The Ups and Downs of Being Unemployed

It's a bit ironic that I just recently posted about how to become a copywriter, because I've recently lost my job as a copywriter.

I hope you don't mind if I just ramble on some thoughts about all of this, because that's what today's post is going to be.

A few weeks ago, I was terminated from my copywriting position without being given a reason why. It's hard to describe the impact that sort of moment has on a person. Not only was that my source of much-needed income (student loan debt and house payments are insane nowadays), but it was also a primary source for socializing and provided the foundation for my daily routine. All of that was taken away from me in the blink of an eye, and I'm left only to speculate as to why.

But that's all in the past now, and dwelling on it will do me no good. It's time to look to the future. This is an opportunity. I can look for a job that suits me better, and in the meantime I can be the best damn "House Husband" for my wife while using all this extra free time to work on my most beloved craft of creative fiction writing. After all, I am annoyingly optimistic.

As the weeks have slowly crept by, I haven't really gotten over the pain of being let go from the job I truly enjoyed, but I have adapted as best as I can thanks to the much-valued human survival tactic known as complacency. I've taken this opportunity to finish catching up on True Detective and continue churning through episodes of Fringe, watch movies I've long wanted to see but not gotten around to (Top Gun being noteworthy for being the silliest brofest movie I've ever seen), do housework so that my wife and I can relax more when we're together on the weekends, and of course write the second draft of my first novel.

On the flip-side, it's hard to deal with the constant feeling of failure. Even with my years of professional experience, most job postings in my area for writers ask for qualifications that are just barely out of my reach. I'm constantly being reminded by job sites that I'm just not quite good enough. I apply anyway, because you never know what they'll say, but it feels like grasping at straws.

The worst moment is when I got an email alert about a job posting that perfectly met my qualifications, only to realize that it was a job posting through a staffing agency to find my own replacement.

I don't know how I'd get through all of this without the support from my friends, family, and my own insane sense of optimism that this will all just be a bad memory someday.

I should probably note that I've had a few interviews - and in fact have a follow-up interview later today - but I try to manage my excitement for such opportunities because I know that I'm not the only one in need of and qualified for any given position. There are no promises until an offer is made.

Anyway, that's really all I've got to say. Unemployment sucks, and I really miss my job and the people there, but I've got to move forward and strive to do better. I don't really have an ending to this post, because this situation is still ongoing. Who knows, maybe I'll have a job as early as next week - a present for my two year marriage anniversary.
-Ryan

How to Get into Copywriting

I've been a copywriter for almost three years now. I think that makes the statement "I am a copywriter" a bit more official. Also, I have business cards now. So there's that.

I was recently asked on Reddit for some suggestions on how to "break into copywriting" as if copywriting is a bank vault in a heist film. I was flattered to be seen as some sort of authority on the subject, and while I'm certainly no expert, I'm going to expand on and share my response here.

How to Break into Copywriting

Subjects:

• General Tips for Copywriting
• Create a Cool Online Portfolio
• Start a Neat Blog
• Make a Badass Résumé
• How to Obtain That Vital Thing Called "Experience"

So, you want to get into copywriting. Well, you wanted to be the next Stephen King, but you've just read multiple sources that say the chances of making a living as an author (and a popular one at that) are slim to none, but you don't really have any other viable skills or interests outside of your love and ability for writing. You took a few personality tests specifically designed to tell you what career to get into - or you watched a bit too much Mad Men - and settled on copywriting. You want to see your creative ideas turned into magazine ads and television commercials for Doritos, Pepsi (or Coke, not judging), and the highest of all entertainment products - beer.

For the record, I got into copywriting through the traditional method of getting a college degree, which led to an internship and later a full-time job in an office where I currently write product descriptions, press releases, marketing emails, and video narration for a small online retailer.

However, as is the primary requirement for most creative fields, you really just need to demonstrate your interest and skill in copywriting. So whether or not you spend at least four years and thousands of dollars earning that degree, here are some tips I'd give for getting the attention of potential employers.

