SCM Employability and Recruitment

Tuesday, 22 January 2013

Dodge the Milkround: graduate schemes are not the only route

From inside the university bubble, it can often feel like Deloitte, KPMG, Accenture and the other corporate campus-giants are the only brands with genuine job opportunities for graduates out there. In fact, there seems to be two options; either get a place on a formal scheme built on buzz words like ‘rotation’ and ‘leadership programme’, or become destitute.

With Christmas gone and a New Year beginning in earnest, I’m sure you’ve been subject to the inevitable familial interrogation, ‘so what are your plans for after university?’ Cue collective sigh. Yes- the prospective post-university abyss combined with the current economic and employment climate is enough to drench any student with woeful anxiety.

And who could blame students? When your desk is covered in branded goods from stress balls to wall charts, and your social calendar is crammed full of presentations by corporate top-dogs, it’s understandable that students feel their futures must be with big companies.

As an undergraduate at York last year, I certainly got caught up in the Milkround panic. Christmas and Spring terms were a frenzy of applications and cover letters for roles I didn’t quite understand or really know if I wanted to commit the next two years of my life to. The endless time-consuming applications began to take over my life with night time activities becoming absorbed by psychometric tests and waxing lyrical about my potential value to ‘x’ graduate scheme. And all for the inevitable email no graduate wants to receive: ‘many thanks but your application will not be taken forward at this time.’

Saturated labour market

With the graduate labour market saturated and an average of 73 gradsapplying for each role, this predicament will be becoming all the more familiar with graduates. By this time last year, I hadn’t had any success and spent the Christmas holidays trying again. The deadlines for companies I thought were my first choice had passed but a second round approached and so I kept researching. All this on top of the inevitably hectic rush of third year finals; otherwise known as the pinnacle of three years hard work.

Students should be focusing on these defining academic achievements that will stay with them for life, not on time absorbed looking for jobs. There are lots of other ways into almost all sectors. Having gone through the Milkround in my final year, I know how much time it takes. I also know that big corporations propagate a myth that there will be no valuable opportunities later on. The reality is different.

Grad schemes are great if you aspire to work for the Big 100 or know which sector you want to go into. But the culture of work has changed in recent times, with more flexibility and fluidity within the labour market that seems to make the rigid grad scheme infrastructure seem rather anachronistic. Who knows what they want to do at 21? If you do, I envy you.

Ever thought of an internship at an SME?

The minority of students win a ‘golden ticket’ graduate scheme path- so what’s all the fuss about? At the beginning of 2012, SMEs accounted for99.9 per cent of all private sector businesses in the UK with an estimated £3,100 billion in turnover. Yes, I was surprised as well. Graduates have a huge amount to offer SMEs looking to expand, and many offer internships. Yet, the SME route does not immediately spring to mind for most graduates considered their post-university career prospects.

Internships have got some pretty bad press of late, the term becoming synonymous with unpaid labour. I don’t need to regale you will the current rhetoric of Britain’s unpaid graduate army being exploited due to their desperation to gain work. The law is irritatingly vague on the issue and boils down to subjective semantics; under employment law, people who work set hours, do set tasks and contribute value to an organisation are ‘workers’ and are entitled to the minimum wage. Thus, it is left up to companies to decide what can be defined as ‘valuable’ or a ‘worker’ or what constitutes ‘set hours.’

But times are changing. Internships are no longer just two weeks of work experience at your dad’s law firm refining skills in photocopying and barista training. Furthermore, an internships bill set for 01/03/13 hopes to ban the advertisement of unpaid internships and, if it passes, will go some way in tackling this cultural problem. Paid internships undeniably need to become the exception and not the norm. But more than this, internships need to become an acclaimed alternative to the institutionalised grad scheme.

Internships offer an opportunity to ‘test-drive’ a potential job or sector. They are a great way of gaining valuable work experience in a variety of sectors as well as determining whether a chosen sector is for you. Internships at small and medium businesses are likely to offer you key training and work alongside key employers. They are personal, varied and you’re likely to be given greater responsibility which can then go on to further your career in larger firms with highly transferable skills, if that’s an aspiration.

