How to land a job after University continued...

It occured to me that my advice on how to get a job after university only applied to students and was not much use to people who have graduated. I think if you have delayed finding a job until after university then you have doubled your work-load and stress, in my honest opinion. However, it is not the end of the world for your career.

You won't get your dream job straight away
There is only a small possibility that you will manage to land your perfect job and this only applies to the lucky ones. Even if you do find your dream job you will still have to work hard to make it mean something, so it would be wise to stop wasting your time looking for the 50k jobs and focus your resources on something more realistic.

Realise that degrees alone aren't worth as much as you think
By all means, list your qualifications and degrees on your CV as they will hold some weight to your background, but actual experience trumps education. Although a potential employer would be interested in your history, they will brush your CV aside if you have no practical experience in the specific field applied for.

What to do if you have no experience
If you have come out of university and didn't take part in a work experience module then you are going to have to make up for it afterwards. Like I said in the first part fo this article, when you build experience, you build relations. Call in favours of family and friends to get you work experience and start building bridges.

Work experience is tough
So be ready. You may go through a couple of months without pay, doing menial tasks and taking shit off other people, but you have to proove yoursef. The majority of people starting off their career will have to do this too, so remember that you're not alone. The positive side is that you can put this experience on your CV whilst searching for junior roles in your career.

Finally, don't be afraid to be creative with your CV

Seagulls in Birmingham

Sith Apprentice Illustration

I had the idea of this while coming back from work on the train....decapitation.

Google map street view comes to the UK

Google maps street view comes to the UK and Netherlands and it fills me with a warm sense of pride to find my apartment block on there....pride and apparently fear. The street view has been met with excitement from the British public, but has also been brought under fire with claims that it's another step closer to giving up our privacy. Tosh I say.

The only problem I have with street view is that the first image circulated of the british public (almost virally) is of drunks in the middle of the day! The yanks are having a field day with this. Fair enough, but don't mess with a man with Stella on his breath Uncle Sam.

Already there are weird and funny sightings sprouting up across the nation.

Inspirational logos that make you smile

Logos serve a very simple purpose, to represent a brand and to attract attention. However, I think if a clever logo makes you think for a second, allowing you to appreciate the design whilst sending a simple message, then that makes the difference between a good logo and a great one.

For more fantastic inspirational logos visit logofaves.com

Travelling at sunset

I found these two videos on my camera while tidying up my apartment the other day. It seemed I was going through a phase of sunsets and travelling. One is of the plane journey back from Egypt and the other is the train ride back from work.





I think I'll look into adding some music and some point.

Design by committee

Too many cooks spoil the broth. This is especially true in web design. Unfortunately unless you are in a trusting team who respect your decisions and execution, this is unavoidable within a large design agency. You can, however, try and come to terms with it.

Design by committee revolves around office politics often with an large budget and can be the downfall of what could have been a great website. Compromise is essential in keeping everyone involved happy, but this sacrifices imagination and inspiration turning the designer into a pixel pusher.

Does this destroy a designer's creativity? If all a designer has to do is follow orders instead of explore their potential then, unfortunately, yes. Design is about experimenting and discovering new things, but large clients would rather not run the risk and so everyone who was involved in the brief, including the account managers, operations director, copy editors, search engine optimisers and developers, will all have a say. What will result is a mish-mash of ideas put together which aren't really cohesive, but instead serve to satisfy each individual's contribution.

One positive outlook is that design by committee is character building. It can sort the wheat from the chaff and test the true patience and loyalty of the designer.

Alternatively, there is always the freelance option.