Worried for my graphic design graduate son

9shell

My son graduated last year and instead of looking forward to a brighter future he is becoming increasingly demoralised pesimistic and regretful as he is yet to find work.

He did not have a brilliant homelife as it was blighted by his fathers mental illness and me having to contend with domestic abuse until I eventually separated and managed with little money strict budgeting to bring up my two children at the same time deal with my own stress related illness .

As I wanted a better future for my children something I couldnt give them, if I did nothing else I encouraged my son to go better himself not to drop out of school to go to university. Now I wonder if it was the right thing to do.

He has ended up with nearly £20.000 in debt, no job prospects, he has made numerous applications only to be turned down as most of the employers want experience.
Although he is hardworking, dedicated and reliable it is very frustrating for him as he is not being given the chance to prove what he is capable of.

Sadly I feel he might be right when he tells me it was a waste of time going to university when he sees people younger than him who left school early got jobs and are better off than he is.

Although he enjoyed his experience at "Uni" and came out with a commendable degree I wonder was it all worth it.

davelewis

I graduated with a good degree many years ago and entered the job market with a job I could have done at 16 with a few GCSE's. However I got promoted twice and I have honestly found that although you have to start at the bottom, a degree will always mean quicker promotion and seems to give you the edge.

Can your son do some voluntary work expeirence placements at Graphic design employers? They may see something in him and decide to take a chance and offer him some temporary work.

Getting your foot in the door of an organisation can always be the start to a great career.

Deals_2

until he finds a proper regular incomed job? we coudl have used some help a few days ago!!!

9shell wrote: »

My son graduated last year and instead of looking forward to a brighter future he is becoming increasingly demoralised pesimistic and regretful as he is yet to find work.

He did not have a brilliant homelife as it was blighted by his fathers mental illness and me having to contend with domestic abuse until I eventually separated and managed with little money strict budgeting to bring up my two children at the same time deal with my own stress related illness .

As I wanted a better future for my children something I couldnt give them, if I did nothing else I encouraged my son to go better himself not to drop out of school to go to university. Now I wonder if it was the right thing to do.

He has ended up with nearly £20.000 in debt, no job prospects, he has made numerous applications only to be turned down as most of the employers want experience.
Although he is hardworking, dedicated and reliable it is very frustrating for him as he is not being given the chance to prove what he is capable of.

Sadly I feel he might be right when he tells me it was a waste of time going to university when he sees people younger than him who left school early got jobs and are better off than he is.

Although he enjoyed his experience at "Uni" and came out with a commendable degree I wonder was it all worth it.

tanith

I read an article the other day that said the the lions share of jobs never actually get advertised.. so doing the rounds of companies who are in the field your son wants to work in could be a good thing to try... as the other poster says try for jobs that on first glance are not suitable but it will get his foot on a ladder...
I know how hard it is even for those with experience, I have two grandsons unemployed, one has quite a bit of experience and the other similarly to your son says how much time he wasted with 6th form college as now all his old mates who left school are working and he is still unemployed after studying hard for 2yrs ..

Good luck to your son and keep telling him that his degree will help him in the long run even if he doesn't think so at the moment

lynzpower

Sadly I feel he might be right when he tells me it was a waste of time going to university when he sees people younger than him who left school early got jobs and are better off than he is.

I too felt like this, and I graduated over 10 years ago.

I do believe, that there are too many graduates, however, that doesnt help your son now, and whats done is done. Its not your fault after all ( and I said this to my parents) you only wanted the best.

I like this idea of sertting up his own business. Can he design websites/ leaflets that kind of thing? If so why not see what charities need volunteer help to get him going, and build his portfolio? Do-it.org is a good site to try as they have loads of opps on there!

DKLS

He is in a highly competitive market, I know I can get 3 GDs in India for the price of 1 in the UK.
Does he have an on-line portfolio?, If not he should bid for work on the freelance websites. Or as others have mentioned start at the bottom.

Marcheline

Hi OP I feel for you and your son, but think the best thing for him to do is apply for anything (whether it's in his field or not) It took my boyfriend 7 months to find a job after graduating and it's not in his field at all. Just keep gee-ing him up to apply for everything and everything.

OrangeProse

I work in marketing, with lots of graphic designers, and I can echo what others have said here - it is a tough, competitive market which newbies have to approach with tenacity and something of a thick skin.

