A message for the campaign followers,
Thank you to everyone that joined and sent me links/recommendations to jobs. I realise that recently the campaign has gone quiet but rest assured it has been ongoing.
Through many applications and sadly fewer rejections (most applications get ignored) I have finally found a job. I’m still in disbelief and not quite sure what to do with myself.
Unfortunately the job that I got was one that I found. So, seeing as I can’t give 10% to myself I will be giving it to someone… I have until my first pay day to figure out just who that someone is.
I’ve made some fantastic contacts through the campaign and I’m truly grateful to everyone that took even the smallest amount of time from their day to search/recommend/tweet/retweet my search.
So, that’s it. As of Monday 29th November 2010 I will be an employed Graphic Designer. I’ll probably keep updating my blog in the next few months so you can read more.
Yours,
(The Employed) Mark J Winter
I’ve fallen back into the habit of not updating this blog so apologies to anyone that actually reads it… which I know is no one but seeing as apologies are easy to say, have a dozen.
I’m still jobless as you probably could’ve guessed. The jobs I apply for are as ever either not getting back to me or telling me I’m not suitable for the role… despite clearly being more than suitable for the role (I like to think I’m at least capable of ‘Junior’)
Annoyances aside, I have had some positive leads - A company in Acton shortlisted me in their final 4 with a view to being in the final 2 after a project brief exercise. I’m still waiting to hear back from them to see if I made it. More news in that the company I first worked at are now looking for a Graphic Designer. They’ve also given me a brief to work on, I’ve completed that today and am waiting to hear if they liked my work enough to get me through to the interview stage.
I can’t remember if I mentioned this or not but a while back I did some work for the school I’m working part time at; some vouchers for their Cafe Belgique in the 6th form block. I asked if they could recommend me to their printers which they kindly did and as a result I earned a new contact in Nick at Nickel Press. He’s a bloody nice guy and the quality of their work they produce is also pretty good so it’s well worth contacting them… Anyway… Nick phoned me the other day mentioning a guy he knew that was looking for someone to do some Graphic Design work. A couple of months after our initial conversation he’s still remembered me and thought to give me a call. Proper chuffed at that so thanks Nick. The job in question is for some leaflets and brochures and if they’ll let me; their logo as well. There’s nothing wrong with the logo as such, it would just be cool to say I’ve pushed for a rebrand and got one.
I’ll hopefully have more news soon and update this. Fingers crossed next time you hear from me I’ll have a job. What does that even mean ‘fingers crossed’?
Back in the crossover period of the 80s to the 90s when fashion was still learning, sunflowers had sunglasses and guitars and Timmy Mallet wasn’t yet deemed ‘cause for concern’ by the mental health board I had a friend named Tom Sharp. Over the years we lost touch but our parents stayed friends and would do as parents do and talk about what their child is up to now.
It turns out that Bobby Sharp (Toms Dad) told my Dad that Tom was now working in recruitment and has recently started at a new company so is looking for some names to go on his books. Dad said he’d pass the message on to me and Mum suggested I Facebook Tom (Dad doesn’t care for social networking so it didn’t come to mind).
I already had Tom on Facebook so sent him a message trying not to come across that the only reason I wanted to say hi was because he might have a job to offer me. I’m not all take take take you know. We exchanged a couple of emails and the issue seemed to be forgotten about.
I was explaining to Mum that ‘now I’ve formatted your Mac finally you’ve got a load more space and it’s better blah blah blah’ when my phone rang with a blocked number. At first I didn’t recognise the voice. I think it was something to do with the ‘Is that Mark?’ that instantly throws you into expecting a stranger to be on the other end. Then came ‘It’s Tom’ when I realised… it was Tom.
After a quick catchup on what must be years (definitely pre-beard… which is a long time ago) he passed me over to his colleague, Jen. Judging by her voice and Toms I think it must be a rule to have a friendly tone as she was really nice. I think she even called me Darling at one point. Can’t get much nicer than that… Anyway… there’s a possible job going that, by the sounds of it, might as well have my name next to ‘WANTED’.
