Graduate seeking quick career advice!

[the_undergraduate]

Hi all, realising that this is a Graphics and Design discussion forum I could'nt really find a section for general advice so I thought what the hey I'll try my luck here.

I am actually a graduate, I dont think I can actually change my username, but that as it is I wanted some quick advice from web and new media designers on how I can get into this industry with a years of industrial experience as a Multimedia designer and a 2.1 in Multimedia Computing course?

The frustrating thing is is that people either want more than 1 years experience and/or a better portfolio and technical skill set and to be honest although I got high grades academically the level of work Isnt really up to the standard due to the wide range of areas we covered and not really focussing on anything.

The obviouse solution would be to learn these skills myself, which I am slowly, but I think we can all agree that "on-the-job" experience is much better, so I was just wondering if any of you either went through the same situation or could maybe offer some general advice to a frustrated and bored graduate?

Thank you for your time,

Sukhjinder Singh (Sukh)
BSc (Hons)

[mattholsonback@mac.com]

To get your experience, you might consider a freelance work site. I found this article about the top 20 sites to find freelance work.
The Top 20 Sites for Locating Freelance Work : Vault IT Careers Career Information
I've used Scriptlance and some others with great results. Good luck!

[wige]

If you can afford to do so, you might also want to consider donating your time and skills to open source projects. When I was starting out, working on developing web sites for open source projects as well as contributing code to a few projects helped me improve my resume quite a bit. The site I used to find projects was sourceforge.net, although there are now many other options as well.

[the_undergraduate]

thanks for that Matt, I'll look into that as I think the freelance option is the best place to start!

[the_undergraduate]

thanks Wige, I hadnt even thought of the open source option! Well I probably couldnt afford to do that full time but I'l stil look into it, it sounds like a cool thing to add on the old resume, thanks for that!

[bj]

You might also consider donating a job or two for one of your favorite charities. It helps you beef up your portfolio, gets you goodwill with the charity involved and allows you to get a bit creative. This may also get people talking about you and lead to pay jobs, either as freelance or employee. As with working with open source projects, this is not something you can afford to do often, but if you're not working anyway, you may have time for one or two of these pro bono jobs. I don't know what your tax laws are like, but here in the US we get some (small) tax benefit from this sort of work as well.

You can also buy a couple domain names and build out your own fun sites. Slap some adsense on them and use them as portfolio sites. You might even make a couple bucks this way!

[noel_x99]

If you can afford to do a project with little or no income, find a worthy charity that needs the kind of help you can offer. Learn new skills while you do an outstanding job for them. You'll add to your portfolio and you may make some valuable connections in your community as well.

[BossWebmaster]

Put a little extra work into the stuff you do regardless of if it is freelance, or donated work. Make it look good so your portfolio looks good. Get a job in your industry where they will take you, it was difficult at first for me to find a job also. Don't be too picky on the first job, remember you are entry level. Do a good job so you will get a good reference. After a year or so start looking for a job that is closer to the type of work you would like to do, and pays better. At this time you will have a better portfolio, 1 year of real life experience, and a sparkling reference from a boss you worked your butt off for the last year. Keep progressing towards your ultimate career goals, always have a plan, don't just float around aimlessly.

Good luck!

[rgcote]

I tried the "donate work to a charity" route once. I contacted many charities and offered to do work for free. I told them my motivation was to increase my portfolio and that there were no strings attached to the work, no ulterior motive or bait and switch tactic. I couldn't convince a single charity to accept free work. It turned out to be a very tough sell.

But there are other ways to beef up your portfolio. Why not just create your own websites. You'll need to pay the hosting fee and the domain registration fee, but those are relatively low costs.

Do you have a hobby you love? Build a site with information for enthusiasts. Is there a band, movie star or writer that you are particularly fond of? Build a fan site with pictures, a forum, etc.

Is there a cause you believe in? Are there products you really like?

