I often get people approaching me for a job, despite the fact that I don’t do the hiring. The hardest kind of job to get in the design industry is that first one, whether you are straight out of college, or trying to break into design.
When we first started The Escape 11 years ago, CVs and letters from designers looking for jobs were clever and eye-catching. In fact, me and my business partner still refer to a CV from 1999, which still sticks in my mind! Not so much anymore though. A quick PDF with very little thought doesn’t really float my creative boat.
And, the amount of times I have relations, friends or clients trying to sell their siblings or friend’s siblings to me for employment is not even worth counting anymore. But a recent event has inspired me to pass on some advice.
The thing is, colleges don’t tend to prepare students for the commercial world of design. Students come in expecting to have a week or two to do a creative job (like they had when doing their homework) compared to the half day or day you may get when someone is paying you by the hour.
And, when it comes to attitude, I find it hard to understand how some of these people expect to just walk into a job in design. I’m not sure why many young people have expectations that are slightly different from the reality:
- Knowing how a design agency works, including pay scales and levels. It seems many people don’t want to start at the bottom.
- How ‘good’ they think they are, especially students who have been bigged up at college.
- How relevant their portfolio and skill-set is to a commercial design agency. This also includes knowing how a computer (usually a Mac) works at a basic level.
I guess a lot depends on how much a person wants a job. Which leads me to a guy called John.
John studied design and then struggled to get a job at an agency and eventually ended up working in a retail outlet to pay the bills. Sound familiar?
He then approached a design agency and asked if he could work one day a week for free to get some agency experience. Turns out he was really rather good, as well as being polite and presentable, and in terms of attitude – his actions were speaking louder than any CV.
John starts his full-time job as a Junior Designer at The Escape in April.
Useful post…
I could have done with something like this when I applied for a job at the Escape a few years ago
Unfortunately I sent through a PDF that makes me cringe when I look at it now.
Although colleges may not prepare students for the commercial world, a lot of the time the commercial world won’t even look at you unless you have been through design college > that’s what I found anyway…
(although my PDF might have had something to do with it…)
I can’t comment Keith. But, at the moment, especially, it will be even harder with less jobs around. Standing out will become more and more of a necessity.