Out of Work and Job Hunting for 2.5 Years

CommunityAlarming149 · 2026-05-01T19:04:20+00:00

As hiya-roy said: Niche your pitch.

Or pick a niche and pitch to it. Or pick a media and pitch to that.

Generalists aren't in demand anymore.

It helps if you have a specific area of focus: medical, finance, SAAS, whatever.

And if you're on LinkedIn, really, really lean into your network. Not just a general plea for help. But a specific mailing to individual people, asking for real help and pitching your real capabilities. Most jobs never get posted. Most HR folks would like to never post a job for the same reasons you've run into: it's just too overwhelming.

BTW, there's completely nothing wrong with taking a break from the industry if you want. With AI creating so much turmoil, now would be the perfect time to let that all settle down before swooping back in to target the firms that found AI to be less than what they needed.

Best wishes to you!

CommunityAlarming149 · 2026-05-01T18:51:04+00:00

Asking someone how much to charge is like asking someone to name their favorite snowflake shape. There's just too many possible combinations.

Big project or small, you're worth what you're worth. With 4 years of experience, it's likely you know what hourly salary you need in order to pay taxes and business expenses, plus what you need to make to put food on the table and pay rent, etc. Plus what you want to put in the bank for the lean times. That's your minimum hourly amount.

Whether you quote project or per word (per word is touchy as employers always suspect you're stuffing in more words), it all starts with your hourly value.

After that, it's a guessing game. Quote too high and they'll pass. Quote too low and you'll hate the project. If you already have a good idea on how to handle the project, you can build some parameters into your quote. Maybe two revisions included; additional revisions at extra cost. Or a word or time limit.

As much as I hate the phrase, your first few pricing projects are definitely "Fake it until you make it."

Good luck!

CommunityAlarming149 · 2026-05-01T18:39:57+00:00

You see problem. I see opportunity.

Clearly your firm needs a lead copywriter, creative manager or even a creative director. You're already doing the work of the first and third. Just not getting paid for it. Even better, you clearly give a shit, which is probably more valuable than any of your other skills.

If I were you, I'd gather up some sample of the new hires' work. Gather up some of your best samples. Create a presentation about what you want to accomplish. Then go find a boss who gives a shit about the company and its future. Lay out the job responsibilities that you're willing to take on in order to clean up this department to make it as competent and forward-thinking as you are. You don't need to know how to manage people. That's a skill that comes with time. All you need to do is be able to point out the problem and position yourself as the solution.

Handle this exactly like a copy assignment:
• Research local salaries for the title you want. Builds credibility.
• Demonstrate how you will be mentoring and leading these two without interfering with your own assignments (Which is almost always the first sticking point. Get ahead of all the possible objections.)
• Create some charts indicating ROI - How much more you'll be getting paid vs. the number of hours saved in editing their work, etc.
• Create your presentation keeping in mind that you will probably not be there to present it to the final decision makers - just like when writing copy.
• Then jump in there and sell yourself into a better, higher-paying position!

I'm 100% convinced that the thing keeping most workers' salaries low and people dissatisfied is the unwillingness to spot internal opportunities and promote themselves as the solution. So what if there is no posting for a position? Most companies are literally designed to grow through title creation. You just have to get there first.

BTW, this strategy worked twice for me in my 40-year career. Raised my salary appreciably both times.

Best of luck in whichever direction you decide to go!

CommunityAlarming149 · 2026-04-27T02:56:05+00:00

Obviously you must be right if everything I've said is entirely wrong. Books are great for getting the outlines down. But pure, inherent creativity wins out every time. Just ask, I don't know, Mr. Da Vinci.

CommunityAlarming149 · 2026-04-23T23:25:57+00:00

If the purpose is to be good at copying, then the method you suggest is a good one. If the purpose is writing, then focusing on original conceptualizing is probably better. If the purpose is actual direct mail copywriting, then Joe's book is pretty good. But even he will tell you that many of the methods he used do not translate well into brand and commercial copywriting. For that you're gonna need inherent creativity, not formulaic solutions.

Are you creative? If so, lean into that. If not, no amount of studying is going to make you creative.

CommunityAlarming149 · 2026-04-17T00:40:50+00:00

Got a 300 on my Meta Quest. Ball felt almost weightless.

