It’s that time of year again, when design agency reception areas up and down the land are filled with graduates and students, nervously clutching their portfolios. We’ve had quite a few in to see us already, and around 95% were given the same advice. There’s already some really good tips out there on how to land that first job/placement from Ben Terret and Michael Johnson, and we’d like to share our thoughts aswell.

Before the meeting:

1. Do your homework.
Find out as much about the company you’re seeing as possible. The work they’ve done, who’s who on the staff list, what clients they work for, the awards they enter. With websites and blogs, there’s never been an easier way to gather information on people and companies, so no excuses! You want to make sure they’re the kind of company you’d like to work for. And also if you’re right for them. If you have no examples of packaging in your folder for instance, you’ll be thankful you did your homework first if you were going to try your luck at somewhere like Blackburn’s. Once you’ve chosen a company that you think you’ll fit in with, you can then...

2. Get your folder in order.
Be ruthless with your portfolio. You don’t need to show everything you’ve ever done, so choose around 10 of your best projects. The ones you get excited and passionate about. You’ll be able to talk about these with enthusiasm and hopefully, get your potential employer exited too.

When ordering your pages, we’d suggest starting with your second best project, and finishing with your best piece. Also, try to make sure you don't have two projects running over one spread. You’ll find that as you’re explaining the first page of the spread, the next project is being looked at before you’re ready to move on to it. To fix this, just space your projects out, even if it means you’ve one or two blank pages in there.

3. Have a look at your presentation.
If there’s one thing a designer loves to see, it’s a well laid out folder. If you’re a second year, there’s a good chance you’ll be turning up with an A2 portfolio, because that’s what you’ve been told to buy by your tutors. Well, take it from us. Get an A3 one. They look more professional, they’re cheaper and you won‘t break your back carting it around town. If you’ve already set your work out on A2 pages, you’re probably thinking “There’s no way I’m doing it all again”. Well, we can understand that. We know it takes up a lot of time, but it’s worth it. And the reasons for resizing to A3 are too good to ignore.

We’ve seen countless folders with bit of work stuck in the middle of A2 sheets. This looks ugly, it takes up time and doesn’t do your work any favours. So firstly, you’ll need to get access to an A3 printer. Luckily, most colleges/uni’s now have these. Now, get back on your mac and find your work files. Set yourself an A3 document in InDesign or Quark and start laying out your folder again. Treat the layout of your folder like you would a book or magazine, and work within a grid. Now you can adjust your layout easily.

Ditch the keylines around the work. If the piece is predominantly white, put a 5% black tint on it and back it up with a slight drop shadow. If you have any mocked-up physical items, try photographing them instead. If you have a mock-up of a book for instance, you could take shots of a few spreads. Most mock-ups get handled alot and can become tatty. Doing it this way looks so much better. You can always take the mock-up along too if it’s vital.

So now you can simply print out your A3 sheets and slide them in your A3 sleeves. Simple. If you need to adjust a piece of work, it’ll take minutes to print out another sheet.

For extra merit, consider buying a quality folder too. We like photographers boxes with loose A3 sleeves. Have a look here. It’ll be worth the cost.

Here’s one of our old folders with a mock layout.

In the meeting:

1. Stay calm.
Give a short description of the brief for each project, and explain how you arrived at your solution, briefly talking through each execution. Don’t rush it, or you may miss out any explanations.

2. Ask for any constructive criticism.
This is a good way of gauging what’s thought of your work. You may choose to take it on board, you may not. But it’s good to show you’re open to it, and willing to learn.

3. Ask questions.
It’s nice to show you’ve taken an interest in the company. You could ask how you’d fit in with the team if you were hired, what projects you may be working on and if you have opportunities to enter awards. Saying for example, “Yes, I liked the work you did for XClient, that campaign won you a pencil didn’t it?” shows you’ve done your homework. Don’t ask about money at this point.

4. Leave-behind
It’s a good idea to leave something with your details on, if you really want to go to town you could design a mini-folio. One student gave us a poster he’d designed with the best bits of his folder on, so we didn’t forget him.

After the meeting:

1. Email.
Send a quick email thanking who ever saw you for taking the time to view your folder, and ask could you be considered, should any vacancies come up.

2. Get looking again.
Don’t put all your eggs in one basket as they say. Even if you think it’s a dead cert you’ll get it, you may not. So make a list of back up companies and get out there and see them too. Would you rather spend a year not designing while you wait for a vacancy at Company X, or find a company that can offer you a job today? You could still keep in touch with Company X incase anything did come up, and you’ll have more experience under your belt, making you even more employable.

Well, that’s about it. It sounds a lot but could be worth it. With thousands of students and graduates looking for work each year, the competition is fierce. Ultimately, the work will speak for itself, but what we’ve discussed here will hopefully give you that edge. Think of yourself like a brand and give yourself the best chance of standing out in a crowded market.

Thoughtful owe a great deal to the people who gave up their time to help us get where we are today. We want to repay that debt by helping the next generation of creatives. So, if you want to show us your book, read our books or just come in for a chat (about design stuff), don't be scared....our doors are always open. You can get in touch here.