Graduate schemes are great for the right person, but they not the only option out there. I ‘test-drove’ three different internships after my graduation. Yes, these gave me valuable transferable skills and work experience and furthered my career prospects. But more importantly, I’ve completely changed my career ‘plan’ as a result. Now, months later, I am working at an SME called Instant Impact, a company that unites fast-growing SMEs with the very best students and graduates. As someone who personally experienced the Milkround nightmare, is somewhat satisfying to finally be helping my contemporaries find their way into the big bad world of ‘careers.’ Be patient, have faith and try new things. Something better might be just around the corner.

Sabina Usher is a History graduate from the University of York.

http://www.independent.co.uk/student/career-planning/dodge-the-milkround-graduate-schemes-are-not-the-only-route-8450927.html

Saturday, 1 December 2012

How to find the right job for you

Wondering what type of work best suits you? Use this step-by-step guide to help you decide

John Lees
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 27 November 2012 09.30 GMT
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When choosing a new job, it's important to find the right one for you. Photograph: Graeme Robertson

Do you want to do something different but you don't know what it is?

For many professionals work can be frustrating because it fails to be a good match in terms of the skills, the people, and the results you achieve.

If you're going to put energy into finding a new job, you need to find something that motivates you and makes an impact with an employer. It's not about finding a job, but the right job – or at least a stepping stone role that eventually gets you where you want to be.

What to consider when deciding what type of work would suit you

• If you disliked your last job, was it the role, your team, the organisation, or the sector?

• What have you enjoyed studying most – academic courses, training events, or learning for fun?

• What jobs done by friends fascinate you?

• What advertised jobs have attracted you?

• Of all the jobs you have ever held, which was the most enjoyable and why?

• What topics do you enjoy talking about with friends?

• Think about a time when you had a great day at work. The sort of day where everything went well and got a real buzz. Write down what you were doing, what you enjoyed and what you achieved on that day.

• If all jobs paid the same, what work would you do?

• If you could try someone else's job for a day, what would it be?

Here are some practical steps to work out what types of work would suit you

1. Analyse your skills. Look hard at your skills, particularly those acquired outside work. What do you do well? What skills do you look forward to using in the workplace? Ensure you have plenty of up-to-date evidence of skills development, learning, and voluntary activities.

2. Work out your top 10 jobs criteria. Develop a personal wish list of the ingredients in your ideal job – think about key elements such as the kind of people you enjoy working with, the results you like to achieve and the organisation's working style. Then throw your values into the mix – what products or services matter to you? Look for jobs which match at least six out of the 10 criteria.

3. Focus on job ingredients. Don't refer to job titles all the time, but ask for certain ingredients, such as "I'm looking for a job that involves these skills, this knowledge, and this working style". Allow people to make creative suggestions rather than just responding to your stated job aims.

4. Mine your experience. Few people discover their ideal job through career tests. Usually what's needed is a new way of combining ideas and past experience. Look at what you have found stimulating in the past – in work, study or leisure – and map that on to the world of work by asking about what people actually do.

5. Look before you leap. Research before you job search. Don't rely on second-hand information about sectors; find out for yourself. Pick a couple of job ideas and ask around until you get a chance to talk to people who actually do the role. That way you really know what the job is like and you learn to talk the language that will get you an offer.

Find people who love what they do and who can tell you what a career feels like from the inside. This also increases your visibility in the hidden job market.

6. Avoid yes/no thinking. When you last heard about an interesting job, how quickly did you find a reason to say 'no' to the idea? Explore the options thoroughly and don't let setbacks put you off. Ask a good friend to challenge you when you're tempted to trash your goals.

7. Get your message right. When you get closer to deciding what your ideal job is, learn how to present what you are and what you do in short, focused statements. Be ready to summarise your skills and know-how quickly, and say how you can help an organisation. Decide in advance what are the most important half dozen things on an employer shopping list, and prepare engaging stories to match.

