Telegram job hunting is like digital dumpster diving
July 12, 2025
Dear Diary, today I went down the Telegram rabbit hole again. I found a channel called "Art Jobs Worldwide" which sounded promising until I realized it was just one guy in his basement looking for free logos. Another channel promised "exposure" and "vibes" as payment. I'm starting to think these Telegram job channels are where art careers go to die. But hey, I did find one legit indie game studio looking for concept artists! They offered actual money! Too bad they wanted someone with 10 years of Unreal Engine experience for an entry-level position.
Networking feels like trying to make friends at a party where everyone is a hologram
August 5, 2025
Dear Diary, today I attended two virtual "networking" events. The first had 200 attendees and 3 employers who left after 10 minutes. The second was just me and the host waiting for others to join for 25 minutes until we awkwardly chatted about the weather. I've decided networking is just the art industry's version of speed dating, but with more portfolio sharing and less romance. I did make one connection though—a nice person who also hates networking! We bonded over our mutual social anxiety.
My portfolio is now more polished than the Crown Jewels and just as useless
August 15, 2025
Dear Diary, I fell into the perfectionism trap again. Instead of applying to jobs, I spent 12 hours tweaking my portfolio website. I changed the font 17 times, adjusted the padding on buttons until they were pixel-perfect, and re-rendered pieces that were already fine. My website is now a masterpiece of minimal design with impeccable user experience. Too bad nobody will see it because I'm too busy perfecting it to actually apply anywhere. I think my portfolio and I need to see other people.
The art test: because free work disguised as an interview is still free work
August 22, 2025
Dear Diary, spent my entire weekend working on art tests. The first company asked me to create "a few simple assets" for their game. Simple? They wanted fully rendered characters with turnarounds and expressions! The second test was more reasonable—just a fictional brief for a fake product. But then they asked for 17 revisions! I'm starting to think "art test" is just code for "we need work done but don't want to pay for it." Note to self: next time someone asks for a test, send them an invoice first.
