Hello there,

My name is Samuel Perry, im currently 23 years old and in the final year of my degree at Manchester Metropolitan University. I am currently studying printmaking as a fine art (ive always fancied myself as a bit of an artist) and am due to leave university in June of this year. During my time at university i have decided that the fine art circuit is not one that i would enjoy being a part of, i have however developed a healthy obsession with printmaking as a  systematic and precise process and i would love to pursue a career in the industry. My problem is that i cannot find a vacancy for a job that i think i would realistically be qualified for, i have experience using a large format printer, aswell as apple macs and i have sound knowledge of adobe photoshop (keen amateur photographer) but i cannot match the experience required for the job vacancies that i have seen advertised. I was wondering if anyone could help me get my foot in the door, im a quick learner and am confident that i could bring myself up to speed in a short space of time, im not asking for a job right now, just a little advice on how to get that first job. ive already signed up with a local recruitment agency based here in manchester but they havent been able to offer me anything just yet. any advice on this matter would be greatly appreciated by both myself and anyone who i should happen to work for in the fututre :).

Thanks in advance

Sam

 Declaring my interest early, might I suggest jobs.printweek.com!

There are a load of other initiatives but I'm going to leave it to others to take the glory...

Thankyou Matt for your quick reply, i have looked over the jobs section many times but i cant find a position that doesnt require industry experience, i did spot one in the north east but i really need to have a job reasonably close to manchester as i have responsibilities here. its frustrating really because i know with training id be able to get up to speed no problem!

Yes Sam it's tough getting a foot in the door, but you do seem to be heading in the right direction. Matt's suggestion is excellent and PrintWeek handles some really great jobs so you will be sure to be looking at what the best have to offer. I have a situations wanted section on my rather modest website over at www.ukdp.org where you can post your CV and see if anybody is looking to adopt somebody with your particular skill set, but straight forward networking such as you are doing is the best way.

Ray

Have you thought about a job client side of the print industry; with your skills/knowledge (mac usage and print knowledge) it looks like you could walk into a first level position in an advertising or design agency! I know plenty of them that could do with a little more print knowledge when creating their artwork!

I would reckon that a reasonable sized agency would bite your hand off to get you in as an apprentice whilst studying, there are loads of em in Manc (G/F works in one!),

Even if you find the agency environment is not for you, the experience there would definately put you in a better position to go back to repro/production side having understood the requirements of an agency from an internal perspective

Thankyou Ray for your help, i wish i had read your post earlier i was just there at city college today. i think your suggestion of work experience sounds like the way forward. its difficult to know what to ask for though, im not sure what certain job titles mean or how long i can expect to remain a work experience employee for (i have rent to pay!). so anyway, ive fired off a few initial requests for trainee positions to some local companies and i m currently waiting for reply. fingers crossed!  thankyou again for your help Ray, ill let you know how i get on.

Sam

Hello Ben and thankyou for your help,

I joined and agency based here in manchester called key recruitment, they told me that their business had been quiet lately but to keep updating my cv and they would be in touch should a vacancy arise. would you mind sending me a message with the name of your girlfriends agency? i figured its good to have as many options as possible. can you tell me what you mean when you say the "job client" side of the industry? is that more or less a graphic designer?

Cheers Ben, thanks again for your help

Hi Sam.

Thats no problem; "client side" is just agency lingo; "agency side" is working within an advertising/design/creative agency designing and creating campaigns for their clients/customers, "client side" just means working as a similar/related role in the customer organisation, i.e. G/F works for an agency called TBWA in Didsbury (i.e. agency side) they do work for GHD (the straighteners), but she liaises with the marketing team within GHD to design the promotion (client side). I hope you understand that?? 

Same kind of principle applies for printers to an extent, you can work internally in a printers or you could work as a print buyer, for example, for a customer (client side); you get me?

Any way, what I would advise for you is to see if there are any print production assistant roles in an agency, they crop up quite often. dont just keep your eggs in one basket in terms of recruitment agents, I had my CV in at 15 - 20 of them all over the place! try; Blue Skies, Orchard suits, Aquent see what comes up there.