I would love this to work out. Of course I would, that’s a null statement. I will update this as soon as I know.
I’ve been quiet again recently as there’s not been anything to report as such. I’ve been applying to jobs every day and talking to people about the campaign to the point that I’ve lost track who I’ve told.
I thought I’d just mention a quick thing that happened the other day as I thought it was quite funny. I was talking to a girl at work about employment, neither of us really want to do the jobs we’re doing and we were both saying how hard it was to find a job. Then, out of nowhere she said ‘people are doing some strange things to find work now… I heard about this one guy who was offering to give away something like 10% of his wages if someone helped him find a job’. The look of disapproval and sound in her voice clearly said that she thought it was a ridiculous idea. Me being the hapless sole that I am sometimes cheerfully said ‘oh, thats me’. Then, understanding her facial expression and tone realised this was going to be slightly awkward. After a ‘i should keep my mouth shut’ hushed under her breath (that I ignored) I explained why I’d decided to do it. She very quickly changed her opinion and said she wished she thought of it herself. I doubt that but appreciate it nonetheless.
Apparently she’d heard about me from some television programme. I suspect she’s wrong as I would’ve received a whole lot more press than I currently have. Still, her disapproval made for a fairly comical story. I might not have a decent job but at least I have a sense of humour. Just a shame laughter doesn’t pay the bills.
Yesterday I had an interview for an internship with &&&Creative. This is the first company that have heard of the campaign and acted upon it. I met with one of the guys there named Shawn and we did the whole interview experience: Portfolio, chat etc.
I’m not sure whether I get the placement or not. From what I could gather there were a few interns who were on some sort of rota system. The guy who’s incharge of the yes’ and no’s was away on business so I’m waiting to hear back.
Hopefully this leads onto something positive. I’m keeping my chin up with it all even though it’s beginning to feel like I’m drowning again.
I’m still applying to jobs and as ever I’m still mostly getting ignored. In a bit of a situation and not sure what to do next at the moment.
I’m not certain if things will go ahead yet but there may be some good news on the way. I’ve got to wait until next week Tuesday to find out for definite. I feel pleased about it but equally nervous as it’s the biggest outcome of this whole campaign yet. I don’t want to say too much in case I jinx it. I’m not usually a believer in anything like that but I like to report a little teaser anyway.
Another great thing from all this came from my Nan. I phoned her to tell her the news and said I’ll come visit after to let her know how it went. It doesn’t get much better than hearing your Nan say ‘See You Next Tuesday’. A cheap laugh but a laugh nonetheless.
The news I had earlier was this: On Friday at 5.25 I received an email asking me to call to discuss my information in more detail. A possible job not just some stranger asking for info on me.
I thought what with receiving the email at 5.25 on a Friday the person in question would be frustrated and not conduct a thorough enough conversation as she might want to leave the office. I mean, it’s a Friday and late in the day. Anyone really working hard at that time is either mad or really loves their job. I decided a safe bet would be to wait until Monday where I could have a conversation that wasn’t potentially going to feel rushed. Does that logic make sense? It did to me.
Unfortunately when I called earlier I found out that the position had been filled. Gutted. I obviously wasn’t going to definitely get a job from phoning at 5.25 on a Friday but in retrospect I should’ve just done it. I’m proper gutted and feel like a bit of an idiot for it.
On the bright side the job in question was one I applied for that I found. So if I had got the job no one would’ve won the 10%. That means it’s still up for grabs so keep messaging me and let’s make you that little bit richer and feeling equally satisfied that you’ve helped someone out.
