For many students and graduates, the hunt to find a full-time job is a path littered with untold obstacles and heavy handed lessons. You might leave University thinking that you are God’s gift to any creative agency, but from experience I can tell you that you’re still the smallest fish in a big, busy pond...

First things first – create a portfolio of work

The very first thing any prospective employer will look for is your portfolio of work so that they can assess you as a candidate. Before you apply for any jobs you need to have a portfolio of work complete and available online.

Select your best and most recent work

This should go without saying but still, so many people load their portfolio with work they completed  years ago when they were at a completely amateur level with no professional experience. This is wrong. To be truly effective you should cherry pick your greatest (and ideally, latest) pieces for showcase on your portfolio website.

Let your personality shine through

This could mean the difference between getting an interview or not. Your portfolio website should reflect you as an individual – carefully select everything from your colour choice to your tone of voice. Always maintain a level of professionalism, but certainly do not be afraid to let your thoughts and opinions come through – employers are Human Beings too and chances are they do not want to employ a robot.

Make it easy to learn more about you

Run down your key skills and allow each one to be elaborated on by showing work examples or simply talking about each skill in more detail. Offer the user a download of your CV and include your contact details on every page.

Keep an eye on the job market

Simply submitting your CV to recruitment websites and expecting the perfect role to land in your inbox simply is not enough; you need to be pro-active in searching for jobs, an expert in writing a unique covering letter and be 100% available by telephone should you get a call from a creative agency.

Look at specialist websites

Generic job market websites like Monster.co.uk are not the types of websites you should look at. It’s true that you can have success from these websites but you will not get the specialist attention you need from them. For example, consider the sheer volume and variety of both applicants and agencies trawling through these websites on a daily basis – when I started out I was bombarded by useless calls for completely unrelated jobs.

Web design is a specialist industry and as such, you should be looking for creative recruitment agencies. Google that terms and localise it and you will find some much better job sources.

Put yourself about. A lot.

To make a strong impact you should register with creative recruitment agencies in your area (or any area you are willing to commute/relocate to). Ensure you receive job alerts by email, follow the agency on Twitter and even call them from time to time for job updates – this helps because it keeps you on their radar and stops you getting lost in a pile of applicants.

Write unique and relevant covering letters

When applying for a job, spend 10-15 minutes writing a couple of paragraphs about why you are suitable for the role. Keep it brief and relevant; nobody likes an exhaustive essay, but nobody likes a lazy person that can’t be bothered to even introduce themselves either. Get this balance right if you want to get a foot in the door.

Know what you want

This might sound obvious, but when job opportunities arise it’s good to know what you want, and what you don’t. When I started out I would have taken any job within my ability just to get on the ladder, but this is the wrong decision if you want to achieve job satisfaction.

Believe it or not, recruitment agencies are there to help. If they call you with a job prospect which isn’t for you, don’t be afraid to turn it down; just make sure you are clear about what you do want. Also, it might seem a little premature in your career to start negotiating salary but if you think the skills required are outside of a tiny budget, make sure they know about it. In the same breath, you may question an agency that is calling you, a graduate, about a 40k job.

Understand your skill set and try to follow a path that will explore your interests. This is the best way to achieve a happy, long-term career.

The interview

When you are called for interview, this can be very intimidating but think of it this way – the hour spent in the interview room will be an hour talking about you, your skills and your personal goals. This can be self gratifying and if you show a willingness to learn, it won’t matter where you are currently but where you hope to go and what you hope to achieve in the role. This optimistic outlook will win over even the coldest of interviewers, and if you speak with passion about your subject you will be a tough candidate to beat.

Try, and try again

Make no mistake; job hunting is tough. The creative industry is notorious for throwing up multiple jobs in one go, then leaving a void that could last for weeks or months. As an applicant you should be continuously be searching for jobs using every possible avenue – job sites, email newsletters, twitter, industry websites and word of mouth.

Remember that every failed interview is a learning experience. If you can, ask for feedback on your performance and find out why you didn’t get selected for the role. You can take from this the advice you need to succeed in your next interview, and even if you don’t the experience will add to your character and knowledge of the industry.

This might sound like a glass-half-full point of view, but you really can take a lot from failure. Keep trying, and you will find success.