Breaking into the art industry has always been tough, but with the recent economic climate, the prevalence of AI, and labor strikes in the entertainment industry, the job market has been extra brutal to artists no matter how much experience they have. After navigating through this landscape, I've made many mistakes but also learned how to be smart and adaptable. Here are three tips I wish I knew before jumping into the art job market.

1. Always Be Prepared for Opportunities

Landing a job is often a combination of having a solid portfolio, timing, and luck. You never know when an opportunity will pop up, so keep your portfolio, resume, and LinkedIn updated and ready to share. Make it a habit to update these materials during or immediately after you complete a new project or gig so it's easier to recall and describe your role.

While business cards are a nice way to hand out your information, they can often be a hassle or get lost easily. Having a professional Instagram of your work with easily accessible links to your portfolio and resume can streamline interactions and make your work instantly shareable.

Many of my industry connections happened because of casual exchanges of Instagram and beginning a conversation there.

2. Go Above and Beyond School Work: Meet People and Ask Questions!

The competition for art jobs is higher than ever. Students are competing not just with fellow graduates, but with seasoned professionals. To stand out, be proactive and find opportunities outside of school to engage with your target industry.

Here are some recurring events or groups in LA that I recommend:

Warrior Painters is a plein air painting community that goes out every weekend to different locations around LA to paint outside. Many artists who work in animation attend and it is a great place to meet and connect with industry people. You can join their Discord through their website to check their meetup schedule.

Gallery openings happen every month at Giant Robot, Thinkspace, and Gallery Nucleus. These are great free events to attend if you're looking to get into the gallery scene, or just meet other artists.

Look for local figure drawing events to network while improving your skills. As a student, I often looked up events that other industry professionals would attend and try to speak with them there. It’s a great way to strike up a conversation by asking people questions about their technique and approach to drawing. Some figure drawing workshops in LA are, Otis College of Art and Design, Kline Academy, and Concept Design Academy.

Don't be afraid to introduce yourself and ask questions at these events! Most people know how tough it is to break into the arts industry as a student, so you'll find that people are very generous to share advice and help out as much as they can. A great way to start speaking to people is to approach with genuine curiosity about people's experiences rather than networking intentions. People will remember you a lot more if you bond over something silly instead of having a mere transactional conversation.

I was able to share my recommendations for events in LA, but with a little research, you should be able to find artist events in your local community too. If you have any recommendations for events in your area, let me know in the comments so I can compile them to share with other artists too!

3. Apply to Anything and Everything

My best advice for job hunting is to apply to EVERYTHING. Even if you feel underqualified, apply anyway! Recruiters often inflate job requirements to narrow down applicants so they're often more flexible than listings suggest.

I've landed two great jobs by applying to positions I was completely unqualified for. The first was a mobile game artist role at Jam City. The role I applied for was a Lead Artist requiring management experience and five years in the industry, which I did not have. I somehow made it to the interview with the Art Director who asked me, "How are you here?" After an awkward laugh, I didn't expect to get the job so I just had a pleasant conversation, after which he offered me the art test to do "for fun". I took the art test very seriously (since it was my very first one) and eventually heard back that I had nailed it. Unfortunately, I was still lacking the experience for the Lead Artist role, but they offered me a 2D artist role on another team instead.

I got my current Art Director position in a very similar way by applying through LinkedIn for a job I wasn't qualified for. I again somehow managed to get an interview with the COO but wasn't able to meet his requirement of being in-house in New York (I was in LA). I didn't expect to hear from them again, but the next day, I got an email saying he enjoyed our conversation so much that he sent me an offer.

Most of my past jobs have felt like they happened by chance, and so I stress to all of my students: APPLY TO EVERYTHING, even if you feel underqualified. You never know who might see your work and think of you for an opportunity. The worst they can say is no (or ghost you). And remember that getting rejected for a job is completely normal and don't take it personally because it's almost always not about you.

It's an uncertain time in the arts industry, but stay resilient and adaptable because there are opportunities out there!

We're also putting together a giant resource library curated for artists and designers with relevant websites, blogs, software, references, supplies, books, and more, so keep an eye out for it at the end of this month!