Luke Hay, web development manager, Wired Sussex — an organisation dedicated to supporting digital media companies in Sussex
Luke said:
Explore online jobs boards to find out what roles might suit you: I meet a lot of people who've already graduated who know they want to work in digital media but have no idea what type of job they'd like. Try and find a role that's doing something you enjoy and that you're passionate about. Have a look at websites like Skillset to find out more about the type of roles that are available and what appeals to you. You might also want to have a look at online jobs boards to see what type of roles are out there and see if any of these are the kind of thing you'd like to do with your career.
Try and secure freelance work in the early stages of your career to develop highly-valued client-facing skills: There are a lot of good graduate schemes, such as Sussex Internship Programme, out there so I suggest recent graduates consider these as a good way to get a start in the industry. Companies favour experienced people as they can hit the ground running and there's less risk if a potential employee can prove they are capable of doing the job. However, there are things you can do to make up for your lack of experience. If you can get any work experience this gives potential employers confidence that you have developed the skills you need and also, perhaps more importantly, shows you are serious about getting into the industry. Also, any work you can do on a freelance basis, even if it's a small piece of work, will help your chances. This will show an ability to deal with clients which is something that recent graduates often lack. Finally, make sure your CV/application stands out. It's a very popular industry so you need to tell employers what you can offer apart from a good degree.
Katheryn Sutcliffe, head of client services for full-service digital creative agency, Clusta
Katheryn said:
Make it your priority to gain experience in the early stages of your career: Unfortunately graduate positions are quite limited in relation to the number of applicants for the scheme and most recruit a good six to 12 months in advance of the start date. Have you tried offering to work for a few weeks for free or for your travel expenses? This is a good way to actually get a foot in the door and prove your capabilities in the hope that the company might decide to offer you something permanent. If not, at least you have solid experience for your CV which will help you when looking elsewhere for a permanent role. At Clusta we get so many requests for people wanting unpaid internships for a few months as they want the work experience and hope to be taken on permanently afterwards.
Jamie O'Connell, director of The Student Room — an online community for young people
Jamie said:
Don't wait for someone to give you an opportunity to build your portfolio, get yourself online: My top tip is don't wait for someone to give you a job to start you digital media career, assuming you have a computer and a web connection, just get on with it today. If you are designer get your portfoilio online, use sites like Flickr, to get people seeing what you can do. Identify the top design agencies and make 'friends' with them on the various social sites that they're probably using. Get some small design projects under your belt either from friends, your own ideas or from a site like Student Gems, keep building that portfoilio, get up to speed with accessibility and CSS keep educating yourself. All of the above you may have to do whilse you work in a less exciting field.
If you are into online marketing get a blog up and see how well you can make it rank for some competitive terms, maybe you can start making some money from it with affiliates and banners if you succeed. Get together with some like-minded folk and build something. I'm a strong advocate of getting off your arse and building/creating something rather than waiting for someone else to give you permission to do that (an employer, for example).
Use personal outlets and blogs to develop online skills: Definitely use your blog, you'd be demonstrating initiative and that you understand web tools and enjoy using them. Your employer will be able to see that you can use blogging tools which are the same as most content management systems. It'll show you can write and keep a blog up to date (don't let it stagnate). Perhaps customise your template if you use something like wordpress to make it look individual. Play around with plugins to pull in Flickr photos or post pictures and video. Perhaps link to a Twitter account that you keep up to date, assuming you have something worth tweeting about, otherwise don't bother. Get some other blogs to link to you, see if you can build up a readership. All of these things will be gold dust in an interview for a web editor role.
Project management is a suitable role for those with multiple disciplines and interests: If your course is pretty varied, covering design, marketing and development and you're unsure what direction you want to take, a placement that will expose you to all those areas that interest you would be ideal. A project manager type role could be good because you could be involved with co-ordinating design agencies or in-house design teams, working with SEO, paid marketing folk and the developers. I used to work at Cancer Research UK and their web project managers straddled all these areas to some extent, sure people within a web department will focus in different areas, but the PM will work with all of them to make a project happen. The question is are you organised and methodical enough? If you're looking for a placement, The Student Room is based in Brighton you should make it your mission to find us in the Laines.
Katrina Howell, creative director, Red Bee Media
Katrina said:
Times are tougher, but passion for digital media goes a long way: I have been in the industry 12 years, and started out riding on the dot com wave. It was somewhat easier than now, as new media was such a new area to go into then, so there was an advantage there. However, what never changes is the passion you need to show for the area. Passion for the medium has got me a long way both in and out of work, so if that comes across during interviews, backed up with a strong online portfolio and book, this will put you in an excellent position. It is certainly what I look for, as I want to be bringing on people who will fit into the culture and really believe in it.
Online networking is great, but it's important to meet people in the flesh too: There are so many great tools now to be able to network, including LinkedIn, Twitter, creating personal blogs to demonstrate interest, for example. But what I think is still important is networking in the real world. Finding conferences, industry body showcases, steering groups, figital media exhibitions, installations, talks and competitions are a great way of learning and building up your network of contacts and colleages. They add to the broad interest in the medium and are highly participatory. Last year they had a great experience called Hide and Seek on the South Bank which was about social gaming, but you could actually take part. One Dot Zero do really interesting talks, exhibtions and competitions and also the ICA.
Andrew Allen, managing partner, Digital Agency Search International — an organisation which matches brands with digital agencies
Andrew said:
A passing knowledge and interest in digital media will not cut it in the current market: It really is important to immerse yourself in the online and digital world if you want to grow a career within it. Some 18 months ago, when the industry was booming and digital people were hard to find, it may have been the case that you could get by with a passing knowledge to land a role, but those times have gone and we're in a period of readjustment where inevitably some people have lost their jobs and the competition for roles becomes far greater. Most of the best people I meet have side projects and they do them for the fun, not just to tick the box that says 'blog'. It most definitely doesn't have to be over serious, or about the industy, but it will show you believe in the area, and you'll learn a lot along the way. A great example is What Katie Wore, it's written by a couple who are in the industry and while it started as a bit of fun has given them amazing coverage, raising their profile hugely in the process.
Dave Coombs, head of online media for UK & Ireland, TMP Worldwide — a recruitment communications agency
Dave said:
Take control of your online reputation and brand: For me if you want to succeed you have to demonstrate a genuine passion in what you do. I am a huge advocate of understanding and taking control of your online reputation and brand. If you dont have an online footprint then get out there and create one. It is very important to set up a blog and start writing about things you are interested in. Join LinkedIn, get your profile complete, list your blog and then join groups and be active in them. Network with other members, find other blogs that are of interest (company, personal or industry) and comment in them leaving your blog details as your link. Have a look on Twitter and follow industry experts and companies, re-Tweet interesting articles and build your follow base. Set up your blog to publish via Twitter and combine your Twitter feed onto your blog.
Be aware of what you are doing and what your online reputation says about you to future employers. Does it show you to be the passionate about the industry? Can you demonstrate this? I do all of these things and combine it with attending industry events, I work hard to build and develop my online reputation.
