself a couple of good books on doing a job search from the library.
- Prepare a persuasive resume. Have your friends, your former coworkers and your former boss evaluate it.
- Get someone to practise interviewing skills with you. They hand you difficult questions, and you work on wording your answers.

Once that's done you should be doing some of the following every day.

1) Searching for new prospects.
2) Composing cover letters and mailing them with your (now very persuasive) resume.
3) Going on interviews.

So you now have a full-time job in sales -- selling yourself.

Elspode · 08-28-2004, 10:32 PM

You may have to consider going West to find work in your field, Clodfobble. Most of the serious sound design work (and therefore the highest help wanted density) is probably going to be in (gack) Hollyweird or Silicon Valley.

Clodfobble · 08-29-2004, 10:34 AM

You're right, Elspode, almost all the game studios are in California. But we can't leave the city (see the various posts on our custody situation in the Parenting section) so it's more likely that I'll just have to change careers instead.

Brigliadore · 08-29-2004, 03:16 PM

File for unemployment so you at least have a little money coming in while you look for a new job.

xoxoxoBruce · 08-29-2004, 07:15 PM

No chance of working under contract or tele-commuting?

Clodfobble · 08-29-2004, 07:32 PM

No chance of working under contract or tele-commuting?

Nah. You'd have to have a development kit at home (e.g., the specialized Xbox machines for MAKING Xbox games instead of playing them) so you could get daily builds of the game, which is a logistical nightmare as far as preserving trade secrets and keeping game code off the internet. For a small game without many sounds, it would be theoretically possible for them to hand me a completed game and I hand them back thousands of sound files a few months later--but if there's any dialogue, the artists would need it earlier to do lip synch, and publishers don't like adding time at the end of the schedule if a sound designer could be doing the work concurrently with the rest of the game's development.

Contracting locally is pretty common (moreso than hiring full-time, actually,) but short-lived. It just depends on the development cycles--right now there's nothing, but in a few months there could be several 2- or 3-month jobs opening up.

What'll probably happen is I'll go back to doing tech support, and just keep waiting for the contract jobs to spring up. On the other hand, my husband has decided that an ideal job for me would be a technical writer--if I could just get someone to believe me when I tell them I could totally do it, despite lacking any specific experience.

dar512 · 08-30-2004, 10:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clodfobble

On the other hand, my husband has decided that an ideal job for me would be a technical writer--if I could just get someone to believe me when I tell them I could totally do it, despite lacking any specific experience.

Pick a couple of open source projects and write good documentation for them. Open source documentation is very often nonexistent or poor quality.

Then use those as your portfolio and put it in your resume.

vsp · 08-30-2004, 10:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clodfobble

On the other hand, my husband has decided that an ideal job for me would be a technical writer--if I could just get someone to believe me when I tell them I could totally do it, despite lacking any specific experience.

Not to be picky, but what is it about technical writing that makes you think you could dive right in without any experience?

It's always entertaining to see one's profession categorized as "Oh, I could totally do that" by others.

Clodfobble · 08-30-2004, 11:31 AM

No disrespect intended, vsp.

I have lots of experience in writing, and experience in technical fields--just never writing about technical things. My aunt (well, step-aunt) was a technical writer, and I've talked with her about what she does and whether I could do it. If I could get an interview, I know I could talk my way into proving I could do it. But so far everyone wants 3-5 years of experience AS a technical writer instead of 3-5 years holding two jobs as a writer and as a technician.

xoxoxoBruce · 08-31-2004, 04:47 AM

How about a government job, Clod. Is it too late to get on the ballot this fall?

Clodfobble · 08-31-2004, 08:46 AM

Heh... Um, there are a few exploits in college that will keep me off any ballot, anywhere, probably for the rest of my life.

cowhead · 08-31-2004, 02:12 PM

http://www.planetquake.com/weaponsfactory/quake2/

A few years ago a friend of mine was working with the guys who ran the weapons factory mod for quake 2, he conned me into doing the voice for the arsonist (which was fun really) but backed out when they were getting ready to do the mod for quake 3, I don't know if it would be any help.. but you might want to try to get ahold of them...

ps. good luck

Clodfobble · 09-02-2004, 08:38 PM

Today was not a good day, for several reasons.