General Tips for Copywriting

• Be concise and direct. The fewer words, the better. Every sentence must contain a feature or benefit of the product, so get rid of all the extra fluff.
• Look up the difference between a feature and benefit, if you don't know it already.
• Read up on SEO. Learn how to find and use keywords.
• Always double-check your work before submitting it. Nobody has a good excuse for spelling or grammatical errors if they're competent and passed high school, and copywriters doubly so because it's literally their job to be the best writers on the planet.
• Develop thick skin. Don't get offended because someone didn't like your work. Listen to their advice, try to get to the bottom of what they dislike about your work, improve upon it, and move on.
• Learn AP Style. Follow and read Grammar Girl everywhere.
• Do you know what a call to action is? What about an attention-getter? Because you should.
• Don't tell the reader something they already know. This is basically the same as the first point, but it bears repeating. Put yourself in the shoes of the customer, and ask yourself what exactly is the information they need first and foremost before deciding to make a purchase, and write that.

Create a Cool Online Portfolio

Create an online portfolio of your work on one of the many portfolio sites out there. I use Behance, but a quick web search will give you some other options. The point of your portfolio is to show off your creativity and understanding of how to sell with words. Make fun magazine-style ads for products you like or are just weird and interesting (stay away from the big brands and products, you don't want people to compare your work with something of that caliber). Include a headline and one paragraph of body copy. Partner up with a graphic artist that you know or on the portfolio site who also wants to show off their skill if you can't make it look halfway decent yourself.

Start a Neat Blog

You might have noticed that I blog quite a bit. Employers love that sort of thing because it shows that you're always writing and that writing genuinely is your passion. Now, mine is just a public journal for my thoughts, but if you can focus a blog around a single topic that you love, that's way better. Once you've started, keep at it. Don't go a month without a quality post.

Make a Badass Résumé

If you're applying for more creative positions at hip companies or agencies, make a version of your résumé that shows off your creativity. I personally have two versions of my résumé; a boring one I made in Microsoft Word, and a fun one I made in InDesign that is made to look like an old police file. The idea is for the second one to be eye-catching and memorable for those hip companies, and the first to be professional and proper for the others.

Even if you're not applying to high-status agencies, remember that you're trying to convince them that you can sell their products with your words, so you should be able to sell yourself with your résumé. It has to be flawless, neat, concise, and convincing. Link to your blog and portfolio on the very top so they can see for themselves just how much you deserve the job.

How to Obtain That Vital Thing Called "Experience"

As you might have heard, it can be very tough to get experience without prior experience. It's crazy, I know. When I started applying for positions in my field, I only heard back from three of the places I applied to, got an in-person interview with two, and was unemployed for two weeks out of college before the one ended up hiring me. Bear in mind, this was after I used all the tricks I've described above. With that in mind, here's what I have to say on getting experience so you can eventually get that dream job.

Firstly, apply for every low-level writing/copywriting position you feel even remotely qualified for. It's not up to you to decide if your lack of real-world experience or knowledge is a deal-breaker, so even if the requirements say "3+ years and an in-depth knowledge of the world of watchmaking," apply. The copywriters with actual 3+ years and knowledge of watchmaking are all gunning for the 5+ year jobs anyway, and for all you know you're the most qualified person who applied, so send them your résumé just to be safe.

Secondly, do freelance work. Sign up for a content mill site and churn out a few 500 word articles, press releases, and product descriptions every day. You'll get experience, make connections, and get paid (though not well at first). Check out The Freelance Writer's Guide for tips, tricks, and freelance site reviews. Who knows, you might even figure out how to support yourself entirely on freelance work and not have to worry about all the other stuff I said.

Lastly, do not give up. You've got to be patient and persistent. Even if you're not employed, you should be practicing your craft by fleshing out and polishing your portfolio and blog. Your demonstrable skill will always trump a number on your résumé. Make connections. Ask your employed friends to vouch for you or put you in contact with someone in your field. Be prepared for anyone at any moment to Google your name, find your work, and realize you're the perfect candidate.

Follow these steps, get even more people's advice, and you should land a job in copywriting in no time. Good luck.

