I would like to vent my disgust with the graphic design industry!?

Question

When i first left uni with a BA(hons), i thought yes heres my chance to get out into the industry, so as soon as summer came i started applying! throughout the 2 months i went for over 15 interviews! and the responses i usually got back were... 'we think you are too creative for this role' or 'you dont seem to be experienced enough' even the ones that i didnt get an interview for were always 'you dont have enough experience'! so thats 15 interviews from roughly about 100 applications! My main point is... How do i get experience if no1 is willing to give me it! Ive studied the d**n subject for 7 years.. i think thats experience in itself! Now i know i could do placements! but i cant afford to! I have bills to pay, rent to pay! i cant just swan off for a months placement! but the industry doesnt realise this! they probably think we all have rich mummies and daddies willing to pay for us to reach our dream! well unlike some, i dont!

Now luckily last December i finally found a job! working for a goverment agency as their inhouse designer! though this was only maternity cover, i thought even better! this will give me that illusive experience every company wants!

Which brings me to the present day! after 8 months experience im coming to the end of my contract! i have been searching for jobs since June, i have been to 3 interviews now, 1 of them im still waiting to hear back from, the other 2 i was unlucky in not being picked... but my anger is coming from these bloody companies! Junior designer positions i have been applying for.... and guess what their bloody answer is 'your not experinced enough! how experienced do you have to be' because to be frank, I really am thinking of a career move, cos this industry is starting to p*ss me off! anyone else agree?

Answer 1

I have 12 years experience since graduating. Finding a job doesn't always get easier with experience either! Try looking in Creative Review or Design Week for jobs. Also, Guardianjobs is good too.

Answer 2

ok, deep breaths. Yes this is a hard industry to get into. The competition is hard. Did you ever think that "not enough experience" meant your skills are not good enough for their company? Might be the case. I know our company doesn't have the time to babysit and hold someone's hand while an entry level/junior designer figures out how the real world works. I was hired and was thrown into the deep end from the beginning. If I wasn't a quick learner and able to figure things out for myself, I would have been out of a job on the first week. But I will give you that it is hard to get in, and there isn't much out there to choose from.

Answer 3

I hope the interviews prove fruitful, if not other options are...

* get another job, any job and look for opportunities to do graphics work for them e.g. if you work in an office/pub/shop do all the signs, leaflets and posters. It will provide that elusive official graphics industry experience for your portfolio. You'll be amazed how useful you'll become to them, or

* set up your own graphics business. Work part-time in another job to keep a-float if need be. Cheap set-up costs - You won't have to pay anyone to create your logo, business stationery, adverts, website etc.

Persevere, it will be worth it.

Answer 4

woa, glad u got that out...

Answer 5

Welcome to the real world.  I've got skills, yet it took me a year and a half (and over 100 interviews) to land a job in my field.  

Sometimes it's better to go through a placement service to get your foot in the door.

Answer 6

I'm glad you were able to vent.  Here in my area of the States, we are overrun with artists.  Good ones, too.  Why, you can't swing a cat without hitting someone who is an artist (me included).  I wonder if the supply has simply exceeded the demand.  We have graphic artists, as well as fine artists, competing for the same job, trying to make a living with their talent.  A lot of them have to do other things to pay the rent and wait until they retire to do art full time.  I hope the interviews work out for you.  Good luck.

Answer 7

I think that when they tell u 'u don't enough experience for this' u should ask them what experience u need to get the job. If they can't answer that or they say something in which u've been studying over for those 7 yrs, then they r just being discriminant of ur talent. Have u written resumes for these companies? If not, u should attach ur proof of experience to ur resumes. Use ur grades in the classes u took and push the degrees u have in their faces (not litarally of course) but make a copy of ur degrees and attach them w/ ur records to ur resumes.

Anyway, there r other jobs u can look into involving art that may help u in getting whatever experience they want of u.

This might help u find more art careers and hopefully tell u what the careers are looking for.

http://www.artcareer.net/