Serious question: What is an entry level job offer supposed to look like? What is a job offer? And what is a benefits package? One year after graduation, and I've never seen either of those things.

Hey Reddit, recent (in the grand scheme of things) Communication Design college grad in their mid 20's looking for their first entry level job. Graphics, marketing, front-end code, animation, illustration, I do all of the above. Applied to several entry level jobs over the last year and have since had a grand total of 5 phone screenings, 2 in-person interviews, and one frustrating "google hangouts" job scam that I swiftly avoided. Also have been approached by numerous recruiters, none of which lead to anything and have started outright ignoring the "1-3 month contract in Milwaukee for $17 hourly and no benefits" offers. I've applied to entry level jobs that are almost word for word things I directly have actual experience doing, to then be told "We will not be going forward with your candidacy, but we'll let you know when an opportunity that matches your experience is available".

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The first in person "interview" ended up being one of those classroom style things. Pitched the room about a commission based insurance role that had zero to do with anything design or marketing related. The second one was yet another insurance gig promising lofty benefits with even loftier goalposts and I began to wonder why these companies were contacting me in the first place. The google hangouts job--Oh man... that stung a little because I dared to believe the search was finally over. I ended up having a laugh about it shortly after. Scroll down to skip story time. Otherwise, prepare yourself for the liberal use of air quotes...

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Applied to Company X on Indeed. "hiring manager" texted me letting me know they were moving forward with my application. They told me the interview would be held on google hangouts (red flag #1). Ok...sure, whatever. I've read too many horror stories in this subreddit to know where this is going but you've got a few minutes of my time. I touch base the following morning and send them a link to the video conference. They email me shortly after the designated interview time explaining it would be a text-based interview...in a video conference... and that after reading the job description they sent via chat I had to "confirm" that I read it by saying "ok" or "proceed" (red flag #2). The listing advertised it was a $25 full-time on location entry level graphic design/marketing role in Midtown. After I gave them my action statement, etc. they left for 30 minutes to discuss details with their staff. 30 minutes later, "great news, we have decided that you are going to be a great addition to the team", and the pay increased from $25 to $40 and was going to be remote instead of on-location. Correct me if I'm wrong but that's not unheard of for an NYC salary starting out. Regardless I was immediately skeptical. They were going to set me up with my own home office. All I had to do was deposit a check they were going to send me to pay for said equipment prior to being an official employee (huge red flag #3). At that point I asked for the "in-house supplier's" contact information to "schedule a delivery" since I haven't authorized anything to be sent at my address yet. After the run around, they ghosted. I provided no private information aside from my address. Nothing of value was lost except for my time.

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What I'm NOT looking for:

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• $15/hr unrelated minimum wage job: NYC rent is expensive. If I want to move out of the shoe-box sized room I've been sharing with my dad for more years than I'm willing to admit, a dead end job won't be sufficient. I didn't invest 6+ years of my life to not put the skills I've learned to good use.
• Relocating for work: I'm not against the idea. In fact, I enjoy traveling. However, moving requires resources and an income. I don't have wealthy, generous family or friends that can spot me interest-free thousands to uproot my life and shop around.
• Jobs way outside of my scope: Yes, I most likely would be amazing at dish-duty or being a customer service rep for big chain retail. Top-Ramen gets old fast and I'd like to save enough to make moves sometime in the next 2 years, so I'll try my luck.

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I've been unemployed since the beginning of 2018 due to my company relocating to New jersey. I was paid less than minimum wage at the time for a graphic design/print production role. Needless to say I wasn't exactly thrilled to turn my 4 hour commute to and from that job into a 6 hour commute with no discussion of a raise in sight. Once the move was in motion I discussed things with my boss, completed all pending design orders, made documentation for future design staff to follow, and put in my two weeks notice. I focused on my final semester of college to secure that Bachelors degree. I had a wonderful time working there. Co-workers were amazing and I'll always appreciate the freedom and experience my boss gave me. When our design team downsized into just me wearing several hats, deadlines and quality control were still met in full.

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I Made it this far due to prior planning, aggressive savings, and very understanding support from my dad. Aside from applying to jobs daily I've been freelancing to improve my craft with Illustration and front-end web design. And drawing commissions for some pocket change so I can help with bills where I can. I knew the search would be intense after graduation so 70% of each check I made at my last job went directly to savings, canceled subscriptions I could do without, etc. But as many of us that have to resort to these extremes know, scraping by like this is unsustainable. Let's just say that staring at less than $100 in my savings right now has decreased time spent checking my finance apps, and its really got me hyped to question my approach and change things ASAP before I get more discouraged.

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Updated my resume for the 46,853rd time last night, integrating some of the awesome advice from the template on r/careeradvice. Might update this post and add it here so you can see how it's evolved since my last revision in March (dunno if that's allowed on this subreddit. Old to lurking, new to posting). I feel that despite my skills I lack the experience and i'm in that dangerous catch 22 area. I want to network more in NYC with other creatives and work on projects to land something but I'm not sure where to begin. If anyone is curious about my art stuff, PM me for that.

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tl;dr What's a job offer? How do I go about this differently to get said job offer? Words of encouragement and tough love are greatly appreciated

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