Leave a comment below if you have any further questions and I'll be happy to answer them.
-Ryan

Year Four in Review

Seems it's that time of year again. Four years ago today is when I first posted in this blog, and I've gotten into the habit of celebrating the day each year by yammering on about what has changed and what my readers can look forward to in the future.

Blogging for Potential Employers

Having graduated college in 2013, the blog's focus shifted specifically to advertising myself as a dedicated writer searching for a career in copywriting. I cluttered the site with links to my online portfolio, résumé, and other work-related areas in an effort to make it easy for potential employers to find everything they'd want to find when considering me as a job candidate, and I blogged about non-controversial events in my life such as my wedding, what books I'd read, and how I went about writing fiction.

Blogging for the Masses

I obtained a full-time copywriting position in late September (having been a paid intern elsewhere since shortly after graduation) and realized almost immediately that the blog was due for another change. Rather than focus my content on the small group of people that I know in the real world and potential employers, I thirsted for a wider audience and experimented with turning my personal writing anecdotes into topical advice posts for other writers.

At the end of 2014, however, my blogging activities left a foul taste in my mouth. Everything I blogged in the last few months felt stale and useless. I realized that I needed to think long and hard about what type of content I had to offer, and in January of 2015 I wrote my first and fourth most viewed posts of all time, both of which were critiques of television commercials. While this seems like a success on the surface, I attribute the posts' record-breaking views to my aggressive social-media advertising of them rather than their actual public appeal (which I suppose is good, since I have a degree in advertising). At first I planned on writing similar posts throughout the year, but then my next epiphany hit:

Blogging With Passion

I realized that I wasn't posting on my blog because I wanted to anymore, but because I felt obligated to fill my self-imposed two-posts-per-month quota. Though I enjoyed poking fun at those two commercials in January, I didn't want to suck all the fun out of it by forcing myself to find more commercials to hate and writing about them twice a month. I instead decided to give up on my blog as a long-term high-priority project, and instead use it as it was originally intended; to talk about the things I feel passionate about, whenever that passion strikes. I started February off by blogging about a commercial that I love (so as to transition away from the negative commercial critiques) and then followed it up with a passionate defense of the Fifty Shades of Grey movie which is currently my second-most-viewed post ever (again, due to social media advertising).

So that's what you can expect from this blog in the future. Forget boring posts meant to fill a quota, and forget regularity. My life is rapidly changing, and keeping a boring, regularly-updated blog is no longer a top priority - I need to focus my quota discipline on my family and my fiction. Instead, I plan on occasionally blogging only about those subjects that get trapped in the synapses of my brain, building up with pressure until they explode through my fingers onto this blog. I plan to stress quality over quantity.
I plan to enjoy blogging again.

Now that I plan to post less frequently, it's an even better time to sign up for my email list to have new post notifications sent right to your email!
-Ryan

Advertising Critique - The Real Cost: Stay In Control

After making fun of commercials by Chevrolet and NOMORE.org, I figured that my next commercial critique should be of one that I actually like. I was going to do a "best and worst commercials of Superbowl XLIX," but I figured that's probably pretty overdone, and none really stood out to me this year aside from the attempt to use sex to sell a burger, which isn't very creative or effective.

The Real Cost - A PSA With Style, Atmosphere, and Creativity

I, like most people, don't generally enjoy watching any public service announcements, which explains my first commercial critique. They usually feel like the they're trying to shove something unwanted down my throat (I just read that sentence again after typing it, and I'm going to leave it as is). Some of the more common PSAs to pop up recently have been anti-smoking commercials, most of which rely on the same few arguments:

• It's not cool
• It could kill you
• It costs money

I'm no expert, but these ads probably don't work, especially when you check out this awesome chart showing how money spent on anti-drug campaigns do literally nothing to decline the use of drugs, no matter how many trillions are wasted spent. The fact of the matter is that smokers already know they shouldn't smoke and are acutely aware of why; there's no proof that hits closer to home than being addicted to something you know can kill you. They don't need to be told not to smoke, they need help to stop - if they even want to.

Disclaimer: I've never once inhaled a single cigarette. Anti-smoking PSAs are not directed at me, and so I typically ignore them or ridicule them for just how stupid and ineffective their message is. Yes, I understand they mean well, but they don't ever seem to accomplish anything.

