Top 5 tips for getting your first design job
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© MercerBell 2013 1
GENE STAPLETON STUDIO MANAGER
TIPS FOR ���GETTING ���
YOUR FIRST DESIGN JOB
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Ask yourself: “What kind of Designer do I want to be?”
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o Package Designer?
o Corporate Identity Designer?
o Digital Designer?
o Editorial Designer?
o Finished Artist or Agency Designer?
o Art Director?
Before you start looking
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Try to have an idea of where you want to end up working
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o Most Designers stay in the field they started out in, ���because most employers look for certain skills relevant ���to their business
o Think about all this before you start. It might help you to decide which jobs to apply for and which ones to avoid.
Before you start looking
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You‘ll probably learn more in the first week at a job, than you have in two years of college
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o Brush up on the skills that are relevant to the job you want
o Oh, and brush up on your maths!
Before you start looking
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Searching
for jobs
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Start with the usual places
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MercerBell has placed ads at all the above in the last 6 months
o Also check social media and industry press
o LinkedIn, twitter and facebook
o mumbrella, Campaign Brief, B&T and Adnews
o Agency, studio, print group, ���magazine publishers and client websites
Searching for jobs
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Sometimes it’s not what you know, but who
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o It’s a fact – many positions are filled from within
o Many positions are never even advertised, ���so contact companies directly and ���make yourself know to them
Searching for jobs
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Try to avoid the urge to jump at anything that comes along
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o It’s really important to get a job in a place where you are going continue to learn
o Some employers are keen to make use of cheap labour
Searching for jobs
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Internships and work experience?
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o Don’t be afraid to offer your services for free – but be sure to establish the terms up front
o Work experience can often lead to permanent work
Searching for jobs
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you need to stand out
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Applying
I recently advertised a mid-weight design position I received over 70 applications
I chose 5 to interview
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So you’ve found a job you want to apply for
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How do you stand out?
Applying
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Do some research and answer the brief
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Spend a good amount of time ���on their website and find out:
o What they do
o Why they do it
o And who they do it for
o Job ads are often a test in themselves, ���to see how well you can follow a brief. ���So give them exactly what they ask for.
Applying
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So you’ve found a job you want to apply for... First impressions count
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o Take the time to write a cover letter and introduce yourself
o Outline why you would be good for the role
o Use examples e.g. my knowledge of Adobe Illustrator and my love of origami would make me an ideal candidate for the packaging Designer role you are advertising
o Use what you found out about them to impress and secure an interview
o If you worked at McDonalds as a teenager and you see that one of their clients is McDonalds, use it to your advantage.
Applying
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Get your ResumE in order
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Include the usual:
o Education o Tertiary and secondary (inc. relevant subjects and skills) ���
as well as any extra courses
o Work history (inc. any relevant work experience)
o Your interests (other than art and design) o Many employers places cultural fit quite high on the list ���
of things they want from a potential employee
Applying
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Your resume – is likely the first ‘design’ a potential employer sees
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o Treat it as such. It should be a design piece worthy of your portfolio
o Do it in InDesign, not Microsoft Word
o Make it consistent – create yourself a ‘Brand’
o But don’t over complicate it – Simple. Clean. Design.
o Get someone else to sense-check what you’ve written
Applying
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Your resume would end up in my bin if you didn’t remember to...
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o Name the PDF with your details
Something like: Gene_Stapleton_CV.pdf
o Fix your widows!
o Kern your shit!
o CHECK THE SPELLING!
Applying
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What do you send?
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Three things:
o Your cover letter (as a PDF)
o Your Resumé/CV (as a PDF)
o A link to your website or ���a condensed version of your portfolio (as a PDF)
Applying
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portfolio
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Yes you need one!
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Whether it be a website, a presentation on a tablet or printed sample in a book you need a portfolio of your work
o A ‘book’ is particularly important if you are going for a print-based design job
o As an employer working predominantly in print, ���I want to be able to touch your work and ���see it as it was intended to be seen.
portfolio
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So which platform should you display your work in?
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o All if possible, but use the platform that best displays your ability in the job you are going for.
o I also recommend having a back-up!
portfolio
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What to show?
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o Show a broad range of work
o Tailor it to suite the job you are going for
o Cull – 5-7 great designs is better than 20 average designs
o Think about the order
o Lead with the most relevant design, and finish with your best design
portfolio
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The Interview
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Remember, First impressions count
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A potential employer takes, on average, ���5 minutes to make up their mind about you.
They spend the next 45 minutes or so���
trying to justify that feeling to themselves.
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Remember, First impressions count
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o Be on time
o Be enthusiastic and positive
o You don’t have to wear a suit, but it’s advisable to ���be clean, neat and tidy
o Be yourself
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You should be doing most of the talking
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o An interviewer might direct a conversation, but it should be the interviewee doing the majority of talking
o Use the research you did, to pay them a compliment
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Be prepared for some tricky questions
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o Tell me a bit about yourself.
o What do you know about MercerBell and what we do?
o Why would you like to work for MercerBell?
o What do you think the position involves?
o Show me your best design. Why do think it is your best?
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The Interview
portfolio
Searching
for jobs
Keep evolving
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ThANK YOU
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GENE STAPLETON STUDIO MANAGER