Week Ten: Newly Graduated, Newly Employed

By Sarah-Jean Murray

Yes, I have very exciting news. I got a job! 

I got an actual design job, at a legitimate company and I could not be more excited. The job offer was very unexpected and came a few days after receiving a rejection email from the same company. This offer also came after I had already made the decision to move to Indy without a job or any other prospects. Sometimes you just have to take that leap of faith. 

So what have we learned? Sometimes, you can do everything right but still be rejected. Sometimes there’s someone better, more qualified, or more experienced. Sometimes things are out of your control but the thing you can control is your presence, your attitude and how much you push yourself to get to that place you want to be. We’re all going to go through rejection and failure in our personal and professional lives. The important thing is how we use that opportunity to learn from our mistakes and move forward. 

• Make use of the wonderful wide world of the internet and do your research before going into an interview. Know the company and know what their mission is. Know why you want to work for them and be prepared to answer tough questions.
• Keep an updated resume and if you haven’t already, get business cards.
• If you’re a designer, keep your online portfolio updated with relevant design work and don’t be afraid to remove work if it doesn't match the quality of the rest of the portfolio.
• Write either a handwritten note or an email after your interview to thank the interviewer for your time. 
• Dress professionally for an interview (ALWAYS!).
• Keep your dress neat and clean even if the dress code in your office is casual
• Try to keep a positive attitude even if things aren't looking too bright. No one ever got anywhere with moping.
• Take risks. Try new things and new places. If you have the funds and connections, make that move to a new city. If you’re unhappy with your current situation or job, make a change. 

Always keep pushing and moving forward. Keep on reaching for your dreams and improving yourself and your skills.

This will be my last week at LACD so my blogs will be coming to an end. If you're interested in keeping up to date on what I'm doing and what inspires me, you can read my personal blog http://sjeanmurray.wordpress.com/. 

Week Nine: Newly Graduated, Depending on Those Around Me

By Sarah-Jean Murray

I have made a mostly well thought out plan to move to Indianapolis in the next two weeks. To others it may seem rash and last minute, a plan of desperation if you will. I am moving to a new city with no prospects and no job (not even a temporary one) but one thing I do have is a fantastic support system in the form of my friends and family. This 'career' support system has been in place since the first day I started college as a wide-eyed freshman. My slightly over-bearing but well-meaning parents were my first supporters, my biggest fans. They were there to encourage me no matter how rough things got and tried to offer advice in times of need. I can honestly say I would be lost without them. When I first started college, I tried to be independent and act like I didn't need them but quickly realized this was not the way to go. Family is a fantastic resource to have. You always have somewhere to stay, somewhere to do laundry for free and people who will love you and help you to the best of their ability. Not everyone may have such a great family and I realize I have been very fortunate.

When striking out on our own as young professionals, we may feel the need to distance ourselves slightly from our families. This may come from the sense that we're finding ourselves and becoming real adults. We don't need parents. Parents are for children. We are our own people!

This couldn't be more wrong. Parents (and the rest of the family members) can be valuable connections not only personally but professionally. I'm not saying you should hit up your parents for jobs, but ask them if they can keep an eye and ear out for anything that may come along.

The next best support system is of course friends. Friends are on of the best networking tools to have. Friends like introducing you to their other friends (hopefully). Friends like going out and doing friend things. Friends try to help you out if you need it. The nice thing about college is that it will show you who you can actually rely on. The problem is that a lot of people don't like to depend on other people. It's that sense of being independent that I brought up before. Being dependent on someone is thought to show weakness, however you're never going to get anywhere in life without depending on someone. Eventually you will have to depend on your team, your coworkers or your boss. Depending on someone does not make you weak, it actually makes you stronger. It gives you something to lean on, some time to take a breath and gather yourself again. You can't do it all by yourself so if you haven't learned to depend, now is the time.

The reason I'm blogging about my support system is because I will be relying on them a lot in the next couple of months. I'm moving to a city where I already have friends and my parents are about an hour's drive if an emergency should arise. I will be living with one of my friends until I can find something more permanent. This friend actually offered to let me stay with him because he could see I was reaching that level of desperation. I was trying the tough man act where I would rely on nobody but myself. You can see how that turned out. So for the next couple of months I will be depending. I will be pushing and searching for jobs of course but I will also be depending.

Week Eight: Newly Graduated, Still Waiting

By Sarah-Jean Murray

Most of the time during a job search is spent on waiting. Specifically, waiting on that phone call asking you to come in for an interview, asking you follow-up questions on your resume or the best scenario, offering you a job. I find it hard to be patient during this waiting game. I check my phone too frequently, I refresh my email one thousand times a day, I fidget, I daydream. I imagine all the wonderful things that will happen when I get that job offer phone call and then I crash back down to reality. This truly is the worst part of the job search. I try to take my mind off the waiting by applying to more jobs, however most of the postings I’ve already looked at or applied to so that usually ends in more disappointment. 

