How to Get Your First Junior Design Job With No Experience
Getting your first design job is the hardest one to win because every listing now expects you to have experience when you haven’t had the opportunity to prove yourself. Here's how to work around that.
Develop your processes before finding a job
Self-initiated projects count as experience as long as you treat them with real rigor. Create a brief based on a niche that personally excites you and build a process that allows you to execute the project in a methodical manner.
Document every step of the way and work towards producing an outcome before developing a case study because most studio founders, hiring managers and recruitment agencies care less about who paid you and more about how approached the task.
If you are struggling to create a self-initiated project use one our briefs to help you.
Build a network to boost your confidence
Landing your first design job is hard because most people immediately begin applying once exiting education. This is a natural step but because so many people are now applying the chances of receiving a response is rare.
In our experience this can easily lead to a drop in confidence and a frustration in a system that appears to be broken.
Our recommendation is to take the time to isolate agencies you admire. Start by searching for studios in your region and then reach-out to them by creating a tailored message by email.
Focus on their work and clients or their vision and ethos because this shows you’ve taken the time to understand who they are and what they do.
In most instances you should receive a response and although it probably won’t result in landing an immediate job it will begin the process of building a network that lasts a lifetime.
Internships and placements are out there
Ideally internships and placements come with the opportunity to earn a living-wage but we also believe that short, unpaid-but-ethical placements, at a respected studio, can bridge the gap between education and employment.
Bigger studios can sometimes provide a structured scheme which is far better than informal arrangements that can feel exploitative but many businesses also offer “pop-up” opportunities when possible so it’s always worth following agencies online.
Lean on directories and communities
Directories, like ours, exist to help emerging talent find potential employers. Our community is a thriving collection of freelancers, founders and teams who are committed to supporting those that are looking to enter industry.
We also print our directory each year and distribute it to attends of our in-person events helping connect the dots between like-minded people in order to create better, more accessible, opportunities for all.
Don't apply for everything!
A small number of tailored applications to the studios you admire beats fifty generic ones. Search for the teams who are creating projects you would like to be working on.
It might be based on the disciplines they are known for such as motion, typography or branding. We also recommend finding teams in industries you are knowledgeable about like sport, fashion, culture, education, food etc.
If you are able to support your application with an authentic tone-of-voice you will immediately begin cutting through the noise providing potential employers with the confidence to know you will be a good fit for their business.
If you want to improve your portfolio by seeing how the world’s best studios develop and deliver projects subscribe to our video library for presentations by teams including Koto, How&How, DixonBaxi, Ragged Edge and more.