And then I saw this gem:

That, my friends, is what I call a really well-done PSA. The editing, and directing is all top-notch, in fact, this is the level of style and quality that I would expect from my favorite movie director; David Fincher.

But all the style in the world can't make up for a terrible script or concept, right? Well then it's fortunate that, in my humble opinion, those elements are just as stellar in this commercial. The flash of moments that any typical teenager experiences (and in some cases yearns for) create a beautiful vignette, all while the character narrates her twisted pledge to give up the most important thing to any to-be adult; her freedom.

"Now that I finally have the freedom to define who I am, I hereby agree to be bound to you."

Again, I'm not the target audience for this commercial, as I'm neither a teen nor a smoker or would-be-smoker, but I can't help but feel like it really hit the nail right on the head in terms of identifying what every teenager wants most, and then relating that to the negative effects of smoking.

Is it a bit exaggerated? Of course, especially when you realize that the scene in which the girl smokes alone away from her friends ignores the fact that most smokers are friends with other smokers (or perhaps it's a metaphor for her leaving behind her carefree childhood?), but in a world where PSAs are full of cheesy attempts to make smokers realize something they already know, this commercial stands out as something striving to be more.

I can't speak for the effectiveness of this commercial to keep people from smoking, but I stand by my assertion that it is effective at conveying its point in a unique and attention-grabbing way. I enjoy it so much that I've watched it for fun a few times; trying to analyze and capture the mood of it for use in my future storytelling attempts.

Agree? Disagree? Let me know below! And don't forget to sign up for my email list to get updates about my new posts right to your email!
-Ryan

Advertising Critique - Chevrolet: Driving to a Different Tune

My previous blog post in which I critiqued a television commercial quickly shot up to my most-viewed blog post of all time, beating out a post I wrote in 2011 about RollerCoaster Tycoon 2 in a matter of days. One of my goals for 2015 was to write content less focused on myself and more geared toward entertaining a general audience, which it seems my latest blog post did. I'm going to try it again, because I love you and want you to love me back.

Chevrolet - Brag All You Want, I Still Thought You Were Ford

In case you didn't know, the Chevrolet Colorado won Motor Trend's 2015 Truck of the Year award. I'm no car guy, but even I'm vaguely aware that Motor Trend's awards are taken pretty seriously, mostly because the winners are always running commercials to remind us of their success.

To celebrate the win, Chevrolet commissioned this 30 second TV spot that shows off just how awesome they are:

Did you see that?! Did you see just how cool that guy at the end was?! Way cooler than the lame guy driving the sedan and listening to The Carpenters! Cool Guy doesn't listen to The Carpenters; cool, no-tie, fluffy-haired, young, trendy-suit guy drives a truck and listens to hip, new bands like AC/DC! Cool Guy is so cool that he even catches the eye of the older and wiser blond lady he passes as he exits the elevator. "I don't know where he's going to lunch," she thinks to herself, "but I bet he goes there in a black, sexy, award-winning truck."

Wait for it ... waaaiiit foooor iiiiit ...

This commercial is a clear-cut example of Chevrolet bragging with mostly style and little substance. Granted, winning "best truck of the year that's barely started" says a lot in a few words, so anyone looking to buy the best truck on the market learns everything they need to know ... at the end.

What bothers me the most is that we have no idea what this commercial is for until exactly half of it is done and gone, and over half of that half is spent listening to The Carpenters! If Chevrolet wanted you to be bored by The Carpenters' 1971 soft rock classic "Rainy Days and Mondays" (not just one, but two different types of very, very sad days), then they succeeded; I'm really, really bored.

Even after having seen this commercial a few times, each time it came on the television I found myself wondering "what the hell is the point of this concept? Why is the music following these guys everywhere they go?" The Carpenters' song starts out boring, then gets more boring with each version of it you hear, and AC/DC's otherwise epic introduction notes to "Back in Black" sound not just boring, but outright annoying when covered by an elevator muzak group and unemployed street folk group performing on Aladdin's magic carpet while peddling their likely worthless albums. It's only when the real AC/DC saves you from this crime against our eardrums that the commercial gets us pumped up enough to notice that it's trying to sell us something.

