PPP: Getting a Placement

Todays PPP session was about how to get a placement. I have being doing my placement with Cohorted since June (started as a summer placement but they decided to keep me on and work full time after graduating, see Cohorted blog posts). However, I'd still want to do a second placement somewhere else so I can see what I would prefer which will help me get a deeper understanding of where I want to be in the future.

At the moment I have contacted Robot Food which I contacted last year, their response was that they keep placement places free for third years so now was a perfect time to re-email them, however I'm still waiting for a response so I need to start emailing more places.

Key issues??? Portfolio, email, photographing work

Jobs:

• Junior designer
• Visual merchandiser
• In-house Graphic designer
• Free-lancer
• Typographer
• Art director
• Copywriter 
• Art worker
• Tutor/lecturer/educator
• Editorial designer
• Ad agency
• Studio founder
• Design consultant
• Project manager
• Digital designer/UX/App designer
• Illustrator
• Product designer
• Blogger
• Set design
• Marketing/social media
• Packaging designer
• Motion design
• Exhibition designer
• Print maker
• Brand strategist 

Jobs that I would consider from the list: Junior designer, educator, blogger/marketing, packaging designer

16 Personalities test: I have done this test before and I got 'Entertainer, ESFP' so it was interesting to see that I got Protagonist this time, they're both quite similar but I do see myself as more of a Protagonist now, I felt it was quite accurate.

Jobs suited to me based on my personality type: Studio founder, educator

Reaching out

-This is the hardest bit, but you have to do your research, invest time and be resilient!

-Ways in which you can contact people is through email, twitter or phone call, but its better to send something physical! Makes more of an impact, you won't just be another email.

-If they have put their phone number on their socials, then thats an invite to ring them! so much quicker than waiting for an email response.

-List of things you want to ask them before ringing, have it handy

-Invite them to your event or exhibition

-Peer review emails before you send them

Lauren Berger @internqueen: How to write a professional email

-Make sure the subject line is searchable

-Professional greeting followed with a warm up line (Hi blah blah, hope you're well today!)

-Keep it short, one paragraph even

-Attach CV as PDF

-Close it off by saying something like 'thank you so much for taking this time out of your day, best wishes, Laveeza'

More tips:

• Sell yourself with confidence!!! 
• Talk up your "soft skills" and "fit"
• Have a clear ask. If you don't ask you won't get.
• Can they reply with yes, no or no but?
• Follow up!

We were then set the task to get in partners and send eachother emails as if we were contacting a studio/designers for a placement, me and Will paired up.

My email:

Wills email:

The advice will gave me was that I could put the 'sometime in the new year' bit at the start instead of at the end, with specific dates. The advice I gave to Will was that he could end the first sentence at University and then re-word the last sentence. This was a useful little task.