One Artist's Job Search Adventures (an article of sorts)
© 1998 Kathleen Bitetti
Sometime in fall of 97, I decided it was time to begin a job search. It was time, as a cost saving measure to phase out my paid position at the non profit where I worked. It had been my long term goal when I was hired by the AF to do so. I saw the way the grants were not going. We worked with artists, not with kids or the poor/under served (although we firmly believe that artists are an under served population, but no one in the funding world seems to think so!). If we could run on nothing then there was no way anyone could stop us!! It was at this time that I decided to look both in the non profit world and outside of the nonprofit world for employment. I had worked in the non profit art world for over twelve years and it was time to attempt a venture elsewhere. I did have an economics degree, so why not use it, I thought to myself? I also figured my adventures would be interesting, even entertaining at times, "an artist's trek to the corporate sector" I liked the sound of it. Working for non profits, as one in the non profit world knows, there is no paid overtime and you do the work of at least two people. The thought that I would actually have weekends off and money to buy both my art supplies and food at the same time appealed to me. What a concept. It always comes back to the art making. Economic freedom means freedom to make your art, especially if you work in installation and sculpture. Or maybe it was the fact I was turning 30 and was tired of being poor.
Like any job searcher, I had to face the daunting task of updating my resume. In the non profit art world, the resume is two pages listing all your outside engagements. Non profits hire folks not only for their skills, but also for the person's connections. The other world, however, doesn't care about what panels you were on or what shows you guest curated. In fact, they only want one page for your resume and more than likely one would be over qualified for the job you were applying for (but you would more than likely be seen as underqualified for a management position because you don't have an MBA ). So I had to make a decision: do I clam up about being an executive director? Nope. If someone gets scared off by the fact that I run an organization then they are certainly going to have a hard time with the rest of the package! I must admit I really didn't know how to go about this job search thing at first. All the jobs I got in the non profit art world was by word of mouth. Quickly, however, I learned that my job search was really one big performance piece.
In order to conduct a job search one needs several things at their finger tips: a phone, personal computer with a good printer, a fax machine, the Boston Sunday Globe, a sense of humor (absolutely essential) and although not entirely necessary, access to the world wide web. Without these things, one's job search would be impossible. Luckily all of these things were at my finger tips. Every Sunday I would eagerly go through the help wanted section and fax out my resume and cover letters (writing one page cover letters are an art form in of it self). I even found job opportunities for friends via the paper.
I then decided I also needed an "agent" to better my chances in finding employment in the for profit sector. Thus my search began for a head hunter. I picked up the yellow pages and called them all. There are a lot of them (the results are in the section entitled head hunters worth the call). I had to explain my motives both to myself and to them as to why I wanted to switch to the other side. Those who actually took the time to call me back all seemed to understand my drive to look in their sector. My reasons: 1) I didn't want to run anything -I wanted to be able to leave at a normal hours and have weekends off- thus enabling me to pursue my art making 2) I wanted a decent salary with actual benefits (hard to come by in the non profit world as we know) 3) I wanted to work in a good work environment with nice folks (like I now had). These all seem like very sane and reasonable things.
"In life you meet winners and losers" was a common saying that kept popping up in my head during my job search. I met one head hunter who couldn't understand why I was looking for a job if I liked working at the AF. I reexplained the grant funding issues (ie: we weren't able to get any) only to be met with a blank stare. This person was definitely not the right head hunter for me. I had one "agent" tell me I wasn't suited for a job as a research assistant "because they wanted someone with a business/economic back ground." Obviously he hadn't read my resume. He was quickly put into the losers category. I must admit that I only met one man in the placement industry who really impressed me. Come to think of it, my layman's assessment is that this industry is dominated by women. I take this to be a good omen, not many men I know are good match makers. I did meet some fabulous head hunters I came to like.
