My First Blog Entry
As I struggle to find a job in my field, I often think about how people might see me. See, I have not really made myself known as a graphic designer. I thought my chances of getting a job in a studio with good pay would be decently high with just a portfolio and a bachelor’s degree in Graphic and Interactive Design.
Alas, when I began applying for part-time and full-time graphic design jobs, I just got rejected without a reason why. The time it takes for companies to respond with my status varied widely. Sometimes, I get a rejection within a week. Other times, I don’t hear anything back. There has been a lot of talk about people, particularly Gen Z, struggling to find a job out of college. We honestly thought college was a surefire way of getting hired into a good-paying, fulfilling job. But, perhaps we were misled.
All in all, it felt disheartening seeing all these people struggling to get a job they studied for, hearing some say that companies are required by law to post job openings even if they already have somebody in-house in mind to fill that job, and looking at posts talking about “the wrong degree”. I questioned myself, “Did I really pursue the wrong degree? Did I need to go to college at all if I wanted to have a profession in the arts?”
“I have been concerned about hiring managers ignoring me because I don’t have much of a presence online. I’ve been told time and time again that a portfolio is enough, but is it really? That is why I want to start this blog.”
I was lucky to go through all my years of college without having to ever take out a loan. Scholarships and grants took me the whole way, and I even took a dual enrollment opportunity while in my senior year of high school. Those helped me out a lot. I had heard many horror stories about people never being able to pay off their student debt, so I feel relieved to know that I am not in the same boat.
Unfortunately, there were some opportunities that I felt like I couldn’t afford to take. Mental health was my biggest concern all throughout college, and it still is. I never want to overwork myself by going to too many events or taking additional jobs when I know I will need as much time as possible to work on projects.
Now that college is over for me, things have felt uneventful for a while. Slowly, I began to realize that, with so much time on my hands, I was concerning myself with matters that are beyond what I can handle. I have also been spending too much time alone and not really connecting with people.
That isn’t to say I didn’t get any jobs. I have been trying to keep myself busy with part-time jobs and volunteer opportunities.
In June 2023, I got a job as a Sales Floor Associate at a Michaels store. I enjoy working there to chat with incoming Makers—that’s what we at Michaels call our customers—and we learn together about the various ways to make art, plan educational activities, and seek inspiration.
In July 2023, I volunteered with Keep Music Alive in their Instrument Petting Zoos. The mission of this organization is to organize events in local communities and promote the social and therapeutic power of playing musical instruments. I worked with the organization’s founder, Vincent James, to create a small poster that educates kids on how the thunder tube works. People kept asking what it was and kids were confused on how to play it, so it was an excellent opportunity to utilize my design skills. I should talk about this project more in-depth soon.
Thunder Tube Educational Poster
Since January of this year, I became a photography assistant for Joel Perlish Photography. Joel always attended events at the Kelly Music Center to take photos and post them on his website—he greatly supports their mission in bringing the local community together through art and music. I met with him during one of the Instrument Petting Zoos that took place there. As his assistant, I scan film and edit photos, among other things. Most importantly, I help him take pictures at Kelly Music Center events every weekend night. We make a great team and establish a friendship rather quickly.
Since then, I had put my job search on hold. I would really like to have a fulfilling full-time job. In terms of my graphic design career, those jobs are kind of out of the question until I get a car of my own and work enough internships, since hiring managers seem to be so fixated on experience and can’t afford to take risks. They probably also want to know if the people they hire still study graphic design or work on design projects.
That brings us full circle. I have been concerned about hiring managers ignoring me because I don’t have much of a presence online. I’ve been told time and time again that a portfolio is enough, but is it really? That is why I want to start this blog. I want to use this blog as a way to write down ideas, talk about graphic design, and try to bring things out. I tend to keep things to myself if I’m not in a professional setting, but what good would that do if I need to be noticed to get hired?
I asked myself if a blog is really necessary when we have social media, but I read that people think blogs are more credible. I also think blogs are better for long-form content, as the pace of social media is very fast and encourages shorter content. There’s nothing wrong with saying something short on social media to lead them here, and in turn lead them to browsing my portfolio and getting some contacts.
So yeah, that is my plan now. I hope to establish some connections and talk with other people about all things design. I may also talk about some other topics like Japanese and video games, since I’m quite enthusiastic about those, but we’ll have to see.
I’ll also be trying out this mailing list feature on Squarespace, so feel free to subscribe to get notified of new blog posts immediately.