Big-Time Cartoonist Still Draws from Craigslist Want Ads

Let this be a lesson to all freelancers. No matter how high the career peaks reached, there’s always room for a little Craigslist.

The latest reminder of the 1099 truism comes from nationally known cartoonist Jim Hunt. He’s been drawing caricatures for several decades now, but only just this week gave his first major media interview, to Quincy, Massachusetts newspaper the Patriot Ledger (Hunt lives in Maryland). The 49-year-old married father of two may be relatively famous now, but a key habit remains:

“Three times a week, I look through Craigslist for major cities. I’ve gotten some good jobs there. I turned out doing my work for Fox Sports through a listing on the Los Angeles Craigslist.

As a freelance cartoonist, I don’t wake up with a paycheck … I approach every week as if I didn’t have any projects. That keeps you motivated. I do have some regular gigs, but work is still pretty unpredictable…”

The interview also underscores one of the reasons Craigslist can be such a double-edged job search tool. At any point, you may be competing with folks who have won awards on the level of “Cartoonist of the Year.”

[To see samples of Hunt's great work, go to: ACartoonist.com]