And exactly what is that something again? Perhaps the worst thing about this commercial is that, due to how hastily they mention the actual product, immediately after seeing it on TV, I wrote a note reminding myself to write a funny blog critique about "that one Ford Back in Black commercial."

Okay, so maybe I'm not a car guy who knows very much about Motor Trend, but the fact that I confidently mistook this commercial for a competitor's brand immediately after viewing it has got to say something about the commercial's ability to get its point across, right? The point I got from this commercial is that someone back at the advertising agency, who has never heard of an iPod, thought it would be cool if your music followed you.

The Takeaway

• Quit bragging
• Stop boring me
• Get to the point already
• Make it abundantly clear who you are

Agree? Disagree? Let me know below! And don't forget to sign up for my email list to get updates about my new posts right to your email!
-Ryan

Advertising Critique - NOMORE.org: Speechless

As a student of advertising and professional advertising copywriter, I find myself mocking many of the ads I see on television, the internet, and in print. My wife will gladly tell you just how often this happens; when I see a commercial on TV that I find to be stupid, I can't help but call it out and pick it apart. Instead of just going on about this to her, I thought I'd try to express my feelings about a recent commercial to you, the entire internet-accessible world.

NO MORE - Admirable Goal, Stupid Commercial

I expect to get a bit of flak for this one, but let me plead my case.

As stated on their website, NOMORE.org:

"NO MORE is a public awareness and engagement campaign focused on ending domestic violence and sexual assault. Using its signature blue symbol to increase visibility and foster greater dialogue, NO MORE seeks to break social stigma, normalize the conversation around domestic violence and sexual assault, and increase resources to address these urgent issues. NO MORE is aligned with hundreds of organizations working at the local, state and national levels on prevention, advocacy, and services for survivors."

As you can see, NO MORE is at the forefront of ending domestic violence and sexual assault. I very much encourage you to check out their website, specifically the section called "take action" where you can learn about what you can do to help end domestic violence and sexual assault.

In 2013, NO MORE started a three-year PSA campaign (created by Joyful Heart Foundation) including a series of television commercials which aim to increase awareness for domestic violence and sexual assault and direct you to their website where you can learn more about the issues and what you can do about them. The campaign features over 50 celebrities and public figures speaking out against domestic violence and sexual assault.

Because the commercials are meant to create awareness, they are a bit lacking on content and useful information. The first few are attempting to reach out not only to the general public but also directly to the victims of domestic violence and sexual assault by featuring celebrities taking turns stating common excuses by victims and their friends such as "he was drunk," "boys will be boys," "she was asking for it," or "he said he was sorry."

These ads are great at getting the point across. The celebrities set against the blank background are frank and eye-catching, the dialog pulls no punches, and at the end you're left reminded that there are people out there living your nightmare; or if you're living the nightmare, that it's not alright, people are working to help you, and that there is a way out. Once these commercials run for a while and enforce the idea that something is wrong, I expect future iterations to start including more information on how you can help.

Where They Lost Me

More recently, I've noticed a new series of commercials airing on television that feature the same cast of celebrities from the original series staring at the camera, pausing, gathering their thoughts, psyching themselves up, or otherwise being moved to speechlessness. Here's an example:

No doubt this is sending a powerful message, right?
Wrong. Especially without the proper context.

Firstly, this commercial is breaking one of my biggest pet peeves about commercials; it's too damn quiet. "But isn't that the point?" I can hear you asking me, and while it is the point of this particular advertisement, you should ask yourself: what is the purpose of any advertisement, whether it be printed, on the radio, or as a video?

The simple answer is: to use any and all available resources to get your point across. The (paraphrased) point of this particular series of commercials is "domestic violence and sexual assault are bad, and you can help us end it by going to our website." Now I want you to play the above video again, but this time close your eyes and tell me what it's about.

Do you see my point? You've just experienced the commercial as thousands of others have; whether blind, in another room, looking away, or half-asleep, many commercials, believe it or not, do not get watched the way that the advertisers would like them to be. Television is a fantastic medium because it offers the ability to use animated visuals combined with complex audio to get a point across. In this ad, NO MORE is essentially throwing out half of the resources available to them; it might as well be an animated gif.

