How long did it take you to find a job?

[lunabeetlegirl]

I graduated with an associate's degree in February of this year and I'm so frustrated right now! I was very hopeful about this last interview but I just found out that I did not get it... :(

I was just wondering, how long after you graduated was it before you found a job?

Everyone wants experience! I think I have a good portfolio (www.rachelsart.com) but I have no actual pre-press experience. I chose the school I went to largely because they said they had a 98% placement rate but they really have not helped me at all!! I have designed for actual clients but, aside from two logo jobs where I just gave the client the files, everything is just saved as a pdf and printed on a laser printer or taken to Kinkos. Right now I work at a computer store (I AM SOOO SICK OF RETAIL) and I design some promotional materials in my spare time for their business department, but they just print it up on our demo laser printers in-store.

Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated! I have been working retail for 6 years (high school + college) and if I have to do this much longer I'm going to kill someone (either myself or a customer or both)...

AARGH!!

/emoticons/frusty.gif

[morea]

Prepress experience can be really helpful, and sure beats working in retail. Why not pull out your yellow pages and send a resume to every printer llisted? Even if you don't get as much pay as you're looking for, the experience would be invaluable.

Good luck!

[DeleteYourself]

Yeah, I agree. Pre-press is a great way to get started. There are a ton of threads on that subject, do some searching. Be patient, it took me about 3 or 4 months after I graduated with my Bachelor's before I found a job. My best advice to you is to be persistent. If you find someplace that seems promising, don't give up. Keep in contact without being pushy. Also, exploit any personal contacts you may have. It's much easier to find a job through someone you know. Remember the old saying: 'It's who you know, not what you know.' Sooooo true.

Anyway, good luck and welcome to the GDF!

http://www.dafenix.org/todd/newsig.gif
Support Music and Arts Education | www.dafenix.org (http://www.dafenix.org) | 'You have no chance to win.' | GDF Mac Death Squad, Son

[BuckarooB]

Two YEARS!

But it's a keeper!

http://www.whispercreek.us/ImageServe/MindKillerSig.gif

[Big Perm-dizzle]

maybe your interview skills are not good.... maybe you need to be able to sell yourself

---- Sheriff of Boobie Island --------

GOD I LOVE OVERTIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.conceptprint.com - my company's new site

[D-Zine]

I agree with everything that Delete said. It took me 6 months after I got my BFA to find a design job. I have said this over and over I know...but...get out your phone book and call every local printer in your area from Kinko's to Joe's print pad! Sending out resumes is great but don't stop there, make calls, go into the places to drop the resume off personally...A job in a print shop will be the best beginning expereince you could ever ask for, reguardless of what the pay may be. I think that most ppl think that sending off resumes is enough, but its not. Every job I have gotten a design job, I have gotten it from calling to see if they are looking for a GDer or going into their office and dropping my resume off personally. Sure its kinda uncomfortable sometimes bc you dunno these ppl you are talking to but they see your face or hear your voice they will remember you and what you were like....

Good luck in our quest and welcome to the GDF :o)

Boobie Island or Bust!

[paulrandfan]

2 months...but I'm starting to realize why....

'To Design is much more than simply to assemble, to order, or even to edit; it is to add value and meaning, to illuminate, to simplify, to clarify, to modify, to dignify, to dramatize, to persuade, and perhaps even to amuse.' --Paul Rand

[D-Frag]

2 months was my first one out of college, and it was luck...pure luck, i ended up running the whole graphic design dept. for 8 Clear Channel Communications radio stations down here. And of course I hate CCC but I took the job anyways.

5 midgets......spanking a man....covered in 1000 island dressing. Is that love making? - Token

[Silence04]

2-3 weeks for me.
but i was out every day droping off resumes and doing the 'meet and greet.' i got interviewed at 5 different places till i got my job.
look in the yellow pages and call every place in there, even if they say they are not hiring go and drop off your resume and introduce yourself. and take some time to go drop off your resume at any big corperation, even if they aren't a design company, they may have a graphics department that isn't advertised anywhere.

<SUP>www.jdcgraphics.net (http://www.jdcgraphics.net/)<SUP>- currentlyunder construction
http://www.jdcgraphics.net/banner.gif

[defjoe]

what school did you go to? cause if you went to a University that has a design proam as oppsoed to a design school...that 98% placement might be WAY skewed! I got ZERO help from my college at the time too. they had no clue how to deal with this industry. the placement person at the time told me that it was going to be harder for me and there is really nothing they could have done.

'I will become the most powerful Jedi ever!'

