Caught my eye

I was passing by the shopping and saw some really cool Lager packaging!

Do you know the agency behind it? What do you think? Feel free to comment below.

Shillington College graduate talent flourishes at end of year show 2015

Creative Recruitment and Shillington College join forces once again in the end of course show.

The portfolio review is presented in an open house format and featured design students industry-focused work who formally present their work, highlighting the various disciplines within their respective fields of study.

Here is a snapshot of how the day unfolded. 

The course enables you to develop an understanding of the social context of graphic design and covers topics such as typography, advertising, branding, editorial, packaging, interactive design, and installation.

You are taught by research-active academics who practise in the industry and have active links to professional bodies and networks. There are opportunities to undertake work experience and internships at design agencies.

Research shows that graduates who have work experience are attractive to employers and have a competitive edge in the jobs market.

The calibre of work produced by the students is very high, and is a credit to them and the lecturers.

Impressive as always guys! Good luck to all!

CV of the week

This weeks winner of CV of the week award goes to the person who sent me this :-)

CV of the week

This weeks CV of the week award goes to the person who emailed me this when applying for one of my design roles.

lol.

Something to think about when requesting a freelance day rate increase

We’d all like a massive £350,000 a year salary, but you won’t convince your MD to give you a dream salary. Instead, do some research and check out salary averages to see if you are actually being paid less than you should be.  

Something to think about when requesting a freelance day rate increase:

Rather than 'I want more money keep in mind standard protocol for all pay rise requests:

A brief explanation as to why you are requesting it in terms of clear examples to demonstrate how you’ve gone beyond your basic job description. Highlight a few instances where you’ve taken initiative, improved business or helped support the wider team. Remember that this is a business request, and your goal is to convince your boss that you are worth a higher day rate. Simply to ‘help offset some of the costs I am paying for Employers National Insurance’ isn’t a strong enough case I'm afraid.

Work out what you earn before tax, for example: £135per day this is equivalent to an annual amount of: £35,100. The London average for Senior Graphic design roles is 30k. Asking for as much as 150 per day will take this to 39k which may actually be closer to a management role. By doing this you will know if the time is right or appropriate to ask for more money - good luck.

We were very impressed

Known as one of the UK's most creative Graphic Design Courses, and well-known for its successful design programs, Shillington College always promises to deliver an abundance of talent.

Myself and Evette Darroux were privileged to join them this week as a guest speakers and offer portfolio feedback, interview tips and give some advice on the do's and don'ts for job seeking within design and creative sectors. 

The evening was friendly and informal. I really enjoyed sharing an outside perspective, giving support, and hopefully we were able to provide a bit of entertainment (or all three)!

The night was successful and the other guest speakers enjoyed the experience too. All delivered a message that seemed to resonate with the audience. 

Overall, I was very impressed with the attitude and professionalism of the students.

If you would like to know more about the Shillington please visit:www.shillingtoncollege.co.uk

For up to date job alerts within design and creative sectors please follow: @deancousin

To register your details with Creative Recruitment please go to:  www.creativerecruitment.co.uk

Cover note made me LOL

Someone sent me their cv with this..... "interesting" cover note.
Made me LOL.
What do you think of it?

Portfolio exhibition at Shillington Graphic Design College

Talent Spotting is the name of the game so I was flattered to be invited to attend the portfolio exhibition at Shillington Graphic Design College last night.

The show took place in the trendy Hoxton Gallery and included some interesting print, branding and data visualising projects with a touch of digital design.

The show takes a folio-led approach with students on hand to talk about their work on display, which gives visitors a good insight into their style, ideas and techniques used.

Some of the work on show featured posters of visualisation experimenting with colour, typography and imagery.

This was an intimate and interesting show and we were very impressed with the level of work and the motivated attitude of the graduates.

For more information on how you can create a successful career within graphic design, please leave a comment below or reach out  via twitter: @deancousin 

Also, feel free to check out my top freelance tips for January! 

Happy holiday!!!

CV of the week

Now I get a lot of CVs but this one won the CV of the week award...

Yes this is the actual CV that was sent to me...