John Lees is a career and outplacement coach, and founder of John Lees Associates

http://careers.guardian.co.uk/how-to-find-right-job-for-you

Applications to the creative services industry: the seven deadly sins

Helen Brown shares worst mistakes made by graduates applying for jobs in the creative services industry

Helen Brown
guardian.co.uk, Friday 30 November 2012 10.33 GMT
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Senior staff may not love social networking sites as much as you do Photograph: Jonathan Hordle / Rex Features

When it comes to applying for jobs, particularly in the creative services industry, graduates can lose sight of what companies are looking for. Yes it is important to stand out, but only for the right reasons. There are a number of sins that candidates seem determined to continue to commit: here are the top ones to avoid.

Targeting the wrong people

One of the first hurdles graduates fall at is contacting the wrong person in the organisation – or contacting them in the wrong order. Always aim for the highest ranking person you can find, be that the chief executive, creative director, client services director or HR director.

Not only will this show that you are not intimidated to speak with senior people, it will also help the progress of your application. When someone else in the agency receives a request from the chief executive to follow something up, it generally gets done.

Forgetting who you are looking to work for

Applicants need to show that they understand the creative services business, clients and industry as a whole. The quickest way to get an interview with an organisation is to demonstrate how easily you will fit into the team. You must prove that you understand what is expected of you in the role and that you can already do the basics.

A simple way to do this is to refer to a recent article or campaign that the company did for a client. If you can explain what you like about that brand, what it is about them that makes you want to work for them or even what you would have done differently, you are likely to stand out from the crowd. If you don't have a point of view on a client then it is likely you're looking to work for the wrong company.

Going through the wrong channels

Of course, if you are approaching senior members within an organisation, it is important to think carefully about how you will approach them. Remember, they will not necessarily be a social media lover. Although they work in a creative sector, that doesn't mean they use social networking channels across all aspects of their work.

Stick to the more traditional routes – email, professional networks such as LinkedIn, or even that archaic form of communication known as a letter all work well.

Not paying attention to detail

Not understanding the business you are applying to is possibly the biggest sin committed by applicants. However, there is an error that can still scupper your application even if you have this knowledge – that is not paying attention to detail.

Failing to address your letters correctly or using text speak in your application will be frowned upon. Grammatical errors in any of your correspondences are, quite simply, unacceptable. No matter how well you appear to meet the criteria for a role, if you cannot keep your communications error-free you will struggle to convince an agency to meet you.

Over-stepping the mark

Having a creative spark, and demonstrating this to the agency you are looking to join is obviously important. It is also important to remember, howver, that creative agencies are stillcommercial entities – they want to know that you are a safe pair of hands. For example, having a QR code on your covering letter to link to your CV, portfolio or blog is a nice way to show you think in the terms of innovation and understand multiple channels. Registering an official Twitter account for the company you're applying to before you've even been invited to interview, on the other hand – as one of our applicants did recently – is a step too far.

It is also important that in your quest to show your creative streak you don't stray into cliché. For example, sending a shoe to an agency with a note saying, "I'd like to get my foot in the door", is not original and is likely to elicit scorn rather than appeal.

Being too pushy

Since the world went social, the application process has become a lot more difficult to navigate. Just because organisations can be contacted 24/7 it doesn't mean you should take advantage of this. Similarly, just because social media now makes it easier to identify more people in the organisation, don't be tempted to try and contact them – stick to the key contacts you've identified and you will improve your chances of making a positive impact.

Not being pushy enough

On the flip-side, it is important not to fear contacting an agency once you've made the initial approach. If you go to the senior team they are likely to be exceptionally busy – if they don't come back to you that doesn't necessarily mean they are ignoring you. It most likely means they have another item that they need to focus on at that moment.

Keeping in contact with a company once you've started the application process is not rude, as long as you don't badger incessantly. As long as you use common sense when deciding on when and how to contact me and keep the correspondence polite, it is often a helpful reminder to get back in touch.

Creative services agencies are always keen to get fresh, bright talent through their doors and want you to succeed when you make contact. If you remember just one thing from this article, remember this – if you chose an agency with whom you have a genuine interest and passion, you can be yourself and be successful.