First, I got my final paperwork in the mail for collecting unemployment, which is depressing because it means that it's really going to happen--in a week and a half, I really will be taking a handout from the state. I know my employer paid into the system on my behalf, and I know that I was legitimately laid off and I'm working my freaking ass off trying to get a job, but that doesn't make my pride any less wounded.

Second, I had an artist at a smallish game company here in town contact me (he got my name from a mutual friend,) which was great, and he told me about an upcoming sound position that hadn't been advertised yet. I got all excited and dropped off a copy of my demo CD, only to discover that the game is very heavily music-oriented--and even if I could do some immersive brushing up on my MIDI skills, the fact remains that I can't play rock guitar, and this game really requires that. Oh well, easy come easy go I thought, and I let a former audio coworker who CAN play guitar know about it. His response? "Oh yeah, I interviewed with them last week, and today I dropped off a CD of some guitar work I did for them." So apparently I was way out of the loop, which isn't a good feeling when you're spending every minute of every day trying your hardest to be IN the job-opening loop.

Then, I paid all our bills today, and reassessed where we are financially. Since I'm not going to get my final paycheck, monetarily it's like I've been unemployed for four weeks already, and the calculator revealed that not only do we definitely need my unemployment check ASAP, we're going to have to dip into the savings, too. And the "savings" ain't that much to begin with.

Anyway, I know there are lots of people out there, and specifically on this board, who have been or are currently unemployed, and to you I probably sound like a big whiner, and you're all thinking to yourselves, "Yeah, welcome to MY world." And I apologize for being new at this. If I could get an interview or two, I think I'd feel a lot better, even if they didn't end up hiring me, because it would be an acknowledgement of some sort. So far I've sent over 30 resumes to various places and have not gotten a single reply, in any form or fashion.

08-28-2004, 05:50 PM	#1
Clodfobble UNDER CONDITIONAL MITIGATION Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 20,012	Where to go from here? Well shit. My employer has been in really dire straits for a few months now (not to mention moderately dire straits for the last two years,) and the axe finally fell today. They declared bankruptcy, and couldn't find a buyer for our studio as a business unit, so we're officially shut down. We don't expect to get paid for the time since our last paycheck--we've been locked out of the building since last Tuesday anyway for failure to pay rent. Severance packages are not exactly looking likely. I've never been laid off before. I was, to be truthful, in denial these last several months, hoping the company would pull through despite massive evidence to the contrary, because I seriously don't know how to handle this prospect. I can't even sit still for two days over a weekend, how am I supposed to sit at home all day? One can only job search for so many hours at a time. Anyway, they're holding a meeting next week to explain unemployment benefits to everyone, and let us get all our personal items out. Anyone know of any sound designer positions in the Austin area?

08-28-2004, 06:16 PM	#2
Dagney The Prodigal Brat Returneth Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: North Cackalacky Posts: 1,107	I've got my fingers crossed for you Clodfobble....that things at least work out smoothly. Let us know if you need anything, and of course, you can vent here. Dagney __________________ The Constitution gives every American the right to make a total fool out of himself. But that doesn't mean you need to.

08-28-2004, 10:32 PM	#4
Elspode When Do I Get Virtual Unreality? Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Raytown, Missouri Posts: 12,719	You may have to consider going West to find work in your field, Clodfobble. Most of the serious sound design work (and therefore the highest help wanted density) is probably going to be in (gack) Hollyweird or Silicon Valley. __________________ "To those of you who are wearing ties, I think my dad would appreciate it if you took them off." - Robert Moog

08-29-2004, 03:16 PM	#6
Brigliadore stays crispy in milk Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: A strange planet called Utah Posts: 270	File for unemployment so you at least have a little money coming in while you look for a new job. __________________ I cant think of anything to put here so this is all I am going to write.

08-29-2004, 07:15 PM	#7
xoxoxoBruce The future is unwritten Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 71,105	No chance of working under contract or tele-commuting? __________________ The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump.

08-29-2004, 10:34 AM	#5
Clodfobble UNDER CONDITIONAL MITIGATION Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 20,012	You're right, Elspode, almost all the game studios are in California. But we can't leave the city (see the various posts on our custody situation in the Parenting section) so it's more likely that I'll just have to change careers instead.

