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The Experience Conundrum
On 22, Aug 2008 | No Comments | In Design Life | By Lorraine
I just wanted to take a quick lunch moment to respond to Armin’s post over at Speak Up today about the risks in hiring young designers versus the need to have experience in order to gain experience. Any recent graduate in any field can tell you about the rejection letters they can wallpaper rooms with only because they don’t have enough experience. I remember naively thinking that I would be able to find a job by March after a December graduation. With a strong portfolio, 2 internships, and a year and a half of freelancing under my belt, I had assumed that I would have the experience needed to get an entry level position…little did I know that entry-level meant 3-5 years of experience. On the other hand, my prior internship experiences made me over-qualified for any other internships that I applied for. Luckily, a chance encounter on an airplane opened up the door to my current job.
What students need to keep in mind is that ultimately job-hunting is about making connections, and part of making connections involves becoming active in your local design community. Certainly, internships are a must, and in today’s job market, one internship probably won’t cut it. But there are other ways of joining the dialog within your design community: whether by showing work in local shows, starting a blog, entering design competitions, or joining a professional organization such as the local Ad Club or AIGA.
On the other hand, employers need to realize that interns aren’t just glorified coffee-makers. While it may be tempting to have your interns reorganize the flat-files, answer phones, and rename files, you aren’t helping them and you aren’t helping yourself. Although inexperienced, interns often bring a fresh perspective to a project, and what they may lack in technical know-how, they can more than make up for in enthusiasm. Today’s interns are tomorrow’s Creative Directors: by giving them a firm foundation to build their career on, you are ensuring the future of our profession.
I’ll be forever grateful to the Jungs at Stilbezirk (and GACCoM for the opportunity) for giving me the freedom to flex my creativity and treating me as a full member of their team. Although my internship was only 3 months, I grew tremendously as a designer under their guidance: more so than I did even in my senior Practicum class. Students: look for an internship that will teach you something…even above putting a fancy name on your resume. You’ll thank yourself later.