Helen Brown is the chief HR and talent officer at MediaCom

http://careers.guardian.co.uk/seven-deadly-sins-creative-application

Get yourself noticed

November 20, 2012 | Be the first to comment

Whether you’re a graduate looking for your first big break or a freelancer who needs to drum up more business, getting yourself noticed is essential for success

You know you’re a talented designer, brimming with passion, enthusiasm and great ideas. The problem is that the creative world is full of people like you – and you’re going to have to try very hard to stand out from the crowd.

The challenges are manifold too: the creative and design industries are massively oversubscribed at the best of times, let alone times like the ones we’re living through now. Worse, the ranks of people queuing up to get into the industry get longer every summer as universities and colleges spew out ever more talented graduates. Plus, there’s an international dimension to all this: not only are you competing with talented graduates and other creatives in your own country; you’re competing with your near and distant neighbours in other countries too. Or put in another way: if you’re waiting for the world to beat a path to your door, you’ll be waiting a very long time.

OK, that’s the slightly depressing bit out of the way. Now here come the positives: as a talented creative there are all kinds of things you can do to improve your prospects of landing your first job, your next job or a whole load of new clients if you’re freelance. And they don’t involve selling your soul. You just have to sell yourself, and here's where we’ll explain exactly how you can get yourself out there.

UK designer and illustrator Genevieve Dennis successfully managed to avoid both blandness and an overwrought design with her resumé presentation. The end result is not only pleasing to look at, but also conveys a lot of information about dennis’ design skills, talents and personality

When it comes to self-promotion, it’s essential to get out there in the industry and network like your career depends on it. for many, it does. A lot of graduates, of course, get off to a flying start in this respect thanks to the annual showcases held by colleges and universities – as well as events like D&AD’s yearly New Blood exhibition and competition. These kind of organised events give you the valuable chance to show off your work to potential employers and clients but, as account director Gemma Ballinger of creative agency Studio Output warns: “The downside is that you are up against all your peers in one place so you really have to stand out.”

03 Karen Dessire’s characterful self-promo, by contrast, also tells you a lot about her: “I really feel the promotional packet captures who I am as a designer and illustrator,” she says

A good idea might be to team up with a bunch of like-minded creatives and stage your own private exhibition, in addition, in a gallery or other space, and then invite clients or potential employers you’re interested in to come along to the show. Because the exhibition will be a smaller, more intimate, affair you’ll have a much better chance of meeting and talking to people about you and your work. It’s also a great opportunity to get a bit of free publicity by inviting correspondents from local and national newspapers, magazines and websites. of course, staging your own exhibition does have its challenges: advanced publicity is absolutely essential if you want the event to be a success and it’s a good idea to identify key people at potential companies and organisations so you can make sure they receive a personal invite.

It’s also a good idea to stage your event early in the evening so people can head to it on their way home from work – don’t forget to include complimentary food and drinks. Chances are you’ll need to raise money to hire the space, too, and bear in mind that some galleries will expect a cut of the proceeds if you plan to charge at the door.

Lastly, it goes without saying that your exhibition should also give visitors plenty to see – asking people to trek halfway across town to see a few badly hung pieces in a cold, largely empty space is unlikely to enamour you to them. Another great way to get yourself noticed is to attend industry networking events like Northern Digitals, Glug or See No Evil, which arrange regular get-togethers for creatives at all levels. As Glug co-organiser, Studio Output’s Gemma Ballinger, points out: “If you meet someone face-to-face you have immediately jumped three stages ahead. you can make a good impression and be memorable much more easily than emailing and calling for a meeting. People at Glug are willing to talk and expect to be approached – and may be helped along by a few beers,” she laughs.

US designer Lauren Frankowski letterpressed ‘Palm Reading of a Graphic Designer’ onto 6x9-inch recycled chipboard. “It’s a piece I love to share. It’s great to know someone can take a design piece of mine with them,” she says.