[bunwhisper]

Hi Rachel

Some feedback for you (I am an Art Director). I think it might be your resume. Your design skills are very very nice--better than I would expect from a student from a 2 year school and I truly dont think that is your problem at all. But your job experience feels weak. I know you haven't had a graphic design job, but turn your retail experience into something better. Dont talk about nightly deposits, talk about how your time working with clients has translated into an ability to deal with client problems. You have supervised others, play that up (ie supervised junior associates and instructed them on procedures). Nobody cares that you can count out a cash drawer--they care about the skills you bring to your new position that actually apply. Play up the communication skills, too.

Also, break out the flyers and other materials you have designed and call it freelance work. Nobody will know any different and it makes it appear that you have gone out and gotten a client (you did) and helped them to make print marketing decisions (which you also did).

Also, dont put your GPA, attendance record or the fact you never missed a school deadline on your resume. Irrelevant. GPA means nothing in Design. Use that space to talk about your skills. The address of the school is not necessary, just name and city/state.

Remember, you are marketing yourself. You have superior design skills, you need to let them know that! The design of your resume is clean and interesting, but you really need to beef up your 'sale' of yourself.

I hope I helped--I dont mean any offense by anything I said, just giving you some of what I look for. FWIW, I would give you a call if I were looking for a junior designer--your work speaks so well of you. Part of your problem is also that you are in Ohio--I spent 10 years of my career in cleveland before giving up and moving to LA. Careerwise, it was the best thing I ever did. Ohio is mostly industrial (you too can design material data safety sheets!) and that is fading quickly. The only other nook can be corporate, which is the route I went. But the end result of that for me was, I hated the corporate world, which is why I am getting a master's in Social Work now :-)

As for me, I had a a job before I got out of college (Kent State) working at a medium size printer. It was an internship and they hired me when I finished. I then moved on to a small agency in Akron, then into corporate design, where I am still today. The economy was hideous when I got out of college (1989) but I managed--you will too!

Libby

[lunabeetlegirl]

Thanks for the advice! I am trying to freelance a bit and doing things free/very cheap to get some experience, so hopefully that will help. Thanks for the resume tips, I will definitely look into fixing some of that as well.

[plantationfarmer]

<<doing things free/very cheap>>

dont do things for free. if you want to do free things, join a contest or something. its more satisfying.
and you got to be creative and experiment.
most free works are uncreative jobs anyway. a client (i wont even call them clients) who wants free labour from a desperate student.
dont pitch a project with a 'very cheap' concious. you'll just be perceived as a cheap designer and it kills the freelance market.
you have a job, though not design, so you have an income to eat. pitch at recommended entry-level rates if you got a lean portfolio.
yeah. never ever say your rates are cheap. its like saying your talent is cheap. it just makes me sick...

my experience anyway...yeah.
good luck!

:heaven is a coconut away:

[bunwhisper]

Another thought, Rachel. Have you signed up with any agencies to help you find a job? I have gotten three jobs that way--good paying, long-term career jobs. Aquent is one that I know is in Ohio, but look for smaller ones that focus on creative staffing. This can also be a good source of freelance work.

On the web, guru.com posts freelance work--you respond to the jobs you are interested in. I dont know how well it works, but it looks interesting. Also look at craigslist in your area to find freelance work.

And I agree with the above poster--dont give it away, unless it is for a non-profit agency where you feel your donated time is worthwhile. This can be a great way to get experience--pick a charity that you support, and call them up to donate your time and design skills--most will be glad to have you (and will respect your time limits)! Except for charities, people who want free work are just a**holes who want lots of your time for nothing. You wont enjoy the experience, trust me. Charge a little less because you are starting out, but charge. You dont deserve to be abused.

[reuber1]

This topic seems very familiar to me...hmmmm..."I'm really damn close to giving up?..."


Totally agree with joe on the career "services" comment...my school's alumni placement blows hard. Anyways, I'm in the same boat as you except although I have a Bachelors and an Associates, my portfolio is nowhere near is good as yours and I don't have an online portfolio (yet...). All I can say is I hope you're having better luck than me in the job search. It seems to me that those of us who live in bumf()ck states are disadvantaged in this field. I wish I could simply drop off my resume in person to every place I was interested in...problem is the nearest "metropolitan" areas are 40 to 60 miles away, and the true metropolitan areas are about a 2 to 3 hour drive; not economically feasible given gas prices and "crappy-job" pay.


Sorry, I don't have any advice, I'm just b!tching where I can...http://www.graphicdesignforum.com//emoticons/icon_mad.gif

"Oh wow man! Right beside the snack bar man!" -Tommy Chong

[plantationfarmer]

yes. charities are good free jobs. they dont kick you around. =)

:heaven is a coconut away:

[bunwhisper]

Well, if you want to do graphic design, or fashion design or anything like that, ya have to move where the jobs are. Face it, people in East Nowheresville do not care about slick looking annual reports or bitchin' websites. If you are an actor, you move to NY or LA, if you are an astronaut, you move to Houston.

