Most graduates fail to sell themselves to consultancies

Why is it necessary to publish letters every year from recent graduates complaining about the difficulties encountered in finding design positions? It is a well-known fact that design courses are over-subscribed and resulting graduates are therefore not guaranteed a job.

Following the last major recession, many design consultancies have opted to recruit with caution, hoping to hold on to staff for several years, and preferring to run the risk of being slightly under-staffed than having to make people redundant.

Graduates may feel they have a lot to offer, and quite often they are right, but nothing beats experience in a busy design group where new recruits have to fit into an existing team.

One of your correspondents complained that design education does not always offer training in how to get a job. Surely the point of design courses is to promote creativity. School education should have dealt with communication.

I reply to all of the considerable number of applications sent to this consultancy. The majority of CVs are poorly presented and reflect badly on the applicant’s creativity. Attention to detail and an ability to carry out research are both part of design courses, and students should recognise the need to concentrate on both before applying to design consultancies if their applications are to be considered seriously.

While I understand the pressure to get a job the minute a student graduates, career planning is in the hands of the student and is not the responsibility of the course, the tutors or potential employers.

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