Designer Esra: block 3

Showing posts with label block 3. Show all posts

Wednesday, 25 April 2012

Necessary Practices For Interview Presentation

From the different lectures I attended at the University of Salford, and the interviews I have been to, I came up with these tips, hope they are helpful for you all.

Going to an interview is very close to giving a presentation because you experience the nerves in both, and you have to present in both as well, so check my post about presentations here & here. The only difference is you are only presenting yourself in other words you are SELLING your skill sets, personality, and everything that makes you YOU ;)

here are some tips that might help:

Look the part, dress well and smart with maybe a creative spin on the look, but nothing too crazy; you want to look professional.
SMILE, greet them with a bright smile and a firm handshake (not hard tho!)
Answer clearly, smartly and truthfully, and make all your answers consistent and related to how great you are. Also, prepare some answers for predicted questions just to be on the safe side, and I noticed that "what are your weaknesses?" it's annoying when you get asked that, but just make sure you have a smart answer for it; make it a positive weakness ;) and don't forget the "tell me about yourself". It will be handy if you read around common interview questions.
Ask questions, when they ask you "do you have any questions for us?" say YES and ask question related to the roll or the company to show that you are interested.
Thank them for considering you and Hope for the job (maybe even visualize yourself in it!).

good luck in your search :)

Keys to Get a First Job

The bellow tips are taking from real life experience with jobs I applied for and got! PLUS I was really inspired by this amazing book 100Rules: find a job, start a business, build a new life by M A Ghori, well worth a read :)

Having a job is always good, but you have to REALLY want to have one applying for a job just the sake of doing it won't take you anywhere. Sending a general CV to loads of places won't be much helpful either (you can try it if you want)

here are few tips that helped me, and hope it helps you too! :)

1- WANT IT, apply for something that you would LOVE (work wise and money wise).
2- NETWORK, sometimes finding a job could come through a friend, a parent, a neighbor, a teacher, and etc, so when you really want a job there is no harm in asking them all if they know places or people who can hire you! :)
3- Be READY, prepare yourself before you apply. Know exactly what you need to send out and WHO to send it too.
4- TAILOR your cv and cover letter for every job. Keep the major things the same, but make sure you add a little bit extra to make it just directed to that job because that might be the element that makes it stands out
5- RESEARCH the employer before going on an interview, read their mission, their expectations, how they work and so on.
6- Shine in the interview, be yourself, friendly, smile, and be polite.
7- HOPE for the best! :)

Sunday, 22 April 2012

Cover Letters Explained

The information bellow are my notes from a cover letter writing session with the career center in the University of Salford:

If you have a brand or theme to your CV make sure you carry it on in your cover letter but on a low key meaning not as flashy.
Cover letters are the ones that convince the employer to read on and look at your CV.
Make it brief and to the point. You want to tell the reader about you in an academic tone without being too needy or desperate.

Cover Letter format:

Your personal details (name, email, address & number)
The receiver's personal details
Date
Dear (find out a name)
4 short paragraphs:

1- what job do you want, where did you hear about it, and why you want it
2- why this exact company make sure you butter them up ;) find out more about the company and what interests you exactly and maybe one of their projects?
3- YOURSELF, why are you fit for the job? what makes you special? education/work experience.
4- tell them you'll follow up with them (are you going to email? call? when)

Thank you! :)

hope this helps! good luck

Write a GREAT CV

Writing a creative CV is not as easy as writing a plain one because you have to do the plain one first, and then brand it and produce it creatively. Here are the notes I took from attending few CV writing classes, one of which was in the University of Salford.

First, you need to know determine which type of CV you want to present; chronological, skills oriented, or others, and choosing a type depends on what you have. For instance, if you have been working since 14 then it makes sense to do a chronological one because of all the jobs you got, but if you only worked two jobs and studied more then it's better to do a skills CV. Think what you have to offer and choose the type accordingly.

Second, make sure you have a profile section at the top of your CV (under your personal info) whatever the type is because this part is read first. Make it short and sweet. a paragraph or bullet points of who you are and what you want! :)

Third, organize your CV: (CV format)

Personal Details (name- email- number- address)
Profile (mentioned in the second point)
Education (high school, university, etc)
Relevant Work Experience
Skills (IT, communication, team work, etc)
Other Work Experience
Other information (interests, volunteering, etc)
References (you can just write at the end available on request & of course have some ready).

Fourth, now make it creative! as in refrain from the usual, and try to show yourself through it, and here's a website for awesome CVs: http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/creative-designer-resume-curriculum-vitae/

Think of your likes, and interests and their relation to the job you want to apply for, and make it all fit. Maybe choose a theme or a brand and make it go through all your work? it's your moment to shine and be noticed.

NOTE: don't use faded colors because most of the times the CVs are printed white and black and you still want it to be clear.

Good luck! :)

Saturday, 14 April 2012

Research & Target Personal Direction within the Creative Industries

These are all the companies I looked at while looking for an interior design work placement. Most of them are in Manchester, but some are international.

Name of the company: Space Invader Design Ltd

Contact Info:

13, Police St, Manchester, M2 7LQ
0161 819 2504
info@spaceinvaderdesign.co.uk
http://www.spaceinvaderdesign.co.uk/services

What area of design do they do?

Workspace consultancy
Space planning
Design concepts
Experience in education, leisure, and residential sectors.

Pictures from the firm:

______________________________________________________________________________

Name of the company: the TSK group plc

Contact Info:

the TSK group plc, The Nucleus, 130 Metroplex Business Park, Broadway, Salford Quays, Manchester
+44 (0) 161 872 0298
businessdevelopment@tskgroup.co.uk

What area of design do they do?

Office space
Office buildings like the BBC
Education spaces
University labs
Coffee shops

Pictures from the firm:

______________________________________________________________________________

Name of the company: NoChintz

Contact Info:

First Floor, 12 Hilton Street, Northern Quarter, Manchester, M1 1JF,United Kingdom
+44 (0)161 236 1412
info@nochintz.co.uk
http://www.nochintz.co.uk/play/eventdesign.php