I expect all of you in tiny cities would fare better if you moved to LA, Chicago, NY or SF. My salary more than doubled when I moved from Cleveland to LA. And my opportunities were much more varied. You just cannot expect small towns to support the kind of design careers you want.

My advice FWIW :-)

[D-Zine]

I'm sure that if I moived to LA or somewhere like that my salary would double but it also depends on what you like. I don't like big cities and over crowded cities. I have a good job making decent money and I am happy with it. I think it depends on what makes you happy. You could move to a huge city, get a job with a big company making big money and be totally miserable. It all just depends on you and want you want I think. Just my .02 ;o)




Boobie Island or Bust!

[defjoe]

bunwhisper said...


Also, dont put your GPA, attendance record or the fact you never missed a school deadline on your resume. Irrelevant. GPA means nothing in Design. Use that space to talk about your skills. The address of the school is not necessary, just name and city/state.



I've have been saying this for years! than ks for backing me up (in a round about way)

'I will become the most powerful Jedi ever!'

[reuber1]

bunwhisper said...
Well, if you want to do graphic design, or fashion design or anything like that, ya have to move where the jobs are. Face it, people in East Nowheresville do not care about slick looking annual reports or bitchin' websites. If you are an actor, you move to NY or LA, if you are an astronaut, you move to Houston.

I expect all of you in tiny cities would fare better if you moved to LA, Chicago, NY or SF. My salary more than doubled when I moved from Cleveland to LA. And my opportunities were much more varied. You just cannot expect small towns to support the kind of design careers you want.

My advice FWIW :-)
Very true...but the thing is there ARE jobs here, just not quite as much as the bigger cities and they want people with experience out the poopchute or from a certain university or whatever.The main problem though is that if you were where we are at (or at least where I am at), you wouldn't be making enough to move to begin with. Sure, it sounds reasonable to just pick up and move somewhere else, but that just isn't a current reality for someone like myself...yeah, the cost of living here is low, butthe pay is even lower. 7.50/hour is barely enough for me to maintain car payments (not a great car) and gas payments (drive daily to and from work is30-40 minutes)even while I live in my friggin' parents house.

FWIW,a former classmate of mine, who is now 42 years old, moved to Iowa from Floridawith the promise of a great job at a communications firm ina safesuburban areaabout twenty years ago. Well, the job turned out to be far worse than it seemed and he's been stuck here up until two years ago when his father died and he took over his farm, which otherwise he would still be here; this guy is one of the nicest and smartest people out there and he can barely get the funds to live right now yet he has awesome experience and pretty good design skills (albeit an IT guy).

I'm not trying to make it sound like it's impossible to pick up and move to a larger area, but it certainly is harder than just picking a place to live and moving. Besides, I totally agree with D-Zine about not liking the big cities...hell I don't even care for Des Moines and that has a population of only 500,000. I have a feeling that if I had to move to LA or NY I would be even more miserable than I am now (http://www.graphicdesignforum.com//emoticons/cheers.gif), and with Chicago less than three hours away I have visited that city enough to not want to live there...ever. I don't want to make a ton of money, I just want to make enough to make a living and be happy. How about another http://www.graphicdesignforum.com//emoticons/cheers.giffor another unecessarily long post from me!

"Oh wow man! Right beside the snack bar man!" -Tommy Chong

[bunwhisper]

Well in my case, the company that hired me, paid for my move. It *can* happen!

I am not knocking small cities/towns. I am just saying that design is a 'big city' career (like publishing and advertising) and its very limited if you are not in a big city. I can understand you wanting to stay where you are ahppy, and that certainly means a lot--but things are a tradeoff. It may mean you will never find a design job, or will never be paid what you are worth. Not that that couldn't happen here too!

[reuber1]

Well put; couldn't have said it better myself (or at least in fewer than three paragraphs, as my last post). I hope that if I get hired for this position I just interviewed, they'd pay for my move! Then again, I just hope I get this position! BTW, handy advice for my resume as well, since all Ihave been doing is working retail for the past four years I try to make it sound more important than it really is...but how do I emphasize my creative ability whenthat's the only place I've worked? I've never done anything more creative than setting up an endcap of product one time without aschematic to tell me what goes where...I've had morecreativity with a bowl of Alphabits.


"Oh wow man! Right beside the snack bar man!" -Tommy Chong

[paulrandfan]

"visual merchandising" :) That's what I said about target when I set up my resume....I set up jewelry displays and clothes dummies, and once and a while did some signage....

You also have to remember that they don't only hire you for specific job skills...Communication, and ability to collaborate with clients and a team is something that can be done in any job!


Jessica




'To Design is much more than simply to assemble, to order, or even to edit; it is to add value and meaning, to illuminate, to simplify, to clarify, to modify, to dignify, to dramatize, to persuade, and perhaps even to amuse.' --Paul Rand