The best way to get into an agency is to do work experience, for free. That's how I did it (although I'm a writer, it works the same way) and that's how everyone I work with did it, too.

Most graphic design jobs are based in the major cities, so your son would ideally need to be close to London, Manchester, Glasgow, Leeds etc. There are design agencies all over the place, of course, but the biggest concentration is in these four cities.

I'd attack it in two ways:

1 - I'd start Googling 'creative recruitment agency' and find a few specialist recruitment agencies, get on the phone and make appointments to go and see as many as possible. Even getting appointments to go and see them is quite uplifting, as they are normally very encouraging and positive. Many of them also have special agents who deal specifically with new graduates.

2 - I'd make a big list of all the marketing and advertising agencies, design agencies and anyone else you can think of who would employ graphic designers and start ringing round. He'll need to make a nuisance of himself to even get through to a lot, unfortunately, but quite often you can get a creative director to agree to do a 'crit' of his book (portfolio). This is basically where he would go to see the creative director, show him/her his work and the CD would appraise it from a professional perspective. It won't necessarily lead to a job (in fact most will make it clear from the outset that there is no job, but rather they are doing it to help a young person improve their prospects of finding a job) but it's a very useful exercise. I've had creative directors offer me work experience based on a crit meeting before now, so it's worth a punt.

I think in the field of graphic design, the university course is clearly very useful. But having a degree isn't an 'instant job creator kit' unfortunately - better to think of it as another weapon in the job seeking arsenal. Hard work and application is still required!

I know it seems as though young designers are made to jump through a lot of hoops, and prostitute themselves somewhat at the altar of a senior creative person's ego. And in some ways, that's exactly how it works, unfortunately. But, take it from me, getting that first job is the hardest bit. Once you're in, it's actually a lot easier to move around and boost salaries and 'network'. It's a good career, so don't think of the university course as a waste of time.

In the meantime, to keep his skills sharp and to keep him occupied, I know a lot of charities like to hear from talented graphic designers who are willing to do bits of work for free. It doesn't help the coffers, but it might boost his self-esteem a bit if he gets bits of work to do.

Good luck.

GrammarGirl

I completely agree with what OrangeProse has said. I am also a writer and work in advertising and it's one of the toughest industries out there.

Graphic Design has had a popularity boom over the last few years, which means there will be lots of GD graduates out there. However, many people take courses like GD, Media, Journalism, Photography etc etc not because they have the talent, because it's cool and 'in' and sounds good when you tell people. If your son has a real talent, he needs to push through all the posers and prove it to the employers!

Definitely get an online portfolio up and running - if he knows any web design students they will do it for free/small fee because it benefits them too. Get him to design a CV that stands out and shows off his skill - we get all sorts of cool bits in the post, CVs on CD in personalised boxes, music, puzzles, loads! If he's a creative thinker and has access to the materials it should be easy.

I'd also agree with the poster who said many jobs are not advertised... send out speculative CVs that prove you've researched the company and taken the time to appreciate what they do.

Reds-on-Sea

I'm in a similar situation, but graduated 7 years ago

It is tough, and however much you think you can do a job, there's a huge number of other people thinking the same thing.

I went to a free graphic design seminar, all about online portfolios & getting a jobs etc the other week, I honestly think that THE single most important thing is to have a stunning online portfolio. The guy basically said he would barely even consider an applicant who didn't have one. Certainly opened my eyes.

Also, in the meantime, try & get other little jobs on the go. After only a month or so of mentioning it to friends etc, I've had several paying jobs from friends & other people. I've set up my own website, but not officially launched it yet. It's always worth the time & effort to make it really good.

BigSteveLondon

I'm a qualified Graphic designer, working in the industry 18years.
I concur with those that said your son should try to get free work experience.
After I finished my HND, I applied for loads of jobs and kept getting rejected. But i kept in contact with the place I did work experience in my last year of the course, and that's where I ended up getting offered a job.
A lot of my colleagues also got their jobs by work experience, and I myself have employed people after completing work experience with me.
As someone that used to look after the students in my art department I can tell you they are a valuable resource. But more importantly the enthusiastic and talented ones are remembered. They get the first 'heads up' when we hear of a job from a friend or on the grapevine.

So yes work experience, and lots of it in the particular design field he is interested in. If he wants to specialise in tv, print, web, advertising, he should focus on companies that offer those particular services. A bit of research online and in design magazines will give him all the contacts he needs.

Outside the practical, Uni is never a waste of time believe me.