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Job inquiries... your thoughts?

M

macfearless

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jan 15, 2008
174
2
So, I've recently graduated from school in graphic design. While I have already gotten a job, it turns out that I really don't like it. It's for a magazine, a woman's magazine (not that kind:D) Either way, I recently sent out a host of intro emails to local design firms and what not and upon one being answered, i noticed that there was sort of a typo. Now, I've only heard back from two, but was wondering if the typo could be why I haven't heard from any of the other places...
 
You should send an actual, printed, mailed packet with your resumé, a cover letter, and a few samples of your work. Email is an excellent way to get ignored.

And as far as I am concerned, a typo on something from someone looking for a job gets it immediately thrown away as it shows a lack of focus and seriousness.

in this economy design is often one of the first things to get cut back. People looking for employment as designers are going to have a lot of competition and they need to have their s**t together to get the jobs.
 
i had copied and pasted from a previous email into my newly worded email. so now, much to my embarassment instead of reading "wondering if there might be any positions available" it now read "wondering if you might be any positions available" as oppose to "you might have" :eek:
 
not sure if i agree with "seriousness" definitely "focus"

Not good indeed. However, i did get responses from very reputable firms... so that's a little confusing?
 
Not a good start if you can't proof things properly from a business perspective.

And by the way you've done a typo on this thread too - check the title, its enquiries :rolleyes:
 
macfearless said:
Not good indeed. However, i did get responses from very reputable firms... so that's a little confusing?
Click to expand...

Perhaps they missed the typo, but in design, especially print, I would be worried about your e-mail.

If you got responses from a couple firms then what's the worry? Even if you're amazing at what you do, these days people may not be hiring.

On a side note, follow shecky's advice because quite frankly an e-mail like that screams lazy.
 
yeah, the oversight is definitely not indicative of my work. just one of those days i suppose. the market here right now for graphic designers is absolutely horrible. as much as i don't like where i am right now, i suppose i am quite lucky to have been hired... perhaps i should wait a couple of months before contacting potential employers again?!
 
macfearless said:
yeah, the oversight is definitely not indicative of my work. just one of those days i suppose.
Click to expand...

And everybody has them, so I wouldn't beat yourself up over it. :)

Designers seldom make good copywriters or proofreaders anyway. ;)
 
iGav said:
And everybody has them, so I wouldn't beat yourself up over it. :)

Designers seldom make good copywriters or proofreaders anyway. ;)
Click to expand...

thanks iGav. i suppose that's all i really needed to hear:) considering i've given myself a pretty tough time already...
 
Don't fret. A few years ago whent he market was fairly good for designers, I had to send out about 50+ applications to land my first job, a combination of email/printed or both - more electronic. I got 2 great replies, both said yes to me.

I have noticed, like many other designers here most likely, that the design job market is taking a hit recently. How bad it'll get, I don't know. I feel fairly priviledged to be hired very recently for a new job, so we'll see how things go on the whole for design. Good designers will still be hired by the good agencies, even when times are hard.

But the key to any job, is to always distance yourself as much as possible. Even if you love the company and the job, you have to try to be nonchalant as best you can. That's the only way you won't get depressed at the knock-backs you will get when looking for jobs. Sounds harder than it really is, though my other-half wears her heart on her sleave and I have to do a big job trying to keep here grounded when she goes through applications.

The typo wouldn't have helped, but don't stress about it - I'd say 3/4 may not have noticed or let it be a factor, if your work is good.
 
congrats on the new job! yeah, we'll see where this whole hit takes us... gotta keep my head up!
 
In the current economic climate I hear it's easier to get freelance work as opposed to being employed by a studio, which I guess make sense from a business perspective.
 
OK, my first suggestion is don't panic.

My advice is based on my experience in the last recession (89-94). I got a job straight away (89) on leaving college in a publisher. I got pretty fed up quite quickly as it wasn't a brilliant job. Friends started to get jobs in high profile agencies and I started getting jealous. Started to look around for a move but because I had only been in a job for a few months no one would touch me (no matter how good the portfolio or sharp the letters were). So I stuck at the job and things started to begin to work out - better work, more creative jobs etc etc.

Six months to a year later - just about everyone else had lost their jobs that I knew (last in - first out) as the agencies were more exposed than my company. Some of them never got back into graphics as the bad times pretty much carried on for another 3-4 years. Meanwhile I was really learning to enjoy going to work every day (and my pay was going up)...

Things worked out for me well in the long term.

So my second suggestion is take a longer view if you can... Keep your head down - get a year's experience if you can then have a think about your next move.
 
Jeremy that was a great post. You've pretty much lived my situation it seems. I can already see things that you wrote about happening with friends, agencies, etc... Thanks again:)
 
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