To give a better idea of what the professional world is like we had visits from people in the industry. The first was from an ex student of the course working at a company called Poke. He gave a very good presentation that clarified the structure of freelance vs agency vs running your business, below are my notes from his presentation:
Freelance:
+flexible
+own boss
-no career path
-high pressure
-no personal projects
Full time:
+part of a team
+time to develop
+start to finish on a project
+stability
-not the boss
-not flexible
Own business:
+you’re the boss
+choice of collaboration
+Satisfying
-Hard work
-High risk
-Need a good business mind
Looking for a job:
Find a good match for you in the business
Look for what agencies are doing
Follow on Twitter
Could they be your friend?
Could you work there?
Once you’ve found a place, get to know what they do
Tailor your portfolio
Have questions
Look at their portfolio
Outside Work:
Show them who you are
What do you do outside of Uni
Personal Projects
Qualities:
Be yourself
Arrogance is not key
Be passionate
Eager to learn
New
Being new can be good
Fresh pair of eyes
Portfolio
Clear
Show the best
Tailored
Show production
Personal Work:
Redesign things
Mock up
Design posters
Make up brands
Shows off qualities and skill set
Keep learning:
Learning never ends
Have no fear, you can look stuff up
Keeps things fun
When you start your way isn’t always best
Collaboration
Process negative feedback and learn from it