I was briefly employed from late October to early January at a sign shop in Launceston. I saw the job in the Examiner on the Wednesday in late September and one month later, I had my interview conducted and was officially employed.
My boss told me that I was to remain a casual employee doing only three days a week, 24 hours total. I was happy with this setup as I had to travel 1 hour to and from work everyday. The boss promised more work once the year was over, starting in January next year.
I enjoyed the work! I was on my feet most of the day, helping the screen printing shop and doing signage when required. Although I was happy with my work and my hours, the job was not able to last.
When I was due to return to work, my boss said there was little to no work for me, and said to hold out till the election. I remained hopeful that an election victory that my boss would be happy with would put my sign career back on course.
My boss rang me to say that there was no work for me, and I had to look for something else, but if circumstances changed they would call me right away.
A job hunt in an unforgiving 'experience means more than your degree' market.
I have turned quite bitter towards the industry as a whole, but I remain optimistic. I understand that experience does indeed stack up better than a piece of paper, but not having solid work experience does phase me. What qualifies for work experience? I have been freelancing for over two years now, does that mean I have two years experience in the field? I like to think so, but it's not for me to decide, it's the employer.
That's just a little rant in the world of Branchy and his Design. I have not been very active lately aside from tending to clients. Hopefully freelancing picks up a bit and can evolve even further.
My next blog post will be about the next 6 months, my plans, my goals and my promises as a Designer and Cartoonist. I hope you stick around for them!
-Branchy