So you’ve just graduated with a graphic design degree – congratulations! You’re a highly-trained individual with some awesome skills and a passion for your work, so what do you do now?
Take a break
Strange as it sounds, taking a break is the best thing you can do after university. Not only do you need to unwind after the stress of your final year, you need to prepare yourself for adult work. Realistically, once you start full time employment you won’t get more than a couple of weeks off at any one time, so treasure your post-degree lull while it lasts.
Using your time off wisely will also give you the best chance of landing a job, so read on for our top tips on become a first-class candidate for potential employers.
Expectations
No matter what degree you graduated with – a first, a 2.1 or even a 3rd, you’re only one of thousands of students all graduating at the same time. This means competition for jobs is tough, and you may not stand out from the crowd just yet. Don’t expect to walk into a highly-paid job – in this industry experience counts for a lot and your degree doesn’t make you anything special.
Also, designing for clients in a commercial setting is a huge step away from designing for school. Expect to start as a junior designer, alongside more experienced designers. You’ll learn things your degree never even hinted at.
Preparation
Work experience
Before you start looking for a job, lay a little groundwork. Agency experience counts for a lot, so get work experience if you can. This not only shows potential employers you’re passionate (enough to work for free!), it gives you valuable insight into how an agency works. It certainly sets you apart from all those other graduates with no agency experience at all.
Freelance
You may have already done freelance work at university, but if you haven’t, start now! Freelancing is a great way to showcase your skills, get experience working with clients and best of all, get paid for your work! Your freelance work also helps you to build a portfolio of commercial work – something potential employers will be very interested in seeing.
If you struggle to find freelance work, there’s nothing wrong with just practicing. Design something you’re passionate about, whether that’s a front-end for a website or some nifty business cards. Keeping your skills up to date and experimenting in various niches will help hone your skills and give you fodder for that portfolio.
Presenting Yourself Online
Build a portfolio
Designers have portfolios, and you’re a designer, right? Your portfolio is the single most important piece of preparation you need to undertake, and you’ll keep it updated throughout your career. If you’re a web designer, consider building your own. If your skills lie in graphics, use a free portfolio theme to showcase your work. A portfolio is the single thing most likely to get you an interview, and walking into one knowing you’ve made an impression is the best feeling in the world.
Get a blog
Not everyone likes writing, but a blog is a fantastic way to showcase your skills, network online, and share your thoughts with the design community. You’ll be representing a company before long, and someone who can communicate clearly and shows obvious knowledge is a great asset for any employer. A blog helps you to be seen as an expert in your field.
Use social media
Consolidate your online presence across social media like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. Not only does registering your username mean no one else can have it, it gives you another outlet to showcase your talents. A designer with a strong online presence, with a consistent feel to their blog, portfolio, Twitter page etc, presents an impressive understanding of modern media and methods.
We’ve all heard the horror stories of employees getting into trouble because of embarrassing Facebook pictures, and it’s worth a word of warning here. Have personality, but keep your online profile clean. Before you make that blonde joke on Twitter, think about a potential employer actually reading it!
Finding That Job
Using agencies – pros and cons
Signing on with a job agency is second nature to a lot of people. They do all the legwork and you just turn up for interviews, which is great if you want a quick turnaround. On the other hand, a lot of design agencies won’t speak to recruitment consultants and prefer to find their own candidates, the main reason being that recruiters charge them steep fees to find people like you. Another argument for approaching companies direct is that it shows a genuine passion for working for them, and a personal touch goes a long way.
If you do decide to use a job agency, make sure they work hard for you. If you feel your recruiter isn’t doing anything to help, get another. Their fee comes when they find you a job, so it’s in both your interests to get you employment.