The point is to create websites. Nothing will be better than to point a prospective client to a few completed websites. He doesn't have to know that you own them. All the client needs to see is the quality of your work in correctly functioning websites that he can surf to on the web. This will convince a prospective client that you can start with nothing and create a fully functional website.

Unless he asks for references ... then you can give him a song and dance about not wanting to give out that kind of information or something. Or just be honest and tell him that you own the websites he just reviewed.

[the_undergraduate]

Thank you all for the advice I've received so far, I only posted this a few hours ago! All comments have been very helpful and I agree I should take on/source projects and learn in the process.

I am also considering going into Search Engine optimization jobs where there is on-the-job training provided, that way I plan on getting practical knowledge in that area and then moving towards the more design aspect.

Anyway Cheers people! And if theres anymore advice anyone else can find the time to give to me it would be much appreciated!

[james113]

craigslist is another good place to find freelance jobs, good luck!!!

[Palindrome]

Hi Sukhjinder

Firstly, I can not avoid being cruel to be kind. Good grammar and spelling are prerequisites in the field you wish to enter. Read through your initial post and see if you are satisfied.

Next step, go through your local directory and find every small business within a couple of miles that does not have a website. Do not phone, or email, go and knock on their door. Be absolutely honest about your position but do not offer to create a site for nothing, this is alien to the business mind. A cost saving in a situation of mutual benefit will be better received.

You will find an ample supply of people who would love a website but are afraid of the technology, or the cost. Offer to set them up with a decent, small site for a couple of hundred dollars, including their great new domain name and hosting.

Do this with sincerety and you will not go short of work. Then you have your portfolio and if these small companies grow, so does your existing base. A reward for helping in their success.

[vwickam]

I agree with Jane. Donating a little time to a not for profit organization is a great way to get your feet wet, and to do some good at the same time.

Here are my recommendations if you choose to do some Pro Bono work for a not-for profit organization:

1. Make sure that it is an organization that you support wholeheartedly.
2. Make sure that you give them a great site. Don't short change them. They can become a great portofolio builder and advocate for you.
3. Make sure that you take advantage of networking opportunities that may arise out of the organizations. If they have events where other donors attend, make sure you are there, and meet other donors and tell them what you are doing. These donors usually have money and like to spend it with people who give back to the community especially if you both support the same charity.
4. Make sure you check to see if there might be grants that could underwrite future enhancements to the site. If not, it's not a big deal, but it never hurts to check.

Good luck!

<in your signature only please>

PS. Freelancing and Open Source contribution are also great ideas for getting some experience and gaining credibility.

[virtualsilk]

I totally concur on the grammar and spelling. Clients always expect you to fix their mistakes, regardless (not "irregardless") of what the contract says.
Helping local non-profits is not only rewarding, it's great networking!

[wilderness]

Hi Sukh
I sympathize with your position having graduated in 2002 with honors in exactly the same position of having covered too many subjects to be particularly good at any one thing. To top things off I immediately moved to a place with less than 90 full time residents and 200 miles from the nearest town. What to do?
We have few charities here, but you can still do 'charity' work. We are a resort area, so I offered to build web sites for local resorts very inexpensively. I went over the top and worked hard to produce something unique and beautiful for each client, for far less than a 'design house' would have charged them. Building my portfolio and client list so to speak. I also read every single newsletter I could get my hands on, including this one, and taught myself the rudiments of SEO. That way I could offer my clients a one/two punch in effectiveness. Then I built my own website about the area and began (and still do) charging local businesses to list on it. It's not a directory. No one is cheated. It is a very thorough and comprehensive site about the area.
I now have more business and referrals than I want. I do not have time and I do not have a life and am contemplating retiring.
Any challenge can be met. Just look around you and see what you can do to fill a niche that no one else has done before.
Good luck!
J

[the_undergraduate]

Wow, some good advice people thanks. I'm not sure if "craigslist" is as popular here in the UK but I could always use the freelance directories people mentioned earlier or even facebook.

