Interned between 2nd and 3 year
Worked for Dazed and Confused, made redundant
Worked for WIRED as a Digital Art Assistant than a Digital Art Editor
What would you have liked to have known?
- Working to deadlines
- Don't pigeon-hole yourself
- Intern more - good industry practice
- Nail the production basics - Adobe software, cinema 4d, after effects, etc
- e-mail etiquette - keeps clients, interviews
- you know less than you think!
Use LinkedIn
Pros:
- Helps to define aspirations
- Builds your network
- Improves industry skills
- Can lead to a job
- unpaid
- not always productive
- Get Instagram, website, PDF portfolios ready.
- Make an email hitlist of people in the industry you admire/companies
- Go to events, talks, launches, parties, etc
- Be versatile - junior designers are expected to be able to work across a lot of media (print, type, digital, video, social, etc)
- Be a specialist - "digital art for editorial"
- Nailing the soft skills
- Attributes other than creative
- Time management, meeting deadlines (if you don't, you make other people's lives more difficult)
- Working within a team
- Organising projects
- Understanding business
Who should I pitch to?
- Find the people who hire (the AD's, designers, alumni, founders)
- LinkedIn and Instagram might help you find these people, get a better idea of what it takes to be in the position they're in, helps you to make decisions on what you want to do
How did you build your network?
- Immediately have friends in the industry (70+), rest of your course
- Internships
- Fiirst jobs
- Talks and events
- Word of mouth
- It gets increasingly easier!
Future-proof - what's going to become popular (animation, VR, AR, etc)
Industry - is the industry I want to be working in going to grow in ... years? (print, etc)
What if I don't know what to do?
- Go visit/intern more
- Let passion lead to design (what are you interested in outside of design? can this link to a job in someway?)
- Try jobs out, jobs aren't for life anymore
What type of positions are there?
- In-house e.g. Nike, single focus/boredom
- Agency e.g. Pentagram, clients/small fish (your designs will be sent through a lot of other people, will be changed, edited)
- Yourself e.g, Studio, freelancing..., freedom/financial risks
Where can I find a job?
- ifyoucouldjobs.com
- designjobsboard.com
- thedots.co.uk
Showing your work
- Invest in your portfolio
- Put time, effort, scrutiny, detail, presentation, rehearsal
- Make it diverse - employers look for a range of real projects
What do they want to see?
- Enthusiasm
- What's new, what's next - influences, trends, insight
- Why did you apply here?- a connection, shared interests
Should I have a "style"?
- In-house/agency designers work across styles
- Freelancers can be hired by an AD because their style or specialism suits a brief
What is a good portfolio like?
- Should show that you're considered
- Detail-orientated
- Empathetic - feelings
- Tailor the communication and portfolio to each place you want to work at, don't just send out the same thing 20 times
- Perfect your portfolio - don't have dodgy images, pixels out of place, weird lines, etc
Interview Questions
- "Your weaknesses?"
- "How does this work show...?"
- "How do you prioritise?"
- "How do you overcome stress?"
- "How do your interests align?"
- "What role will you suit in 10 years?"
What advice would you give yourself?
- Make it easy or easier
- Convey your great work ASAP
- Don't wait for the perfect job
- Prepare harder - it's going to get harder
- Make them see your work when they open the email (don't send website, send PDF - if they have to click through a website to find your work, they won't bother)
mail@kieranewalsh.co.uk
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