A presentation on my top 5 tips for getting your first design job after college. I presented this to the Design students at Enmore TAFE on Wednesday 17 September 2014

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© MercerBell 2013
TIPS FOR
GETTING
YOUR FIRST
DESIGN JOB
GENE STAPLETON
STUDIO MANAGER
TOP
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3. Before you start looking
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?

4. Before you start looking
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.

5. Before you start looking
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!

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Searching
for jobs

7. Searching for jobs
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, BT and Adnews
o Agency, studio, print group,
magazine publishers and client websites

8. Searching for jobs
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

9. Searching for jobs
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

10. Searching for jobs
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

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12. 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

13. Applying
So you’ve found a job
you want to apply for
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How do you stand out?

14. Applying
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.

15. Applying
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.

16. 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

17. Applying
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

18. Applying
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!

19. Applying
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)

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portfolio

21. portfolio
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.

22. portfolio
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!

23. portfolio
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

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The Interview

25. 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.

26. 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

27. 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

28. 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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Searching
for jobs
portfolio
The Interview
Keep evolving

30. ThANK YOU
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GENE STAPLETON
STUDIO MANAGER