My life as an otaku, my life as a journalist
24 October 2010 | 18 comments
I haven’t been at all quiet about it, so you guys know I’m hunting for a job. Not as well as I should be — about two applications a week. But still, at this part of my life, it’s what I consider my full time job.
I call myself the otaku journalist. However, the longer I’ve searched, the more those two parts of my identity have split. I used to keep this blog on my portfolio site, but divided them. I used to have one business card for my blog and for my job hunt. Now I have otaku-specific and professional cards. And just today, I’ve decided to take my anime and game experience (my Kotaku internship and Anime USA marketing position) off of my resume.
Why? Because I’ve had more than ten face-to-face interviews, and still no job.
In an interview, I usually have less than 20 minutes to describe myself as a potential employee. When my anime and videogame experience is listed right there on my resume, it allows my interviewer to shortcut to a negative portrayal. Even in 2010, many people still have negative connotations about American otaku. It’s not too different from the way it’s harder for a World of Warcraft player to get employed.
How employers see me after they look at my resume.
And like pink hair or cat ears, these parts of my resume especially stand out. They always lead to a conversation and to awkward mispronunciations of the word “Kotaku.” I worry that while discussing my experiences at these work environments, I’ll appear too passionate about fandom to the interviewer, and less passionate about the job at hand. It’s only natural — if you’re a movie buff but you work as an plumber, it’s normal that you’d talk more expressively about The Seven Samurai than about kitchen sinks.
There’s a lot of reasons why I might not have a job yet, but it feels good to cross one possible reason off the list.
While I’d like to one day work in an environment where my interests are not only tolerated but shared, it’s less likely to happen in this job market — you saw my article about employed anime journalists. Anime isn’t my only interest, and I’d be happy with a career that fulfills any one of my interests, whether they be writing, journalism, film editing, web designing, or building infographics. Honestly, these interests bring me just as much pleasure, but make far less readable blog content.
One day…
Readers, do you keep your hobbies and your work completely separate? Or do you display Gundam models on your desk and swap Cowboy Bebop DVDs with your coworkers?
Some of my co-workers know I watch Anime… and I can’t remember if I had that i was the College Anime Club President on my resume or not…
But I don’t display any Gundam models on my desk yet… maybe never. I’m in a high traffic high visibility place in my office… so I have to consider the offices image not just my own… X_X
I’ve not told my manager that I’m the asst. director of Anime USA yet… perhaps after this year is over I’ll let him know. I don’t want him to think like you said that I’m not focused on work because of my volunteering. I’d like to think that Anime USA.
I think your right and you have to walk a fine line.
I work at Diamond Comics and anime/comics statues are everywhere on people’s desks. The whole office could make a volume of Otacool by Danny Choo. I understand that issue though from my previous job at a print roller company.
lol I’m a toy designer, and it’s kinda already assumed that as one, I’d already be into things that are considered nerdy. The biggest problem isn’t my nerdiness, it’s actually the fact that a lot of that stored knowledge is overpowering in this field which is basically like a ladder system. The people above would see me as a threat because someone like me already knows better, knows what’s hot and up and coming and knows how to get it done at the highest quality at the lowest price. One example I can give was at a meeting I had, marketing heads were there along with design head and another upper management person. They were talking about some new line and this bad idea that revolved around the action feature of it. I told them that there is a better solution to it, gave them 2 examples, regurgitated knowledge I had of the mechanism and it was still shot down even though my plan was much more superior and cost effective. I guess, what I’m saying is, the people looking for work are seen as an immediate threat to the people in a higher position.
@Ryan, @Tom, what’s great for both of you is you’ve found work in fields that are very accepting of your hobbies. In my field, it’s considered something of an anomaly. I mean, it’s not that journalists don’t have hobbies or blogs — I know one journalist with a fashion blog for example — but people who don’t know otaku personally think we’re all very poor socially, etc.
