Since people were interested, here's a thread on the job apps and rejections that it took for me to break into the animation industry! It very long. 1/13
(ﾉ^ヮ^)ﾉ*:・ﾟ✧

I was working in a game studio, and I decided that I was going to look for a new job in 2019. I wasn't taking the search super seriously (bc I was still employed), and I was also applying to other games jobs as well the entire time. 2/13

I used a spreadsheet to keep track of any job postings I find, as well as the dates I applied, if I ever got a response back, and what status they were in. Red on the right means I was rejected or I never heard back. 3/13

My response rate is generally about 1 out of 10 apps, and they were from animation studios, not games. At this point, my portfolio was also at the level where recruiters/other pro artists were saying that I was ready for an animation job. 4/13

I think this is also really important because if your portfolio isn’t there yet, you can apply to an infinite number of jobs and never get one. 5/13

In Nov. 2019, I was told that I was being let go from my games job at the end of the year, so I knew I had to take the search more seriously. So from November 2019- July 2020, I applied to 122 jobs. There’s a chance I applied to more and never wrote it in the spreadsheet. 6/13

Over the course of those two spreadsheets, I took 6 art tests and had 7 interviews. I never passed a single art test, so those interviews were for separate opportunities. I got interviews/tests from applying through the job portal/email, Twitter, and friends who referred me. 7/13

As you can see, it's pretty much a sea of red. The tiny sliver of green was my first gig! It’s fun to look at now, but I was really depressed getting so close to breaking in so many times. 8/13

It helps to apply to as many jobs as you can so you don’t get too emotionally invested in a single opportunity. Even so, getting that first gig was probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. 9/13

I was actually rejected at first, but a month later, a BG designer left and I was able to worm my way in there. Shoutout to Final Space and DVO and Tobias for giving me my big break! 10/13

It’s really important to always be friendly, even in the face of rejection. There are several jobs that I was rejected from that reached out to me later. If I made it to the art test or interview, I would ask to keep in touch and send portfolio updates every few months. 11/13

Don’t always be focused on trying to “network” with that big art director. Your peers are like your anime rivals. You will compete with them, but you will also support each other, and they will push you to become a better artist and person. 12/13

My friends that I’ve made on Twitter/Discord or met at Lightbox/CTNX are really valuable to me. And some of us are coworkers now too! Anyway, I hope this kinda helps and makes the process of “breaking in” to animation easier and more relatable to y’all. You can do it! 13/13