Networking
If you find a company you really want to work for, don’t be afraid of approaching them, even if they don’t have any jobs advertised. Outside of the traditional CV and cover letter, there are now more interesting ways of expressing an interest and you never know when the groundwork you laid will lead to a job. Twitter for example is a great way to get to know a company and more importantly, get them to notice you. Follow any companies you like the look of, and interact with them through the @reply function. Leaving a comment on their blog is another good way to get noticed, or how about writing a blog post with a link back to their site?
Believe it or not, you’re now networking online. To seal the acquaintance, why not attend some networking events? If you’ve spoken to an agency on Twitter, and you know they’ll be at ‘Design Expo London’ next month, get yourself down there too. Twitter gives you a fantastic excuse to introduce yourself, make friends, and make them remember you next time they want to hire a designer.
Applying for a job
When a position does come up, how do you apply? Unless it’s clear that a DM through Twitter is enough to get you an interview, your CV and cover letter are the best way to go, normally emailed to the MD or the head of recruitment. Include your qualifications on your CV, but also include links to your blog, portfolio, and Twitter page. Mention your portfolio again in your cover letter, as this is what employers really want to see. Even if you don’t have a lot of work to showcase, your passion and ability to learn will be clear.
Make sure that your cover letter is grammatically correct and spell-check before you send. You may be a designer, but attention to detail and ability to string a sentence together are valued in any employee!
Interviewing
Dress code
It really goes without saying, but the dress code is “smart” (even for a design position!). Your future colleagues may all be in jeans and t-shirts, but turning up scruffy gives a bad impression no matter the position you’ve applied for. A nice shirt and shoes turns you into a professional who can get by in an office environment.
Know your stuff
Your portfolio has done a lot of the talking for you, but expect to be questioned about your opinions and methods. If you can talk about the details you’ll be demonstrating a lot of knowledge and therefore a lot of passion. Don’t be afraid on the other hand to admit when you don’t know something – you may be interviewed by senior designers specifically to sound out where your skills lie, and if you need training in a particular area it’s not a bad thing. As a trainee you’re expected to learn, and a willingness to learn and ask questions is important.
Don’t be afraid to ask
That leads us onto the next point – asking questions! It not only shows an interest in the company, it shows you can think for yourself. How many clients would you have? How much time is set aside for training? Write down some questions before your interview, and take them with you if you like. You’re interviewing the company just as much as they’re interviewing you.
Be enthusiastic
This also goes without saying, but try to present an enthusiastic front. You may be nervous, you may not know what to expect, but take a deep breath and smile! Showing enthusiasm in an interview and a willingness to learn makes you the perfect trainee. Coming across as apathetic, however unintentionally, makes you a bad fit for most companies.
Put opportunity before salary
As a trainee designer, the opportunity is far more important than the salary on offer. Remember, it’s likely a ‘start salary’ and will increase after a probationary period anyway (this is something to ask before accepting an offer!). Your salary increases rapidly during the first few years of work, as you gain experience and become skilled in design work, so go for the best opportunity to learn, not the best salary. A job that leads somewhere is more rewarding in the long run than a job with no development you end up getting trapped in.
Summary
Be realistic
Set your sights on the best training opportunity you can, not on the job with the best salary or perks. Sure, these are great but in the long run what do you want to be? A mediocre designer unable to move up the talent ladder, or a fantastic designer with a client base and portfolio to take them anywhere they want to go?
Practice
Keep your skills sharp by practising in your own time. Even if you’re freelancing or doing work experience, there’s nothing like working on your own projects to really test your skills and push the boundaries of what you can do. It’s not meant to be easy – if it was, you’d learn nothing at all.
Portfolio
A portfolio is the single most important thing a designer can have, so make sure you have one. A portfolio theme is a quick-win way to present your work, and puts you firmly in the league of ‘real’ designers. Only put your best work on here – this is one case where less can definitely be more.
Be someone people want to work with
You’ve just graduated so no one, especially not a potential employer, will expect the earth from you. Skills and technical competence can be learned, but passion and enthusiasm can’t. Raw talent, willingness to learn and a great personality are what people want to work with, and this is what will win you that job!