Sorry to hear about your situation though, Ryan. That sucks to be the low man on the totem pole and have fantastic ideas voted down just because your higher ups are insecure. Even though they’d make MORE money if they used your ideas!
I’ve been giving some thought to putting up an xkcd strip or another one of the webcomics I love at my desk. But I definitely don’t wear my love of manga and stuff on my sleeve. It’s also never really come up, to be honest–a lot of the stuff that I’m an enthusiast about is pretty related to my work (new media and such). So I can’t say that there’s too much tension there.
@Adam, I admire how much of an enthusiast you are about work. I bet your blog contributes immensely to your success in your field!
My blog started out more like yours. I started writing to try to get a job. But now that I write what I love the most, I have triple the readers. I think people can tell.
Ever since my second interview, I’ve talked about Harry Potter with my co-workers. The movies, the books, everything. Haven’t decorated my desk yet, but I’ve seen others and I don’t think it matters what you like, everyone else will accept it.
@Jenn, based on my experiences, I think you just got lucky! I know that while I’m in an interview, the person is trying to figure out if I’ll fit in with the culture of their workplace or be a social reject. And anime SCREAMS social reject. On the other hand, my friend Evan’s boss has Akira posters all over his office!
It’s a shame you have to hide your hobbies like that. Are you going to strike AUSA and Kotaku from the resume completely, or just rephrase them to more vague, “acceptable” terms? That’s valuable experience that you can’t just write off.
@Kailer, I thought I did have them in acceptable terms. For example, my resume said I was a “Gawker Media” intern. I talked to my college journalism professor over the weekend though, and he thinks these additions might still be affecting my chances. Would you put anime related experience on your resume?
There are two points here:
1. I’ve been told to significantly pare back my non-field related entries on my resume. Since I’m a software developer, it’s unlikely that anime-related projects would creep onto my resume, and even if they did they would be evaluated based on their programming merits, so I guess that’s lucky. In your case, you’re in a bind, since that’s relavent job experience. What frustrates me about your situation is that your experience with Kotaku and AUSA is relavent and interesting, and shows that you have experience covering niche cultures (which is useful in our increasingly fragmented society), but you can’t include it… Upsetting.
2. My tech lead has a Slayers mousepad tacked to the wall… Out came the Haruhi figurines in my second week.
Well as I said, I think I put that I was the president of an Anime Club on my resume… I’ll double check to see if it was on my final resume or not.
I think Bune said she puts on her resume that she helps organize “gatherings for fans of Japanese culture, past and present.” Perhaps you could include something like that? De-emphasize the geeky aspects and make it sound more cultured.
(I have my stint as Events Coordinator for the William and Mary Harry Potter Club on my resume. People thought it was interesting, and it was a good example for organizational and time management skills.)
@Lauren,
I’m just lucky to be enthusiastic about really boring things that happen to apply to the job I recently got, lol. Write about what you love. That is exactly what I did and it eventually worked.
Even if it does nothing but help crystallize what exactly it is that you are passionate about–blogging was how I discovered my desire to go into economics which ultimately led to going to grad school for it–it’s worth the effort.
I think it comes down to the nature of what you wish to do vs what you present. Stereotyping exists, in the worst possible places. I have an MA and yet people still look at me funny. Reasons given to me amount to: you’re a crazy fan, but you have a degree from a university, so you’re not a screw up…i don’t know really what to think, actually, because youre a walking contradiction.
These days I tend to present myself as an academic and scholar first, and I have a fancy term for what I study, so it sounds all scholarly and impressive. I also mention I write for a number of sites, so it shows that I’m “versatile” I suppose.
oh, btw, I am so using this article for my thesis. it suits perfectly the section im writing right now.
@Charles, I am HONORED that you are including something I wrote in your thesis! Make sure it becomes a book, and thank me in the credits =D
It’s done, I added a chunk of your mid section directly into the text. So far, you are the ONLY in text citation to be given its own section, and not just a short blurb.
very, VERY well done. I’ll show you the section in 2 weeks.
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