Secondly, the message this particular commercial is conveying is a poor one.

"Domestic violence and sexual assault are hard subjects for everyone to talk about. Help us start the conversation."

No. Just no. One of the fundamental rules of advertising is that nothing can ever be hard to talk about. Why? Because YOU, advertiser, are the one who has the resources to say whatever you want to millions of people. If you can't, with all your fortune, spend 30 seconds talking about how bad sexual assault and domestic violence is, then who will? It's the very purpose of NO MORE to tell us about how our world is affected by these issues, and they're wasting 30 seconds of my life and an unknown amount of cash and resources by instead showing us that "awe, these celebrities have emotions just like the rest of us!" which is just about the most pointless way to convey their message possible, especially since it won't work because none of us, try as hard as we may, will ever be able to comprehend these celebrities as real, tangible people with complex lives and issues. And on that note, good luck getting us to care about these faceless victims, who likely are living in absolute fear every day, by showing us just how sad these millionaires feel.

Zombieland copyright Sony Pictures

Now in all fairness, I did some research on the ad and found out that none of the performances were scripted, and the commercial itself was never planned to be created, as stated on the NO MORE website:

"“Speechless” was not planned. It was an unexpected byproduct when emotions ran high while shooting other scripts previously aired. The spots are stark, spare visually and use only ambient sound. “Speechless” was designed to shed light on how difficult it is to talk about these taboo, hidden and painful subjects. The spots reveal the depth to which we are all affected by these previously unspeakable issues. They urge viewers to start a conversation about domestic and sexual violence with friends and loved ones."

So apparently the celebrities really did get choked up thinking about the terrible things going on in the world. That knowledge makes the commercial so much more meaningful (though still poorly crafted). How were we supposed to know that just by watching it? I don't even believe "real testimonials" on television anymore because I know they're all actors, so how was I supposed to know that these were authentic reactions? That would be a great point to make in the commercial, wouldn't it? Perhaps with a voice over for those who can't see it?

The Takeaway

• Silence is an ineffective tool unless your entire audience is watching.
• Instead of telling us it's hard to talk about tough subjects, be the voice that talks about them.
• Give as much context as is needed.

-Ryan

Post-College Full-Time Employment

I'm excited to report that my 14-month-long copywriting internship is ending and I am starting work as a full-time employee next week! I'm excited to report it especially because between July 31st and September 5th I was worried I would have neither a job nor an internship come the end of October.

You see, on July 31st the place that I internship at told me that, due to a new recent hire, the entire department is changing direction and I would no longer be needed. I felt like I was being strung along for months (the date that they said they would make a decision kept getting pushed further away, and they had been implying since the beginning that this internship would likely turn into a full-time position) and was ultimately let down, but they did the incredibly unnecessary but infinitely valuable deed of giving me 90 days notice and offering help in any way they could for me to find employment elsewhere.

In short, I had three months to find a job or I would face unemployment; something I haven't known since I was 15 years old. I took to looking at career websites and updating my résumé and portfolio the very next day, and in the end I was lucky enough to find employment at a different company doing exactly what it is I went to college and had the internship for. I gave my internship two weeks notice that my last day would be Friday, September 19th so I could begin my new job the following monday.

For the most part everyone at my internship has been happy for me, and I'm quite excited myself. I'm excited to be able to take the experience I've gained and apply it somewhere new, and I'm especially excited to be given a fresh start.

Looks like my college education finally starts to pay off on September 22nd.
-Ryan

Presenting Myself

I graduated college this past Saturday, and had my first interview today.

Who wouldn't want to hire
someone this dashing?

The timing is impeccable, especially since positions specifically in copywriting are pretty scarce in my area for someone with no real-world experience, and my parents got me a new suit as a graduation gift. As luck would have it, this particular company is looking to expand their marketing department, and part of that means finding a copywriting intern. This is where I come in.