Weekly Jobs Round-up

Thanks to everyone who made themselves available for the current roles I am working on.

Here is another update for you with all the latest creative and production based jobs added over the last week!

Simply comment below or DM me to let me know if any of my roles are of interest and I will send you all the juicy details!

Please note - to be considered you must be London based and free w/c 15th of Sep.

• Agency Keynotes Designer - on-going freelance work
• Agency Digital Designer - 3 month contract (corp brand)
• Agency Flash Designer / Animator on-going freelance work
• Agency 3D Studio Max specialist – on-going freelance work
• Agency Proof Readers – Italian and German languages
• In-house Marketing Designer - 2 months with presentation design exp
• In-house Digital Designer - 1 month with UI / UX transactional exp
• In-house MW Copywriter - rolling freelance with agency exp (superbrand)

We always need creatives of all levels, designers, artworkers and des / devs so feel free to send me your details on a speculative basis.

For more info on perm roles check out our website or my twitter page. Good luck!

Next weeks hot jobs!!!

The Creative Recruitment freelance department has been super busy and new clients, briefs and roles have been flying in every day.

Next week we will be busy working on many more exciting new roles. The companies are very desirable and easily some of my fav brands. Here is a snap shot of what we will need for next week:

•          Digital Design - All levels
•          Integrated Creative - Mid weight
•          E-commerce Retouching
•          Visualisation and hands on production
•          Flash Design and animation

If you are available for next week onwards or know a friend who is interested in my specialist sector please feel free to contact me via DM, Twitter or email.

Have a great weekend! D.

Spitalfields Market

Saw some nice artwork out on display today. Here are some pics of my favs.

Top 5 tips for Freelance Designers time management

Hey folks!

Has this happened to you?

You’re busy beavering away. All of a sudden it gets to about 4 O’clock in the afternoon and you wonder where the day has gone.  You realise you still have a chunk more work to do, before you complete your projects. That awful *gulp* moment comes over you. I’m never going to finish on time!

Meeting deadlines can be tricky. It can also consume you, if you don’t develop a strategy for hitting them on time.

That’s why time management is so important.

Forget burning the midnight oil just to scrape the submissions in. Focus on completing tasks with time to spare, allowing you to make last minute changes and amends.

Here I’ve listed just some effective time management tips, worth considering:

If you fail to prepare, prepare to fail

Or, in the words of Yogi Berra “If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll end up someplace else”. 

Planning may seem elementary to you, but it’s vital and so effective for making sure we stay on track. Any activity in life needs planning. Make sure your (or your client’s) goal is clear, and write it down. Make lists, flow charts, spider diagrams. Stick to them. Work through them and keep coming back to them. Be sure to only include key criteria, and deadline driven issues.

Prioritise

I sometimes feel like I’m spinning plates and trying to keep them all going at once isn’t easy. We’re constantly juggling our workload and tasks throughout the day. Decide what needs to be done first. Focus on what is most important, and necessary to move forward with the project. Start with the heavier tasks and get those out of the way early on. Come back to smaller, less import work later. Think about the amount of time you need to spend on something and factor that into your day. Give yourself goals and timeframes for completing stuff. Plot your key dates and milestones into your calendar, so you’re always thinking ahead. 

Don’t push it

Sometimes you need to be brave and turn down work, or say ‘no’ to a job. I know that’s really hard when you’re self employed or freelance, and you never really know where your next pay cheque is coming from. But, if you deliver substandard quality cos you’re overstretched, chances are they won’t re-book you anyway. Instead, give your best efforts and honour commitments you already have, rather than drowning yourself in multiple briefs.  

Don’t get obsessed

Analysis paralysis can be a massively debilitating and it’s happened to us all, at some point. You’re squandering considerable amounts of time over-thinking the project or the situation. Nothing gets done.  You overcomplicate it, there are too many detailed options, a choice is never made, and you can’t find the perfect solution. We’re in the crushing grip of this dreaded condition and we can’t see the end-zone… STOP! Listen to your gut. Ask for a second opinion. Do a mental dry run. And then take the leap. Remember, even if you commit now, it’s not 100% of the final outcome. You can always fine tune later.