As of today I am a part time reprographics technician until Christmas. With this safety net of a job in place it’ll keep me busy and provide an income while I’m looking for something else. It’s a good job as they understand I’m looking for graphic design so I get to try make contacts as well. I’ve had a few teachers who offered to keep an eye out or ask a friend etc. I realise that not everyone will bother but a percentage might which is all it takes. Next week I start on a new time table meaning Mondays I’ll be getting a lie in after the semi regular quiz night Sunday. Of which we came 2nd from bottom last night despite 41/50. Instead, ill be working Wednesdays and Fridays which is more than fine with me. Job is job. There’s no new news to report as such. I do have a lead to chase up later but I’m keeping quiet on that for the mean time. It sounded promising but I’ve learned that it’ll take more than finger crossing for anything to work out. Will report back later.
Which is fine because I quite like the rain. Providing I have a hat or umbrella… not too sure where that fits in this analogy/metaphor (It’s gotta be one of those) but anyway…
A few weeks ago I made some business cards for a friend make-up artistry business: EC Make-Up through her I managed to gain a contact of another girl from her course (Shannon) who was interested in having some cards made also. Of course I jumped at the chance. After talking to her more about what she wants she mentioned ‘Foil Blocking’ which is something I’ve never had to send to print before. The other day I had to set up a job for die-cutting for the first time. Simple pleasures. I’ve not even begun to design for the foil blocking yet but I’m really looking forward to it. It’s incredibly nerdy of me but I figure if it’s what I enjoy doing then what does it matter? With that mentality lets be thankful I’m not a murderer.
Second piece of good news. The perforated job I just mentioned gained me another contact, a new printer company. They’ve called the school asking for me to do some work for them. Fantastic stuff. If they ask me to incorporate a third process I’ve never sent to print before I may well jump for joy. A literal jump. A ‘ow, I just hit my head on your ceiling’ jump… You know what… I think I may do a little jump anyway. A skip at the very least.
Third piece of good news… remember I said I contacted XFM & Radio 1 DJ’s? Only bloody Sunta of XFM has been tweeting me. Hold on there Danny Wallace, theres a new face in town. She even went so far as to tweet me a job at NME which I of course applied for straight away. Hes……….itation gets you nowhere. Thanks Sunta, I’m chuffed. I never say chuffed.
Four? There’s Four bits of good news? Yes. There. Is. The Daily Star have emailed me asking if they can print a story on me. As excited as I obviously was to hear that newspapers are taking an interest in me (ones that I’ve never contacted) I thought it best to lay out an understanding with the reporter. I’m more than aware how a story can be spun into something it’s not. What with the few negative people I’ve encountered through this campaign I didn’t want to risk a story saying I’m ‘desperate’ or anything. If a story is to be written I want it to focus on the creative approach I’ve taken. I’m not desperate by any means as I’m sure those of you that have followed me know by now. So, I’ve made it clear that I’ll only allow it if it can be written positively, as it’s intended.
Finally, and not such good news this time, I’ve managed to make myself ill again. This time I think Coco Pops are to blame. Note to self: Never trust a cartoon monkey. As soon as I can stop feeling so shit I’ll call the printers, take a brief then balance that against Shannon’s job.
Firstly, I just want to say a big thank you to ‘The Penguin’ over at Mod Culture. I’d completely overlooked a seriously awful kerning issue in one of my logos and he kindly pointed it out for me. I’ve removed it from my online portfolio until I can get around to fixing it.
That aside, I’ve decided to attack radio with emails asking them to give a shout out regarding the campaign. It’s got really dry recently and I’m struggling to think of new ideas so this was a little kick to hopefully get me going again. I’ve sent 20+ emails to various DJs at XFM and Radio 1. Hopefully someone will get back to me or maybe even take the 10 seconds to mention my name and the campaign. I’ll get round to emailing Heart & Magic soon also.
What I like about radio is you can get a wide audience based on what station reads out your message. Ideally I imagine Designers might listen to XFM or Radio 1 which is why I’ve started out with them. Heart & Magic are probably going to have fewer designers listen to them… I assume of course… I don’t like to STEREOtype (yes, this was all for that pun)