I25UE Debate, the best way for creative graduates to survive an 80% rejection rate


After a sleepless night following the I25UE debate organised by 24 Design Futures and Design Management students from Salford Uni I felt that I needed to comment.

After a sleepless night following the I25UE debate organised by 24 Design Futures and Design Management students from Salford Uni I felt that I needed to comment.



Firstly the event was great, the brief - how do these courses engage with the design community to educate them as to the nature of their course. The debate - What skills and attributes does the creative sector REALLY want from graduates? The event was totally organised and run by the students and they did a smashing job.



The Panel: (Left to right) John Whalley, Group Creative Director, Photolink. Trevor Johnson, Creative Director, Creative Lynx, Gary Armer, Marketing Executive, Liquid, Mike Carter, Managing Director, Orchard Recruitment and Ilsa Parry, Managing Director, REThinkThings.

Whilst covering various issues: CVs, application process, graduate qualities, there was one area that I felt didn't get the right airing.

I pointed out that on average 80% of applications for a role would be rejected as they did not have the correct experience that the role required.

That's the point of the process really. If 100 people apply for 1 job then you need to filter them. Only one person will get the job, there is only one job to get. So there has to be a process to reduce those numbers.

Most of the 80% of rejected applicants will not match the criteria advertised. They won't have worked in the specific area required, they won't have the relevant amount of experience in years, they won't have worked on the client base specified. They know this before they apply, but they apply anyway, then they get rejected.

The killer question, "What should people do? Apply anyway or go and work in Tesco?" was on reflection not really the right question.

"If that is the case then what should the unsuitable applicants do" would have been a more useful direction for the room.

Should you apply? I don't believe so. If you concentrate your effort in finding the right opportunities then this will be far more productive and less soul destroying then firing CVs off for roles that clearly don't match your skills and experience.

I believe that only 10% of graduate vacancies within the creative industry will get advertised. Why? Well the most proactive graduates have already started to find the relevant employers, engage them and sort out opportunities to get work placements and interviews. Agencies never really need to advertise a graduate vacancy, if I want someone with tenacity, enthusiasm and drive I don't advertise for it, I see who has found me and I talk to them.

So next time, don't spend time searching job boards and applying to vacancies that you know are not suitable for you, do a little research find some employers in the area that you want to work in with the type of work and client base that you feel you can add value to, and talk to them about how you might be useful to them.

Mike Carter

Comments...

  • I mostly agree, but there are acceptions. When I was a graduate, I did, on occasion apply for jobs that I wasn't really directly qualified for. I never got these jobs, but often, I was second choice. Because although it said "2 years experience in this role" I thought I could do the job anyway, without direct experience. Admittedly, as a graduate I'd already been doing freelance bits and bobs, but never directly related. I always think I have plenty of transferable skills that shouldn't be overlooked. I guess I was just too much of a risk. But I'm still in touch with these companies, and I would not say it was a waste of my time. Also, graduate jobs... few and far between. It's tough man, tough.
    11/05/2011 11:10:02 by Rebecca Rae
  • Great article Mike, and thanks for your work on the panel last night. Absolutely agree with your comment here about the importance of 'know-who' built from networking and visible presence, and avoiding the scattergun approach of CV-sending which, as you pointed out, has a higher chance of failure rather than success. I also advise students to do something rather than nothing when trying to break the jobs market, rather than sit around watching TV ; it's always easier to get a job when you have a job, and the good people always learn something of value from the most mundane of filler jobs.
    11/05/2011 12:01:24 by Roy Chilvers

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