So I force myself to stay busy and keep my head in the game. I watch tutorials, sketch in illustrator, update my portfolio, read design articles and work on internship projects. I try to inspire myself on a daily basis to keep on going and stop wasting time. I do a craft, I try a new recipe or go to the library. I try to keep my mind alert and avoid procrastination and laziness (not always effective). Where am I going with this you ask? Well, I thought I would share some of the websites I use to inspire me. This ranges on a daily basis as I noted above, so I’ll share some design related sites. 

Smashing Magazine - If you’re a web designer, or aspiring to be, this is a great website. A lot of the articles offer helpful tips and tricks for coding and web design. Looking for mobile and responsive design? Smashing has that too. It’s a great way to keep your web design skills sharp and keep on top of any new technology coming out. They also frequently have freebies like wallpapers, icons, templates and wordpress themes. Who doesn’t love free design goodies? It’s smashing!

AIGA – This site has a bunch of things rolled into one. Hopefully if you’re involved in design, you’ve heard of AIGA. If you haven’t, I feel bad for you son. AIGA’s website is a great resource for any designer whether you’re a professional or a student. They offer design inspiration as well as job postings from around the country. If you visit the Tools & Resources tab, there is a list of, well, tools and resources to get you started. Also members get exclusive benefits like their awesome Design Salary Survey, member portfolios and discounts on events and competitions.

Designspiration – Exactly what it sounds like. Inspirational design. Design to inspire the designer in you, etc. etc. It’s basically a never ending scrolling page full of images to peak your interest. You can choose specific tags like Typography or Packaging on the left sidebar. Also, they recently added a job posting section, which is always a good thing. 

Behance – A great place if you need a quick online portfolio. Even better if you just want to browse. This is one of the top places to see other designer’s work (and ooh and aah over it). There are some really talented designers that showcase their work here and I love seeing the variety and creativity of the individual designers. You can browse using several different tags  or filters or just use the recommended Search & Explore and Creatives To Follow links. Also, job board. 

BOOOOOOOM! - Another image inspiration site, although I recently discovered this one. This is a bit more general and expands past simply design to photography, music and art. There are several pieces that have caught my attention already and cause moments of pause and reflection. If you’re looking for something weird, strange and beautiful, this is the place. There are also several links to interviews and information about the blog posters if you wish to see that. 

The Dieline - This is a packaging design showcase website. It features some of the best, brightest and greatest packaging designs from students, professionals, freelancers, everyone and everybody. There is never a time where I don’t see a design that completely blows me away both in creativity and execution. Obviously you can browse my specific tags such materials used in the packaging or which industry the packaging was designed for. You can also browse competitions and spotlights that the Dieline has organized and even enter your packaging design to be showcased. 

Typography Daily – As the name would suggest, this website is devoted mainly to typography. A lot of the images show type being used in new and interesting ways in furniture as well as in typography posters, print layouts, etc. One of the best sites to get those creative juices flowing and open your mind to the creative possibilities that typography offers. 

Outside – No, this is not a website. This the world around you. Sometimes it’s best to step away from whatever project you’re working on and take a moment. Really open your eyes to the environment around you and the interaction between you and nature. I promise this isn’t some hippie rant, this is just encouragement to seek inspiration wherever you feel comfortable. Maybe it’s digging into a good book, maybe it’s painting or gardening. Looking at pretty pictures on the internet is great but sometimes the real world is better.

Week Seven: Newly Graduated, Rejected Again

By Sarah-Jean Murray

Rejection is apparently becoming a staple in my life. I got rejected from a really terrific job. This was a job position that I was really excited about (and turned down another offer for). The responsibilities I would have taken on were exactly what I’ve been doing for the past couple of years and it was one of the few job postings I had found that had really excited me. However, they hired someone with more experience (every time). The person who interviewed me said the interview went really well and he enjoyed talking with me, but that they had decided to go with someone who had a little more experience in the field. Yes I did send a thank you note and I prepared really well for that interview, but sometimes things don’t work out. Maybe that wasn’t the job for me or maybe I have to grow a little bit more professionally. I know that I did the best I could and gave it my all. I am proud of being chosen out of 200 applicants to come in for an interview so it’s not all bad. I just have to keep pushing myself and keep applying to more jobs. The fun never stops.

I don’t really have a lesson for this week. I would talk about rejection again (since I just experienced that for the second time) but I have already discussed that in length in one of my previous posts. On the up side, I did have another interview today so that’s something I’m pretty excited about. Fingers crossed, I hear something back next week.

As always, keep applying and keep your chins up! Being positive will get you much further than being negative.