So my current position comes to an end in about a month and a half. I’m maternity cover, so this impending doom has always been the case, but now I’m getting stressed I can’t find anything else.
Last summer I was made redundant, and spent three months looking for something. This job came up, and although it wasn’t perfect I needed to take it as some sort of income. It’s been ok. This time I really wanted to start looking early so that I could choose the right job, not just settle, but nothing’s happened yet. Really can’t afford to be unemployed this time.
I’m not even sure this is the sort of thing I want to be doing. I think I’m relatively good at it, but I also think being ‘creative’ for so much of your life seems to take a lot out of you. Designing all day and doing music in the evenings means I’m using that bit of my brain almost all the time I’m awake, and it’s a lot of pressure. It’d be nice to just work through stuff without having to put so much of myself into it, you know? But maybe that’d be boring.
Anyway I’m not in a position to be choosy, annoyingly, so I just need anything. Preferably close to home, as I’ve got music commitments in the area, and preferably on enough money to pay bills, maintenance for my son and rent so I can move out and be myself again. Seems like a lot to ask?
What would be ideal is some sort of website or service where you can give them your CV, and they find stuff you could do. I think I’m relatively well qualified, and intelligent enough, but I’ve always struggled getting anywhere with my career.
What you describe in the last paragraph is basically what recruitment agencies such as Reed / Adecco do. I’ve used them before and picked up a couple of jobs through them which, whilst paying the bills, but do little else in terms of job satisfaction / stimulation.
The job I’m in now at NR saw me applying directly through their website and all of a sudden, I’ve found a niche. Something I can do and do well, something that I enjoy in an interesting (for me, anyway) sector with fairly good pay and conditions. Within two months of being here, I could already see a career path ahead of me - something I’d never had before in any previous job - and it inspired me to really perform as best I can.
Lo and behold, within 15 months I’d been seconded into a promotion which saw line management duties (me, a line manager?! Nothing ever seemed a more ridiculous notion before working here) and last month that move got made permanent. I’m already looking to consolidate and try and head towards another promotion within the next 2-3 years.
Anyway, went of on a bit of a tangent there - don’t know if this helps at all? If you are still MK based (ish) I can have a look at the vacancies list?
Cheers. MK is an option (because my lad’s down there) but I’m based in the Midlands at the mo and will probably need to stay at my folks’ until I can save for a deposit, etc.
Few more details - where are you based, what are your qualifications and what’s your general work history.
If possible, I would always recommend finding an industry specific recruitment agency (spits on floor) where possible as they’ll be able to match you up with jobs, saving you the graft. Whatever route you take, make sure your CV is up to spec - ideally get one or more people who look at CVs regularly to give you some feedback on it.
In my sector there are half a dozen construction and architecture-specific agencies who pretty much all firms use these days. They can filter by region, position etc. If there are equivalents for your sector, then use them.
I passed my CV to friends/ex-colleagues for advice (it had been 9 years since I’d last put one together and things had changed a lot), plus I signed up for one of those interview courses that helped me learn how to structure my interview answers and so on.
Qualifications - I’ve a 2.1 in Multimedia Design and Digital Animation, 4 A levels and the usual GCSEs.
Coming up to 11 years working in various in-house graphic design roles. I tend to be the only one in my position (reporting directly to head of marketing/marketing manager) so there’s rarely an opportunity to climb the ladder (I don’t think I want to be/am qualified to be either of those things). I had one agency-side job, designing and coding behavioural emails for big clients. That was fun, but emails are pretty limited. I was in my first role for 6 and a half years, and was made Senior Designer by the end, but any roles since then have been pretty junior again.
I do design, mostly for print, but some online stuff too. I’m in a permanent job after a period of uncertainty and it’s a job I actually like being at. The only bit I don’t like is the travelling four miles into central London and back home every day that I don’t like.
And it was via an agency that I got the interview, as well as some short term contracts before this full time job came along.
Try contacting http://www.dagmar-tara.com if it’s a print/design type of job you’re after. They’re good.