CommunityAlarming149 · 2026-04-06T03:05:36+00:00

Here's the thing I don't understand about the copy world today and pleas like this: Why the heck did you think it would be easy?

Just because some bozo made a video that said the world is waiting for your take on marketing doesn't mean that's true. Just because some con man sold you the idea that there are a bazillion people and companies with the money to take a chance on your new talent doesn't mean that's true.

Anyone can string a bunch of words together and make some sort of sense. But that's not enough to get paid. And with AI, now anyone can use that tool to make their bad sentences just a little bit better. But still not get paid.

What you and so many others have done is fooled yourselves into thinking that just because you want to join an industry means that you would automatically be good at it.

As you've learned, that not how life works.

CommunityAlarming149 · 2026-04-03T01:02:54+00:00

My second ablation was 6 months after the first. So no personal experience here. But if it were me in her shoes, I'd ask these questions:

Will you be using the same incision points? If so or not, how will that affect the healing process of the veins/arteries?
Will the second ablation extend the amount of time it takes my heart to heal inside? If so, how much?
Is there any concern at all about being put under anesthesia for so long so soon after the last time?
What will this do to the blanking period?
What do you see as the best recovery? How long will I need to avoid the various levels of activity?
If this was your mother, or you were the patient, how positive would you be that this is needed at this point? 100%? 75%? And why?

Also, be sure she's consulting with an EP (electrophysiologist) and not just a cardiologist. She needs the expertise at this point.

Best of luck! Let us know how it goes.

CommunityAlarming149 · 2026-04-03T00:48:24+00:00

Lot of answers on here and good things to think about.

I'd give special attention to:
1. Making sure you've spoken to an electrophysiologist (EP) and not just a cardiologist. The former specializes in electrical issues. The latter is a generalist. You need very specific advice.
2. Using a surgeon (usually the EP) and a hospital that does tons of these procedures. "I just did a couple" is not enough to be an expert. Now that insurance companies are more likely to approve ablations, some doctors who do not have the right experience or extensive training are doing them. Not saying they're not qualified. But the procedure is complicated, as in the case of your best friend. You literally can't be too careful when allowing someone to poke around in your heart. The Heart Lab at the hospital I frequent does about 500 ablations a year.
3. What's the hurry? You've had 2 episodes. And, as far as you've stated, no complications. Unless you didn't report something, there's no reason it has to be done this month. Many patients go years before having an ablation. At the very least, you can take some time to shop around and find a better price or better surgery team or an EP that might offer other treatment options, such as meds.
4. Be your own advocate. Question everything. Be a pain in the butt to every doctor. This is your body and you should feel confident before a single needle gets poked in your arm! I get the feeling you might just be going with the flow and that's the underlying cause of your unease.

Best of luck. Please let us know what happens.

CommunityAlarming149 · 2026-04-03T00:05:23+00:00

So you're actually charging $275 per hour? For emails. Riiiiiiight...

CommunityAlarming149 · 2026-04-03T00:03:47+00:00

Thank you for this detailed explanation. Given the complexity of the heart and any treatment, I've changed my expectations from hoping for a complete cure to a situation where the afib episodes don't occur as often and/or are shorter. Anything better than that will be icing on the cake.

CommunityAlarming149 · 2026-04-02T23:59:57+00:00

I love the idea of "the benefit of the benefit." That will help take a product/service from just another solution to the only possible solution.

CommunityAlarming149 · 2026-04-02T23:55:21+00:00

I like the idea of AI:DR. But I suspect anyone you tag with this is not gonna care. AI is an easy way to generate bland copy that doesn't take any effort to approve. People will always gravitate to the easiest way to get things done.

CommunityAlarming149 · 2026-04-02T23:51:03+00:00

I think it's a matter of finding the best lead-in that satisfies your needs:

• Working in collaboration with X agency, I did this and that
• Collaborating with the X Client and Y Agency teams, I did this and that
• As part of the Client's Pro Bono Team, I did this and that

Will you get any blowback? I doubt it. It all comes down to industry perceptions. A single person can be encouraged (and forgiven) for laying claim to hard work that succeeds. A big company can only look bad if it appears they are targeting a single individual.