To help you make the most of networking events, it’s a good idea to find out who’s going in advance so you can identify who you want to talk to when you get there. This gives you the opportunity to establish contact with potential clients, collaborators and employers before you arrive. And if you really don’t know anyone, ask the organisers to help introduce you – they want the event to run smoothly, after all.

Singapore studio Manic really put its heart and soul into its Xmas 2011 mailer: its staff made the cookies, brewed the beer and came up with all the packaging, making its ‘Merrymaking Must-Haves’ promo a witty, refreshing and very memorable alternative to the tired corporate gifts often received during the holiday season

On the day, make sure you take some business cards with you, and try not to bludgeon the person you’re talking to with sales patter or spend the evening stalking them. Be polite, be to the point and then leave them to enjoy the rest of their evening. Assuming you’ve left a good impression, you can always follow up afterwards with a polite email, along with a copy of your resumé and a link to your online portfolio. It goes without saying that your CV and business card should be just as impressive, but we’ll look at this in more detail over the page.

Face-to-face networking might be one of the best ways to get yourself known, but you have to be able to back it up with solid evidence of your work – and this is where your online presence comes in. “Having an online portfolio is massively, massively important,” insists Laura Jordan Bambach, creative director at Dare. “Without an online portfolio I can’t see how you would get a job in the first place. People are too busy to chase you down… and [your portfolio] shouldn’t only include your live work, but some of your more experimental work as well.”

At the very least you should have examples of your best and most recent work posted on portfolio sites like Behance or Dribbble. “Behance is the best and easiest way to get your work seen by other designers and studios,” says Gary Corr, a final year graphic design student from Blackpool and The Fylde College. “Having my work showcased on this site has also led me to being featured on several blog sites, which again gets your work more exposure. I have also been offered several projects from random companies who have happened to come across my work online,” he adds.

As well as having a presence on the major folio sites, it’s a good idea to have a portfolio website in your own name (www.johnsmith.com, say) that you can add to promotional items like business cards and mailers, as well as include in your email signature and so on. Professional domain names are likely to be shorter and easier to remember than those hosted on third-party sites and will also serve to make you look more professional – something that’s especially important if you’re a freelancer aiming to win more client work.

Tea, chocolate and a creative’s Ideas Book are just some of the items Singaporean designer Chew Iijuan included in her promo kit; while Emmanuel Romeuf keeps his clients up-to-date with a regular monthly newsletter

Having your own website also confers a number of other benefits: you will enjoy more creative freedom over your site’s look and feel, and can optimise the SEO terms that most matter to you. It also gives you the opportunity to talk about your skills, abilities and professional work in much more detail.

Perhaps the best thing about hosting your own site though is that it’s a great platform for spreading the word via other media: you can use it to drive traffic to your site via Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook, or create promotional email newsletters that you can send out regularly to existing or prospective clients. French designer, illustrator and art director Emmanuel Romeuf, for example, has just started sending out a one-page newsletter containing links to projects on his portfolio site using a bulk email app. “The point is to find the pretext to contact people, show your work and make them remember that you’re still on the road,” he says. Sending out regular emails or newsletters also has another purpose: it’ll encourage you to keep making enhancements and adding content to your website: “Make sure that you stay active,” advises US designer and illustrator Karen Dessire. “You don’t want people thinking you’re no longer open for business.”

While it’s a good idea to spread the word as far and wide as possible, you also need to be wary of diluting your message and confusing would-be clients and employers with too diverse a range of approaches. Andy Bradshaw, creative director of boutique branding agencyOneighty says: “You need to find your medium, but use as many communications in a unified manner as possible.” In other words, think of yourself as a brand and then approach self-promotion in a way any self-respecting brand would by using coherent, consistent messaging to get your point across.

