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Location: The Chatterdome in La La Land, CaliFUNia
39,031 posts, read 23,012,380 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by natalayjones
I have my BA in English and minored in journalism; I've been told that too. The first time it was by a black woman in the field and I suspect she had that "there can't be too many of us in here so better me than you" attitude. The most recent time it was by someone who will have a hard time breaking into any field because they spend all their time whining about irrelevant ish.
Don't buy into the crap. There's nothing blocking you from getting there if that's really where you want to be.
My advice to you would be to keep trying. Work on your body language. Network network network. If you have friends in the industry make sure they know you're looking for a job and constantly ask them if they know anyone who knows someone.
I agree that having a third party assess a mock interview would be a good idea. Maybe the OP does look down. Maybe he/she is depressed and has a somewhat flat expression (depression will do that to ya...)
Best wishes.
I walk into every interview as though I was meeting a friend. It puts me at ease and establishes an easy back and forth speaking pattern. Body language is important too, don't keep your arms crossed and occasionally lean "into" the conversation.
I have my BA in English and minored in journalism; I've been told that too. The first time it was by a black woman in the field and I suspect she had that "there can't be too many of us in here so better me than you" attitude. The most recent time it was by someone who will have a hard time breaking into any field because they spend all their time whining about irrelevant ish.
Don't buy into the crap. There's nothing blocking you from getting there if that's really where you want to be.
My advice to you would be to keep trying. Work on your body language. Network network network. If you have friends in the industry make sure they know you're looking for a job and constantly ask them if they know anyone who knows someone.
It gets hard not to get discouraged about something I can't control (ie. my skin color) because I feel like it has limited my career choices somewhat. The only thing I can think to do is create my own opportunities.
It gets hard not to get discouraged about something I can't control (ie. my skin color) because I feel like it has limited my career choices somewhat. The only thing I can think to do is create my own opportunities.
No it's not hard. It take more effort to let yourself get discouraged. And I'm sorry but the whole "my skin color is keeping me from getting a job" thing is really annoying. Unless your skin is purple, I doubt it's that big of a deal
No it's not hard. It take more effort to let yourself get discouraged. And I'm sorry but the whole "my skin color is keeping me from getting a job" thing is really annoying. Unless your skin is purple, I doubt it's that big of a deal
I have my BA in English and minored in journalism; I've been told that too. The first time it was by a black woman in the field and I suspect she had that "there can't be too many of us in here so better me than you" attitude. The most recent time it was by someone who will have a hard time breaking into any field because they spend all their time whining about irrelevant ish.
Don't buy into the crap. There's nothing blocking you from getting there if that's really where you want to be.
My advice to you would be to keep trying. Work on your body language. Network network network. If you have friends in the industry make sure they know you're looking for a job and constantly ask them if they know anyone who knows someone.
It's difficult to break into any field when you don't have the prior relevant experience. I've been turned down for "entry-level" jobs that would have helped me break in because I didn't have enough experience. When I heard my ex-classmates were getting all these opportunities when I assumed there were none, I was surprised.
It's like the companies have "gatekeepers" to keep certain people out. I just noticed that only certain companies would call me to work and certain others wouldn't. The racial makeup of certain companies are different. It is what it is.
It's just what I've observed since being in the working world.
No it's not hard. It take more effort to let yourself get discouraged. And I'm sorry but the whole "my skin color is keeping me from getting a job" thing is really annoying. Unless your skin is purple, I doubt it's that big of a deal
My skin color hasn't kept me from getting a job, I'm saying that in certain industries, there are few people of color. Therefore, you have to work like 10 times harder to get to the same place because there are so few represented.
The places I interned at, you could count the number of black executives on less than one hand.
It is possible your skin color is keeping you from getting a job now. I doubt you look that bored at an interview. Do you have health conditions that would make the appearances that you are fatigued or overwhelmed?
Quote:
Originally Posted by butterfly95
My skin color hasn't kept me from getting a job, I'm saying that in certain industries, there are few people of color. Therefore, you have to work like 10 times harder to get to the same place because there are so few represented.
The places I interned at, you could count the number of black executives on less than one hand.
It's difficult to break into any field when you don't have the prior relevant experience. I've been turned down for "entry-level" jobs that would have helped me break in because I didn't have enough experience. When I heard my ex-classmates were getting all these opportunities when I assumed there were none, I was surprised.
It's like the companies have "gatekeepers" to keep certain people out. I just noticed that only certain companies would call me to work and certain others wouldn't. The racial makeup of certain companies are different. It is what it is.
It's just what I've observed since being in the working world.
Quote:
Originally Posted by butterfly95
My skin color hasn't kept me from getting a job, I'm saying that in certain industries, there are few people of color. Therefore, you have to work like 10 times harder to get to the same place because there are so few represented.
The places I interned at, you could count the number of black executives on less than one hand.
I highly suggest you drop the skin color thing as of right now and never look back on it. Bottom line is, you are not an engaging person during an interview. This is on you, has nothing to do with your skin color.
You are trying to get an entry level media position. For every entry level position, there are 100+ people dying to get that job who have the same routine background as you. If you walk in the door with even the slightest nagging feeling that you have a strike against you, you are giving off a bit of a loser vibe. Skin color is only one example. For instance I work in a medium in which one finds an extremely high number of Ivy League grads. The white guy who walks into an interview thinking, "They will just give this job to a crony from Yale, too bad I went to State U" will be giving off the same loser vibe that you give people based on race.
Stop walking in the door thinking about how many black executives there are. Start walking in the door thinking about how you may be the next black executive and show people what you are made of. You should be working on how to establish rapport with people in a short period of time. Judging from your opening posts, I'd guess this is your biggest weakness. When only 1 in 100 gets the job, and none of you have any worthwhile experience yet, you need to be the candidate people want to work with everyday. You need to be the candidate with the spark.
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When I heard my ex-classmates were getting all these opportunities when I assumed there were none, I was surprised. 