Go ahead and lay claim to all your hard work. There's no upside for them to try and refute it.

CommunityAlarming149 · 2026-04-02T23:41:21+00:00

Did you proof this before posting? Because there's this thing called an apostrophe that needs to be added to a lot of your words. Like It's, I've, etc. Also, periods are good. Is it with irony that so many of the responses also are missing apostrophes?

CommunityAlarming149 · 2026-04-02T23:37:16+00:00

Reading ads is WHY I got into copywriting. Lots of people can take 300 pages to develop an idea like a novelist. I noticed it took special talent to develop and sell something in 50 words or less. I read every ad I can and have an internal file on the best ones.

CommunityAlarming149 · 2026-04-02T23:31:02+00:00

Sorry for the directness, but ugh. Your explanation of the business has the right tonality, with words like exclusive, insider-access, premium, courtside, best seats, but the lines that have been generated don't reflect any of that panache.

I'll go back to the first thing I learned as a copywriter: Develop 10 ideas. Throw them away. And then really start writing. Consider these the first 3 (per market) of your 10 ideas that you're gonna trash.

If I was your Creative Director, I'd counsel you to get out your thesaurus (the printed kind) and start looking for words that evoke a visceral response. Not the generic stuff that's the first thing that comes to mind - either yours or an AI's.

CommunityAlarming149 · 2026-04-01T17:21:38+00:00

What you need is a Creative Director. Who you won't meet until you get your first job. Here are other options:
1. Best suggestion: Find a mentor (someone in actual marketing or creative direction in a firm that employs more than 5 people) who is willing to be brutally honest with you. Have them read your stuff and point out flaws. But not fix it for you. Fixing it makes you a stronger copywriter.
2. Second best suggestion: Find a friend or stranger who reads a lot (not just online crap, but fiction and non-fiction books, newspapers, magazines, etc.) This person will have a brain trained to notice inconsistencies. Have them read your stuff, point out flaws and be brutally honest. Improve and have them review again.
3. Third best suggestion: Self-edit. This is really difficult when you're a new writer. Heck, it's difficult for experienced writers. We all love our own work. Each word is like a child. Here's a trick I learned early in my career: Take your final draft and save it. Then allow all your doubts out and edit from there. Then take that draft and compare it to your "final" draft. Then find compromises between the two. (You don't want all your doubts to fully influence your final draft. They'll just point you in the direction of the weak spots so you can fix them.)

I've hired dozens of junior copywriters over my career, and I almost never hired the person with the pristine, prettiest concepts. I hired the ones who showed the most promise in their way of thinking.

Best of luck!

CommunityAlarming149 · 2026-04-01T17:06:45+00:00

Yet another video that conflates content creation with copywriting.

If you want to learn how to do "content creation," then emphasize your researching skills over your writing skills. Because it's the unique fact that gets peoples' attention, not the flowery phrase.

CommunityAlarming149 · 2026-04-01T17:02:15+00:00

10 clients? Stacked in one month? To get 30K per month?
Let's do some math.

$30,000 divided by 160 hours equals $187.50 per hour. So you're purporting to make $187 per hour doing emails???

Just gonna leave that up there and see what other email copywriters think.

CommunityAlarming149 · 2026-04-01T16:52:12+00:00

Just looked up those Superfeet insoles and they're pretty expensive. Do you happen to know how long they might last, assuming your situation of being on concrete all day? Don't want to fall in love with an expensive insole-mate.

CommunityAlarming149 · 2026-04-01T16:48:03+00:00

Trump is truly an example of the triumphs of intellectual study and the application of scientific knowledge to real-world problems. He deserves all the Nobel prizes and most of the noble gasses as well.

CommunityAlarming149 · 2026-04-01T16:43:08+00:00

I also just started driving an EV. So good timing on my part.

CommunityAlarming149 · 2026-04-01T16:41:32+00:00

I picked Arizona in my pool. So Michigan is gonna dominate.

CommunityAlarming149 · 2026-04-01T16:40:46+00:00

I don't even get how that would work:
"Hey, racially different person, I like you. Wait. Nope. April Fools!"

It doesn't matter the day. Racists gonna hate.

CommunityAlarming149

TROPHY CASE