Honestly I was pretty nervous for the interview, since it would be my first time interviewing for the position I've been dreaming of since I started working towards an advertising major. I didn't know how serious the interviewers would be or if I'd make a good impression. To prepare myself I researched the company to the best of my ability, then searched for common interview questions which I copied to a document and answered one by one as practice.

It's too soon to say whether the preparation paid off, but I can honestly say that I left the interview feeling very confident. In retrospect there were a few questions that I'm not sure I answered as best as I could (though that could be me over-thinking it), but overall I feel like the two interviewers were genuinely excited to meet me and happy that they did. I sure was happy just to have the opportunity, and as one of them explained in what direction the company was heading, I honestly got excited to the point of thinking "I need to work here. I need to be here for this."

Luckily enough, I get to meet with them again, as they've requested that I complete a little homework assignment for them and meet next week to talk about it. At the very least this means that I get another chance to give them an idea for how excited I am to be a part of the company and how ready for it I am.
I honestly can't wait.

Thanks for the support, and I'll keep you all posted on how it goes!
-Ryan

The Second Year In Review

Two years ago today, I made my first post on this blog. One year ago today, I reviewed my first year of blogging.
Sadly I don't have a record high number of views in a month again, and in fact it seems that recently my readership is on the decline. This could be partially due to the fact that I stopped posting links to my latest blog posts on Facebook twice and now only link to them once each. Ironic that a guy in advertising has not been advertising as much, right?
However, I can say that I've now got over two thousand total page-views since the beginning, which is pretty cool.

This time I don't think I'll give a summary of the past year the same way that I did last time where I link you to almost every single article I wrote, because that's difficult and boring.
All you need to know is that I tried posting three times a month but teetered off when school started, got really worried about my future, and kept on blogging and writing fiction.

So, about the future; if you can't tell, I'm taking the site in a new direction ... again.
Originally this blog was complimentary to my website "The World in My Mind" and was called "Further into My Mind". Don't remember this? Here, I have a picture to prove it:

The original look and title of the blog.

I then decided to merge the website with the blog and call it "Ryan Matejka's Blog", partially to make it easier to read all my literature, and partially because that's my name.
The blog was entirely focused on my life as an aspiring writer. The subhead of the blog title even said "inside the mind of an aspiring author" and just about everything was about my desire to be a successful fiction writer.

The look before the most recent change.

As you could probably tell, things have changed. As my future adult life rapidly approaches, I have things to talk about in regards to my search for a career in, as well as the world of, advertising. As more things happen, I expect I'll also want to do some talking about what it's like being let loose in the world, being engaged and eventually married at such a young age, and occasionally what my new favorite book/movie/album is (it's been very hard to keep myself from reviewing random things that I like or don't like, maybe I should let myself).

I also have to keep in mind that, as somebody looking for a job in advertising, potential employers will be looking me up on Google to get a better idea for who I am. I want to show them that writing and advertising consume my life, and that I'm a creative and interesting, yet professional, person.
The layout, content, and appearance had to be changed.

The new layout is sleeker and more professional,  the content is going to become much more varied than I originally conceived, and the subhead now reads "a place for me to say things to you" (because that sounded honest as well as silly). I want to talk not just about writing, but my life.
I expect it will be difficult to balance this professional look with a more loose form, but I think it's going to be fun to try.

Here's hoping you stay interested,
-Ryan

Rejections

I've been applying for post-college jobs. I have no choice, you see, because my current job is tied directly to my status as a college student. Once I graduate, I'm unemployed.

I'm going to be honest. I'm not used to rejections on a professional level. I've gotten hired for every position I've applied for in the past (minus one), and all three colleges I applied to accepted me (not that I was aiming incredibly high). Hell; I even got engaged-to-be-married in the first serious relationship I entered into. So this weekend when I got my first two rejection letters from places I applied for, it was a breath of fresh air.
I know, you were expecting me to say that it was a surprise. It wasn't, I'm no fool. I'm also aware that the other places I've applied for haven't contacted me back in any way, which likely means I'm rejected from them as well. In my defense, some of the places I applied for required experience that I just don't have. Sure I made my résumé look really nice and imply that I've already got what it takes for these jobs, but the fact is that I don't have any professional experience in writing or advertising.

