Selling yourself, and moving into art direction

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How come I am an excellent, awarded copywriter with 20 years' experience and many awards... yet I struggle to get freelance work? Appreciate your considered reply. (Yes, I know that's not a sentence ;) - Janine

Hi Janine,

Freelancing (strangely enough) is about sales, selling your skills, selling your talent and selling your ability. I am not sure how much time you spend in marketing yourself? How up to date is your LinkedIn profile? How often do you write articles for free, just for the exposure? By building your name in the industry even further than you already have, you should receive more leads and therefore more work.

Unfortunately, selling yourself is a continuous process and one that is never allowed to sleep, so try and continuously approach publishers, websites etc. with your capabilities, as well as gearing your online profile towards showcasing your work. For instance, if I wanted to find a freelancer, how could I find you? Do you have a website? Even a simple one is fine, providing contact details and showcasing your portfolio.

I hope these are all ideas that help. I will be sure to contact you if I ever need work done :)

Across-the-board experience needed?

I have been at my current company for six months now. I was trained as a communication designer and I focused on film and events during my last year at school. This is my second take on a degree / career, so I am about five years older than my work-level peers. So I do have five years' general working experience.

However, I struggled to apply for work and after a long search ended up as a junior designer in a company that only does digital. I'm excelling and I've been appointed to head design on digital for some of the biggest clients the company has, thus I actually have the same responsibilities as the senior designer. My salary is definitely above industry standard for a junior designer so I can't complain, but I really do not like working only in digital, it really frustrates me as I know I can do a whole lot more than what I am required to.

My goal is to become an art director as it is definitely my forte, but all the positions for junior art direction I've come across require 3-5 years' experience in "a high-paced design agency". Should I move to an agency to gain across-the-board experience now or would someone hire me as junior art director after my three years' digital experience? - Anon

Hi Anonymous,

Many thanks for your question.

I understand that you would like to broaden your experience, but I think leaving after only six months could cost you dearly. We have seen that agencies are increasingly becoming more involved in the digital space and thus to have this experience on your CV will definitely not hinder your chances of growing in your career. In fact, most agencies, even if they play in both spaces, place a large emphasis on hiring people with digital experience. It could be your 'in' into an above- and below-the-line agency, and put you ahead of the other candidates in the running. Perhaps use this opportunity to learn all you can about digital. Once you feel you have enough under your belt, then you could start looking, but I wouldn't suggest leaving before you feel you are an expert.

Hang in there, many job opportunities happen for a reason, so embrace the learning opportunity and the right path will find you.

I hope this helps, and I wish you all the best.

Remember to always love what you do!
Juliette

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