Reward yourself

Make working fun and enjoyable, by rewarding yourself when you do a good job, or when you’ve completed something you didn’t like doing. Keep sweets in your drawer. Go and make a herbal brew after each task. Try to choose projects that you’re passionate about. This can help motivate you and help instill a sense of urgency, which helps to get you over the finish line and helps to make you feel that sense of achievement.

Being a freelance designer is a balancing act.  But through good time management it is possible to balance it all.

If you have tips of your own, feel free to add them to the comment section below.  Whilst you’re there, you might like to check out the following for new freelance roles!

PowerPoint Obsession!

 

Ok guys, I am aware that designers don’t like using PowerPoint however I have just been informed by several high profile clients that they will need a small army of PowerPoint, Keynotes and Prezi Designers... Can it be true I hear you gasp...?

The shifts are long, they include weekends and out of hours work, some international travel and eye watering rates!

These roles are getting booked up over the next few weeks / months and I am always up for talking to people who have the skills but want more freelance work in this area.

PowerPoint... who would of thunk it...?

Be....

Nice little poster made by one of our freelancers! Thank you!!!!

Be happy!

First unusual cv of the new year

Back in the office and its all systems go for 2014.

New roles flying on every day - designers offline, designers online, studio managers and email producers / front end devs all needed for some of the best clients in London.

Having said that I am receiving interesting applications - including this CV from a hopeful job hunter.

As you can see this cv is impossible to read - I did let the person know...

THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR AN AMAZING YEAR

I would like to take this opportunity to thank my wonderful freelance creative community for and incredible year, without whom I would be unable to deliver that extra mile service.

This year has also been a great year for not just CR but for our wonderful clients too.  I would like to thank you all for your amazing support over the past year and would like to welcome our new clients to the CR Digital family.

I can’t wait for a super busy 2014 and am look forward to working with all of you in the busy time ahead.

Have a very Merry Christmas and a fabulous New Year.

Nice place for client meetings

If you are in need of a nice place for client meetings try out this place in London.

Easy service, friendly people and good prices.  

Providores on Marylebone High Street - check it out.

Paul Smith still going strong

The Design Museum held a live twitter chat with Paul Smith where you could ask live questions.

Was rather cool but I didn't get my RT :(

Here is a link of the great man!

How to deal with job applications

It’s not uncommon for me to receive anything up to 50 applications per day and I pride myself on being fully committed to responding to all successful (and unsuccessful) applications, as painstaking and tasking as it is.

My responses are tailored to each individual, they are honest, but more importantly they’re designed to keep a lasting relationship with my potential applicant. I’m building my talent pipelines.
You see, keeping applicants on my radar is vital to my role. Everyday new positions and opportunities for candidates are popping, so if the job wasn’t right this time, next time I know exactly who to call.
But just today, I received the following feedback from one of my applicants:
“I'm really surprised that a multi award winning creative director with the work, awards, contacts, experience and clients that I have, just gets this automated response?? Can you explain why?”

If you’re an applicant and you’ve found been in this position, don’t give up! I know it’s frustrating, but you just have to take it on the chin. It’s all part of the process. If you’re seeing endless knock-backs start rethinking your CV or folios. Make sure what you send is appropriate for the spec.
And you should ask for feedback, but ALWAYS remain professional. If you’ve been left with your feathers ruffled, don’t let them know about it. You might ruin your chances of them asking you back in the future.

The job market is highly competitive –ferocious in fact. Recruiters, hiring managers and talent scouts get flooded with hundreds of CVs. It’s a quagmire and time for screening is limited. You’ve sussed it… this is exactly why you’ve had little or no feedback. So, perhaps a generic or  automated response is to be expected. Smart recruiters will do what I do, and keep you in their talent pipeline for future openings.

Make sure your CVs and cover note (if you do one) are clear, punchy and informative, bullet points, brand names and sector experience are the key highlights you need to include. People don’t have time to read reams of information. So, one last piece of advice for all the essay writers out there in you, give it a miss…

Good luck.