Though I hoped that my skill in general writing would mean there would be a lot more job options available to me, it turns out most of the ones available are technical writing jobs for technical things of which I have little-to-no knowledge of. With graduation fast approaching, I've got to start keeping an open mind about what kind of jobs I can apply for.

One such technical writing job that I'm actually qualified for required me to be able to work in an environment full of raw meat. I have no idea why I need to be okay being surrounded with raw meat, but I am okay with that, so I applied. Of course, I haven't heard back from that place yet.

As for advertising jobs, most (if not all) of them require or prefer prior experience even if they're for semi-entry-level positions, and even if they don't "require" experience, somebody with experience is probably going to be more preferable over me; the guy with nothing but a fancy college degree that everyone told me I needed at a time like this.

All I can do, aside from apply for full-time positions at grocery stores, is work on my portfolio and keep applying until some place sees me as the potential golden nugget that I feel like I can be, and keep the mentality that I've been rejected not because I'm not going to be a great worker in my future career, but because I haven't applied to the right place yet; the one that wants a guy just like me.

Applying for jobs is like dating; you may be good at dating, but that doesn't mean you're dating the right person. I need to find and apply to the job that is the right fit for me. The one that's excited to have me.

I know it's out there. It's just going to take some time to find it.

-Ryan

Advertising Myself

The future is fast approaching, and it is still a completely blank canvas.

I've got less than a semester left of college before I graduate. This is the first time in my life that I've seen a dramatic change in my life approaching and had absolutely no clue what it will look like. I loose my job when I graduate (it's an on-campus job for students) and I've got to find a new and affordable place to live somewhere around my hometown.
I finally started working on my résumé, and I've been encouraged by a professor to use it not as a professional document that informs the reader of my background, but instead as a platform for which I can advertise myself, thus showing off my advertising skills.
It's incredibly fun to bend the facts and claim that my job flipping burgers has everything to do with preparing me for the world of advertising, and it feels good that a person who knows the industry like the back of her hand is assuring me that it's a great way to stand out.
But still it's hard to get my hopes up knowing that, even if I managed to get an interview lined up, I don't have a portfolio ready to present. I'm taking a portfolio-building class this semester, but the fact is that I need my portfolio to be finished and fantastic right now, not at the end of the semester when I'll need a job already secured.

Luckily, as you all know, advertising/copywriting is simply a subcategory of my larger interest and skill: writing. I've created a second résumé, a more serious one, that I can use to apply for jobs in the field of writing. It also feels good to know that I can, in a sense, fall back on my minor of writing for other jobs, but I never want my advertising major to go to waste, either.

It's complicated.

I'm both worried and reassured. I'm both excited and nervous.
All I can do is my best. All I can do is work hard to make this happen. To make my life happen.

Please, give me a job.
-Ryan

College Major vs. Minor

The dichotomy between my chosen major and minor in college is certainly an interesting one.

For those of you who do not know, I am majoring in advertising and minoring in English writing. This decision came to me at the tail end of my sophomore year after I realized that as much as I liked the idea of becoming an English teacher for high school, I just didn't feel passionate about it. I watched a few episodes of Friends, talked to a career counselor, and took a few personality/career tests, and they all pointed me into the direction of advertising. It turns out my interests all happen to translate to skills that are necessary to create effective advertisements.
Of course, I knew that I was very passionate about writing, and that not only would an English Writing minor help me to hone my skills at the craft, but it would also look good that a person trying to get into the advertising world happens to have a knack for creativity.

Sometimes creativity involves holding a pen with my chin.

To this day I am confident that these were the best choices for me. I have come to love learning and practicing advertising, and I have come to learn a lot about how to be a better writer. The thing that makes all of this interesting, however, is that in a perfect world they would match my true feelings and be the other way around; I would be majoring in English writing and minoring in advertising.
After all, if you can't tell from reading my blog, my true passion lies in writing. As much as I love advertising, I know I'd love to just spend my life writing novels for a living.

Also, this post happens to be the 22nd, which surpasses last year's amount of 21.
For more of my thoughts; follow me on twitter.
-Ryan