Thanks for the honesty with regards to the grammar. I think the reason for my grammatical laziness yesterday is because I was fed-up from writing 10-15 "different" forwarding letters, (not templates, which to my annoyance I really try not to do now) and online applications everyday, where companies expect long essay-like answers to different questions! So you can understand it gets a bit frustrating so from time to time I find myself writing the most random, awful English. But I should really be at the stage where I can write good grammar and spelling without having to check or be conscious of it and it does make the difference between employers thinking you’re a capable person or an imbecile, so you’re right.

Anyway thanks again all, you’ve all been very generous with your time.

[the_undergraduate]

Originally Posted by wilderness

Hi Sukh
I sympathize with your position having graduated in 2002 with honors in exactly the same position of having covered too many subjects to be particularly good at any one thing. To top things off I immediately moved to a place with less than 90 full time residents and 200 miles from the nearest town. What to do?
We have few charities here, but you can still do 'charity' work. We are a resort area, so I offered to build web sites for local resorts very inexpensively. I went over the top and worked hard to produce something unique and beautiful for each client, for far less than a 'design house' would have charged them. Building my portfolio and client list so to speak. I also read every single newsletter I could get my hands on, including this one, and taught myself the rudiments of SEO. That way I could offer my clients a one/two punch in effectiveness. Then I built my own website about the area and began (and still do) charging local businesses to list on it. It's not a directory. No one is cheated. It is a very thorough and comprehensive site about the area.
I now have more business and referrals than I want. I do not have time and I do not have a life and am contemplating retiring.
Any challenge can be met. Just look around you and see what you can do to fill a niche that no one else has done before.
Good luck!
J

"wilderness" that was more or less my plan before posting to this forum! I live in a small rural village tucked away in this big city yet there are opportunities to create sites for small businesses here and my plan was to create a larger site about the village for tourism, which also acts as a local directory for those well-established businesses. I’ll also incorporate the other great suggestions I’ve received here, and I too am teaching myself SEO techniques and the plus side is that my older brother is a Senior SEO engineer so I can always be annoying and ask him questions!

It is annoying when you think about what you learnt at university and for me personally it feels like I didn’t really touch on anything and didn’t learn anything relevant. So now is where the real hard work starts for me but if other people can do it like yourself then I'm sure I can, and by the sounds of it you've done really well so congratulations on your success, I hope it only gets better and thanks for the advice!

[gwhite]

You should also make sure you use the career placement services team of your school. They want you to become a success so you can send them money later in life. They may have projects they can hire you for or many contacts of local industry and previous graduates. Also find smaller startup companies with 4-10 employees and offer to work for them for six weeks on a focused project for a fixed fee, give them two prices, one price where you can use everything you do in your portfolio or and a second higher price if they won't allow you to use the work in your portfolio.

[free-bet]

Hi Sukh

I need a few banners for Football Bets

Not a major job but you are free to use anything produced for your portfolio if that is an aid to you.
Plus it may lead to more bits and pieces from me over time.

drop me an email / pm me if interested and you want to quote for the job.

Cheers
Mick

[AmyCreative]

Thought I'd chime in and share my perspective. I agree with the other posters above me that the best way to start out is to do some freelance work, build up a base of one or two clients, create websites for fun and use the available tools at your disposal, and meet people who might need someone who can do the job that they can't do. Working for free for a charity does help your resume and can lead to a job offer. After I graduated from uni, I didn't really end up working in a designer position till years later and went off at a tangent because the competition was very fierce so I ended up doing freelance on the side while working in a job that has nothing to do with my major. One cool thing about my experience is that although I worked in a job that has no use of my technical and design skills, I ended up doing this and that for staff at work, going out of my way to assist others, and they took notice of my technical and problem solving skills. Finally, 4 years later of patience and diligence to the company I work for, they decided to create a new position just for me and got promoted to a job that I love now, doing all kinds of marketing, communication design, web development & design, public relations and strategy for the company. I got promoted to a director position. My patience and loyalty paid off. The main reasons why I continue working here are the work environment which is awesome, friendly staff, great benefits, and flexible time off that includes up to 5 weeks of paid vacation each year.