Back to the performance aspect of my job search. Like most in the art world, I am used to (or some may say spoiled by) the fact that I can wear whatever I want. I have for the most part of my adult female life not had to wear dreaded nylons or high heels. I do own these items for attending the occasional potential funders meeting or to the upscale social gathering "in drag." I'd tried in the past to walk in thin high heeled shoes (1 inch is high to me), but due to my sports playing youth days my feet were not cooperative. I even received lessons from my colleagues who were accomplished drag queens on this particular problem. No success whatsoever. And when your gay boy friends can't help, you might as well forget about it. I took the queensí advice and wore high-heeled shoes with very thick heels. Another problem was that I canít bear wearing uniform pointy toed flats that seem to be a required part of every womanís business wardrobe. Instead, I opted for the rounded or square toed shoes that one's toes could actually fit into comfortably.
And as for buying flesh-toned hose, I made myself a promise in high school: "Never again in my lifetime." I only wear dark-colored or white hosiery. Plus, I had too many bruises and scratches on my legs from making my art work. Anyone interviewing me would think that I was either a total klutz or in a battering relationship. So I wore paint suits interviews. Theyíre much more comfortable, and besides, I didnít have to worry about runs in my stockings. I also lack the patience and talent for the daily ritual of putting on makeup. Again, the queens tried to help, but I was hopeless. I finally had my drag attire sorted out and easily accessible. It was interesting to discover that many of my friends and colleagues didnít recognize me when I was in drag. A good sign indeed (I guess the disguise worked).
Interviews are performance pieces. Forget that and you could lose your mind. Actually, I rather liked interviews. I enjoyed meeting new people from outside the art world and forcing them to learn a little about the world of non profit art and the realities faced by working. Even if an interview didnít result in a job, it could lead to other thingsóa new friend, a new connection for the AF, a date for a friendóthe possibilities seemed endless. My interview adventures led me to several conclusions. One: Most folks have never met a living artist and for the most part are truly interested in what you do. (Sometimes I felt like the main attraction at the zoo.) . Most folks did not know what installation art was so I explained it to them (a small victory for contemporary art). I also increased my own personal mailing list for my art shows. And of course I increased the Artists Foundation's contacts as well- more potential AF donors and board members!
Two: There are still some really unacceptable stereotypes about artists and that our wonderful well-funded mainstream arts organizations have done nothing to shatter. The idea that an artist can not work in a structured environment is hogwash. Artists have structure- many have at least two to three part time jobs and also have to make the time to create their art. If that is not structure and the ability to work in a fast paced multi-task work environment- I do not know what is. Artists can indeed use technology and usually learn it pretty quickly due to their outstanding critical thinking and problem solving skills. I also got why don't you want to be a graphic artist? Answer: because I am a sculptor. Just because one is an artist does not mean that one is a graphic designer or wishes to become a graphic designer. The notion that all artists want to be in a "creative" work environment is of course yet another misconception- some want to save their creativity for their art making.
Three: Human Resources people tend to ask very strange questions that you have to answer with a serious straight face (ah, the performance skills). I don't want to offend those who are in human resources, but boy were the majority of those I met from human resource departments were not the brightest or even nicest folks in the world. Maybe there is some secret to asking these off the wall questions to aid them in finding out who you really are. I think it would be easier to ask for your horoscope chart and to call your present/past employer or even your family for that matter. I had one HR person who seemed as if she wanted to be a psychoanalyst. And she didn't like my shoes. (My head hunter told me this later and we both had a big laugh over it. I guess you're not supposed to wear open-toed or summer dress sandals with nylons and a summer suit to an interview unless you want to annoy the HR person!). Nevertheless, "to pass go and get the second interview" one must make a good impression on the human resource personnel. Do one of your best performances for them and use their questions as source material for your work.
It takes time to find the right job. It took me six months to find the right match. And I must say that I truly enjoyed the process. I learned a lot and met some really nice people. I even made one new friend from one of my interviews that didn't result in a job!! Ironically, I got my job the old fashioned way: via the Sunday want ads and amazingly by mailing my resume, not faxing it. I haven't started my new job yet, but my new employers are just as excited about me as I am about them. And as for that head hunter who thought I wouldn't make a good research assistant, I guess he was right. I am now a research DIRECTOR at a Boston area weekly business journal. And it's a journal I'm very familiar with. The AF has been recommending for years that artists buy some of their publications (unbeknownst to the publication). Funny how things work out in the end, especially if you have patience and a good sense of humor.