08-29-2004, 07:32 PM	#8
Clodfobble UNDER CONDITIONAL MITIGATION Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 20,012	No chance of working under contract or tele-commuting? Nah. You'd have to have a development kit at home (e.g., the specialized Xbox machines for MAKING Xbox games instead of playing them) so you could get daily builds of the game, which is a logistical nightmare as far as preserving trade secrets and keeping game code off the internet. For a small game without many sounds, it would be theoretically possible for them to hand me a completed game and I hand them back thousands of sound files a few months later--but if there's any dialogue, the artists would need it earlier to do lip synch, and publishers don't like adding time at the end of the schedule if a sound designer could be doing the work concurrently with the rest of the game's development. Contracting locally is pretty common (moreso than hiring full-time, actually,) but short-lived. It just depends on the development cycles--right now there's nothing, but in a few months there could be several 2- or 3-month jobs opening up. What'll probably happen is I'll go back to doing tech support, and just keep waiting for the contract jobs to spring up. On the other hand, my husband has decided that an ideal job for me would be a technical writer--if I could just get someone to believe me when I tell them I could totally do it, despite lacking any specific experience.

08-30-2004, 11:31 AM	#11
Clodfobble UNDER CONDITIONAL MITIGATION Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 20,012	No disrespect intended, vsp. I have lots of experience in writing, and experience in technical fields--just never writing about technical things. My aunt (well, step-aunt) was a technical writer, and I've talked with her about what she does and whether I could do it. If I could get an interview, I know I could talk my way into proving I could do it. But so far everyone wants 3-5 years of experience AS a technical writer instead of 3-5 years holding two jobs as a writer and as a technician.

08-31-2004, 04:47 AM	#12
xoxoxoBruce The future is unwritten Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 71,105	How about a government job, Clod. Is it too late to get on the ballot this fall? __________________ The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump.

08-31-2004, 08:46 AM	#13
Clodfobble UNDER CONDITIONAL MITIGATION Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 20,012	Heh... Um, there are a few exploits in college that will keep me off any ballot, anywhere, probably for the rest of my life.

08-31-2004, 02:12 PM	#14
cowhead halve your cake and eat it too. Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Georgia.. by way of Lawrence Kansas Posts: 1,359	http://www.planetquake.com/weaponsfactory/quake2/ A few years ago a friend of mine was working with the guys who ran the weapons factory mod for quake 2, he conned me into doing the voice for the arsonist (which was fun really) but backed out when they were getting ready to do the mod for quake 3, I don't know if it would be any help.. but you might want to try to get ahold of them... ps. good luck __________________ no my child.. this is not my desire..I'm digging for fire.

09-02-2004, 08:38 PM	#15
Clodfobble UNDER CONDITIONAL MITIGATION Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 20,012	Really sinking in now Today was not a good day, for several reasons. First, I got my final paperwork in the mail for collecting unemployment, which is depressing because it means that it's really going to happen--in a week and a half, I really will be taking a handout from the state. I know my employer paid into the system on my behalf, and I know that I was legitimately laid off and I'm working my freaking ass off trying to get a job, but that doesn't make my pride any less wounded. Second, I had an artist at a smallish game company here in town contact me (he got my name from a mutual friend,) which was great, and he told me about an upcoming sound position that hadn't been advertised yet. I got all excited and dropped off a copy of my demo CD, only to discover that the game is very heavily music-oriented--and even if I could do some immersive brushing up on my MIDI skills, the fact remains that I can't play rock guitar, and this game really requires that. Oh well, easy come easy go I thought, and I let a former audio coworker who CAN play guitar know about it. His response? "Oh yeah, I interviewed with them last week, and today I dropped off a CD of some guitar work I did for them." So apparently I was way out of the loop, which isn't a good feeling when you're spending every minute of every day trying your hardest to be IN the job-opening loop. Then, I paid all our bills today, and reassessed where we are financially. Since I'm not going to get my final paycheck, monetarily it's like I've been unemployed for four weeks already, and the calculator revealed that not only do we definitely need my unemployment check ASAP, we're going to have to dip into the savings, too. And the "savings" ain't that much to begin with. Anyway, I know there are lots of people out there, and specifically on this board, who have been or are currently unemployed, and to you I probably sound like a big whiner, and you're all thinking to yourselves, "Yeah, welcome to MY world." And I apologize for being new at this. If I could get an interview or two, I think I'd feel a lot better, even if they didn't end up hiring me, because it would be an acknowledgement of some sort. So far I've sent over 30 resumes to various places and have not gotten a single reply, in any form or fashion.

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