UK designer Hannah Furnell put herself at the centre of a comic book story about a graphic design superhero

One of the most effective ways for any designer to promote themselves is to create a bespoke, highly-targeted mailer that’s geared at getting the recipient’s attention. These can be anything from postcards, greeting cards and calendars to elaborate paper-and-card constructions, even bars of chocolate or handmade cakes. As Studio Output’s Ballinger explains, there’s always a bit of excitement in the office when a brilliant mailer from a prospective intern or employee arrives: “We had a great screenprinted, very long poster recently, which was excellent and got us all around the table to look at it,” she says. “Someone also came in with a bunch of black balloons and a pin. When we popped the balloons his contact details were on a piece of paper inside – it was quite weird, but definitely memorable.”

One of the reasons why mailers and unconventional approaches like these can be successful is their novelty value. In an overwhelmingly digital world, receiving a well-designed mailer has a cachet about it that an email or generic CV-and-application- letter rarely has. “We’ve been sent everything from socks to apps to tea bags,” says Meghan Hagerty of The Partners, “but what really impresses us is people’s passion and hard work as well as their creativity.”

This clever cassette promo was created by US designer, illustrator and typographer Amelie Au for her promo work

Don’t fall at the first hurdle though – check your work before you send it: “The idea is only 10 per cent. The other 90 per cent is craft and how you deliver it,” Hagerty continues. “A lot of things that get sent through are good ideas, but the craft is often lazy and the presentation is poor.” The line between attention-grabbing novelty and off-putting gimmick can also be very fine: “We’ve received a few things recently that have been dire. One was an email with a picture of a hamster with a pancake on its head. Really?”

As a flipside to the ‘before’ promo is the ‘after’ or ‘leave-behind’ promo – such as a beautifully designed business card, booklet or other keepsake that you give to a prospective client or employer at the end of a face-to-face meeting. “When discussing a self-promotion piece in my portfolio I also pull out a tangible form that the client can keep,” explains US graphic designerLauren Frankowski. “It’s a way they can remember me as a person and as a designer, as well my contact info.”

Another way to shift your self-promotional work up a gear is to capture the imagination of newspapers, websites and magazines. Self-initiated projects, unique collaborations with other creatives and unusual exhibitions are often newsworthy, especially if they’re based on new, original ideas or offer a different spin on old ones. Again, physical mailers are more likely to be noticed than a stock email or press release, but make sure you include your contact details and an easy way for newsdesks to get access to the information they need.

Third year design student Gary Corr created this promo kit as a way to appeal to potential employers. He used a mix of stocks, mediums, finishes and printing techniques, and was rewarded for his efforts with a placement at Creative Spark

If you’re a motion graphics designer or animator, there are all kinds of other possibilities, but a showreel containing extracts from your best work is clearly the most important place to start – with content seeded on Vimeo, YouTube and so on, and promoted through other media both online and offline. A fast way to attract attention, of course, is to create something so brilliant it goes viral – but of course knowing what’s going to be picked up, when, how and by whom is virtually impossible to predict.

For anyone looking to raise their profile, Frankowski concludes with some sound advice: “When creating a self-promotion piece it’s important to stay true to yourself as a designer,” she says. “Design in a way that represents you as a person: your personality, your design aesthetic, and the power of the message. It’s important to design in a way that is comfortable to you as a designer. It is a chance to show off your creativity and design ability.”

SCM Employability and Recruitment

Tuesday, 22 January 2013

Dodge the Milkround: graduate schemes are not the only route

Dodge the Milkround: graduate schemes are not the only route

This is the time of year that finalists are starting to panic. It's not just the fast-approaching end of university; it's also the pressure to land a good job. But, says Sabina Usher, there are credible options beyond the Milkround

Related articles

Saturday, 1 December 2012

How to find the right job for you

How to find the right job for you

What to consider when deciding what type of work would suit you

Here are some practical steps to work out what types of work would suit you

Applications to the creative services industry: the seven deadly sins

Applications to the creative services industry: the seven deadly sins

Targeting the wrong people

Forgetting who you are looking to work for

Going through the wrong channels

Not paying attention to detail

Over-stepping the mark

Being too pushy

Not being pushy enough

Get yourself noticed

Get yourself noticed

Whether you’re a graduate looking for your first big break or a freelancer who needs to drum up more business, getting yourself noticed is essential for success