[kjmastaw]

Hi UG, Others have recommended freelancing and I would concur. (The danger is that, once you go the freelance route, you may not want to bother with "employment.")

I hire freelancers at Elance - Outsourcing to freelance programmers, web & logo designers, copywriters, illustrators and consultants | Elance . That would be a great place to start.

You may also want to start reading up on the changing face of employment. Two books come to mind, The World is Flat by Thomas Freedman and The Four Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferris. I'm assuming that you're a "young person" so don't start out by limiting yourself to working for someone else if you don't have to. The old farts like us may have had no choice at the beginning of our carreers but the web has created a whole new world.

If you do find a job, set aside a little of every paycheck for starting your own business or investing. Because I guarantee that the day will come when you won't want to work for someone for the rest of your life

Best regards,
Kevin Mastaw

[bj]

The danger is that, once you go the freelance route, you may not want to bother with "employment.

So very, very true. Especially if you've got an independent streak and/or are in the upper intelligence percentile. It's very, very hard to work for people who aren't as smart, or as innovative as you are. You find yourself either in hot water because you can't keep your mouth shut, or because you feel you have to. It's always lose/lose.

And I've been self employed most of my life. If you've found what you love to do, then learn to be the best at it, find a niche, and don't look back. If you have to bartend or wait tables a couple nights a week for the first couple years, that's okay. It'll keep reminding you why you want to be successful at your own business.

[noel_x99]

I have to agree with what BJ and Kevin. My husband and I were both employed for years and were very frustrated by it. We love being self-employed. We honestly can't even imagine getting up and going to work for someone else.

But it's not all fun. Dealing with taxes and paperwork, cash flow, marketing yourself - self employment means you are forced to wear many hats. It's both challenging and rewarding.

I think it's still good to have a "job" at some point in your career. I did a little freelance are way-back-when - just out of art school. I wasn't ready for it then. Working in a professional environment (and learning from mistakes of others) really helps you know how to run your own business.

[webmax]

UG, you got so much advice you're probably not reading any more... but if you decide to become a freelancer, an ad in the yellow pages may work for you. Older businesspeople who are afraid of the web tend to look there for the services they need, not on the web. And since most web developers advertise on the web, you'll face less competition. Normally, people 45 to 65 years old won't ask to see your website. They want to look at you, shake your hand, and once they decide you are trustworthy, they'll give you business. How do you create trust among the older set? Try this:

1. Print out a nice business card for yourself, complete with physical address and telephone number. It can be from your home inkjet printer. What matters is that you are telling people that you have no intention of hiding.

2. Dress nicely, like you mean business. The more clothing, the better. Avoid jeans and leave your nose ring at home.

3. Print a one-page resume and bring your polished portfolio on a power point presentation. Print it out, too. You can bring your laptop to the meeting, but don't count on wireless internet access.

4. You may have to explain what a domain is and how it is different from hosting. So be patient. The more questions the person asks, the better.

5. Once you think you know what they need, go back home and make a detailed quote. Don't quote less than other designers, instead, add a set number of visits of a set duration into the quote, for the purpose of revisions. Add services like configuration of email boxes to work with Outlook, or other seemingly insignificant but necessary activities. For you they mean nothing but to them it can mean the difference between hiring you or someone else. Include a timeline of revisions and payments.

6. Be 100% honest, 100% of the time.

Soon they'll be recommending you with their business colleagues. It took me like 2 years to build a steady clientele of about 20 businesses. Now on my 3rd year, I get like 3 new clients a month. Now have 1 full time employee and 2 freeelancers.

Good luck!

[the_undergraduate]

Hi people,

I hadn’t stopped replying I just had a bit of a crazy weekend, along side putting together work for interviews! I appreciate all of the new posts and consider the advice I've received here invaluable. It's been good listening to the different ways in which all of you established yourselves in this industry. I’m definitely more conscious of all of the options available to me now having read and looked into all of the different recommendations you've all made and I can’t wait to put my new plans into motion!

Thanks again everyone!