Designer Experience First Start!

I applied for many graphic design jobs after graduating from school. It’s true I wasn’t qualified for the senior positions, nor even for the vice president positions, but I figure entry-level or junior positions would be okay? The only thing you need is one person who says ‘yes.’ If I remember correctly, my first job after graduation was at Kinko’s Copies on Broadway in Vancouver. However, it was not the job I had hoped for. However, it was a job. Although you take a position to gain some skills, you build some networks, and who knows, anything can happen!

Graveyard shifts are the shifts no one wants. As it turned out, 3am was a busy time there! Truthfully, I didn’t like it. But when I had people needing graphic work on the Mac, I took care of that for them. I became a pro at hole punching, coiling, and saddle stitch binding from binding and finishing. Although I don’t remember how long I stayed at Kinko’s, I think maybe it was a month or two. Having landed an excellent publishing position, I left. The rest is history.

New Graduates and Changing Careers

Graduating students in June compete not only with other universities, colleges, and institutes, but even high school graduates in June may find it overwhelming in the job market. Graduates who are graduating in the winter months of December have the issue of no-hiring during the holidays. The perfect time may be in the spring months of March and April. This could be debatable too!

What can a new graduate do? People who have been self-taught or self-trained in design or web development may wish to switch careers. In some instances, publishing your work can help recognize that you are more than capable of performing the task. If your work had been published in a publication, you had made it to the big screen. When you design a website and upload it, you are the maker of that website. Sometimes, that might not be enough to get a job offer. The work you present in your portfolio needs to be relevant and current. If possible, kick-ass. There is no need for those bulky art portfolio cases anymore. This does not apply to architectural renderings.

Out of Necessity

There are some people who cannot work for someone else. Occasionally, it’s out of necessity. While working, one may not play nice with others or work well. The flexible schedule can be used to either pick up the children from school, daycare, care for aging parents, or take care of pets. Sometimes the market isn’t ready for you. New graduates need experience. That’s a catch-22, isn’t it? A business or company won’t hire anyone without previous work experience. But how does one gain experience if one isn’t hired?

Striking On Your Own as a Freelancer!

To get experience, one can take on freelance contracts. You can still look for full-time employment while you work on your craft. That would mean, you could become a sole proprietor. Or a freelancer. A consultant. I won’t get into the jest of how to register your business, insurance and other business stuff because I am not 100% sure where you are living. I am from Canada, and if someone from the United States or Australia reads this, it’s quite a bit different from our tax laws to business licences.

Whatever money you earn as a freelancer, you need to declare this on your tax forms. Speaking from experience, I became a freelancer when I first graduated from school. After many years later, while working for other top companies in their respective industries, I still freelance at the side as a contractor, an instructional and graphic designer for hire. Customers have more choices than ever when it comes to the products and services they buy. And that choice doesn’t end when they sign a contract with you.

It can be nerve-wracking to land that first client or to sign the first contract. You don’t want to mess up. Or make a major mistake. From beginning to end, what are the steps for a client? There are many steps, and there are sometimes more than one way to accomplish a task. You will see an infographic in which we start off and maybe end. Nothing is set in stone. It may not work for you what worked for me. This is just a suggestion. I am simply making a suggestion.