Seven Weeks Later
It's been a good 2-3 months since I have blogged anything and believe it's time for a catch-up. A lot has happened since my lost post and coming up as Number One is having a job.
Not sure where to exactly start, which reminds me of the importance of keeping this up-to-date. I seem to be able to self-evaluate more successfully when I am writing, possibly because I am designating time to reflect or maybe the thought process creates a chain reaction. Whichever way, I would like to set a goal for myself to write on a more regular basis.
I have been working at an agency now coming onto seven weeks and feels like a far distant memory the job hunt. However, there are important lessons to learn from it. Simple things like knowing what you want and where you would like to be, knowing who you are and what motivates you. It's a great time to grasp factors like this and this will aid your search.
If you know what you want, where you want to be, what motivates you - you can begin to target the right sort of position and company. It's about quality, not quantity.
Anyways before I get into a tangent, during the start of January I had four meetings in four days. This contained two interviews, one portfolio critique and one careers advisory.
First was a meeting/interview. It wasn't an interview as such but more of a discussion of what I, a designer could bring to the company and whether they could see me benefitting them. Second was a meeting with NCS (National Careers Service) which came with a positive and negative combined: -
"Karen, you're doing everything you can do to get a job,"
The third day, I met with a design agency based in Coventry called Parenthesis. This is something I would recommend to all creatives and maybe even other industries as well. The job hunt is hard because you are detached from the industry you want to be in and morale at times can be difficult. A great method I found was to set-up meetings with agencies/companies you are interested in. Just a give a quick ring, express your interest and enquire whether they have a spare 30 minutes of your time so you can show them your portfolio, find out more about them and gain some advice (of whatever you feel necessary).
I gained a lot from these meetings during my job hunt as it enabled me to gain fantastic advice about my portfolio and career, meet fellow creatives, reinforce why we are passionate about design, widen your network and much more.
The fourth day arrived and it was an interview for a Graduate Designer Intern at a design agency based in Leicester called CWA. This interview also required me to do a brief for them, which really excited me as I was eager to get back onto the design wagon. The interview went well, was wonderful meeting fellow creatives (much like the above). That evening I received a phone call from them saying they gave their recommendations to their MD and they would like to offer me the position.
... And like that, seven weeks later, here I am complaining I haven't wrote in a while due to the business of work.
I am beginning to see an essay forming, therefore I shall post this and I shall write another one about what I am learning now that I am working. Otherwise, this could turn into a dissertation, which none of us wants...
If you made it to here reading, I'm impressed.
