It’s not about finishing first
3. 2. 1. GO!
Picture this, you’ve spent the last three years ‘working’ on your degree (90% creative research at the pub / 10% in the studio). Your end of year show is coming up, you’re pumped, you’re excited for the future and you’re ready to be the next big thing in whatever field you’ve specialised in. Awesome!
Graduation day comes around, you receive your degree, you shake some hands, you hear an inspirational speech, you’re excited for the future. Awesome!
You go online and start looking at job listings, researching various agencies, or companies that would be cool to work for. They have some killer logos on their site, or do work in a field you are passionate about and you think that you could be a great fit. Awesome!
You send out some CV’s, you write the most kick-ass, awesome cover letter ever, and you address your emails personally to the creative director at said awesome agency.
… Silence. Not awesome!
You get discouraged, frustrated and basically feel like giving up. You just want someone to offer you an interview, a job, a chat, anything. (I can guarantee that almost every single creative has been in that spot at least once in their career and if they haven’t yet. They will.)
Eventually, your perseverance, tenacity and relentlessness will pay off and you will get offered an interview somewhere. You smash the interview, they love you, you will bring something to the business that they really want, or you have a skill that’s highly in demand.
Awesome…
The only thing is, it’s a bit further out than you initially wanted to travel, the salary isn’t quite what you were after. You realise that the one client in their portfolio you were stoked to get your teeth into actually ditched them years ago, and you didn’t click with the guys in the interview, but that could have just been nerves, right?
So what do you do?
Take the role, after all, it’s a job. That’s what you wanted right? And how bad can it be, you can make it your own. Alternatively, you stand strong decline the offer and ride out the storm a bit longer. It’s not an easy decision.
Reality Check.
When graduating from University, it is so easy to feel like you have this path carved out in front of you. I for one had this vision that I was going to graduate, get a job off the back of my degree show, move to London and just walk into a career. It didn’t happen that way.
Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t naive and I knew it wouldn’t fall into my arms so I put the effort in. I helped to organise the show, I printed a stack of CV’s and spent hours combing job sites and agencies across the country looking for opportunities. The truth is it’s a slog, and that’s not to say that you can’t fall into it. Some of my Uni peers did just that, and that was awesome. You might even feel bitter in that moment. That’s jealousy setting in. They have what you want.
“Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t naive and I knew it wouldn’t fall into my arms”
After living back home with my parents, the last place I wanted to be, and doing a few internships, that all ‘promised’ it could lead to a full-time role, I found myself confronted with the first real taste of a permanent position and at that time it hits you. You have a decision to make. Do I jump in and stick it out here or bail out and essentially hit the reset button again.
For me, I jumped. Other Media ticked the boxes I needed. Clients, salary, location and the opportunity to grow into my role but more importantly the team made me feel like I belonged. I was lucky and I’ve stuck it out there ever since, something which is actually really uncommon for someone’s first job in the creative industry.
In an ideal world, you will stumble into the right role. However, there is obviously a balance to be struck. After all, you are going to want to start earning some money sooner or later. You need to pay rent, move out of your parents’ place and start striking forward with your career and at the end of the day, you are going to make up your own mind on whether you accept the position or opportunity that is laid out in front of you.
My only advice here is don’t just take the first job you are offered because it’s offered.
If the clients, location, people, agency and money don’t match what you want, say no (if you are in a position where you can, don’t go hungry). If you have a vision of where you want to work and the opportunity in front of you isn’t there, then push towards it.
This is your career and you deserve to be selfish.
About the author
Dad. Crayon Wielder. Coffee Fiend. Mischief Maker.
Matt Emmins is Creative Lead at Other Media, an award-winning digital agency based in London working on projects across sport, retail and not-for-profits.
Co-founder of Forrest, the run and cycle tracking app that gives you something to race against.