This was the last session on Day 3, but I decided to create its own post as it was more advice on the industry rather than technical sessions. It was good to listen to everyone's experiences in the industry and about how they got work and into it.
Events
Going to events is really important to meet people and show that you are enthusiastic. I am already very aware of this since I met the people of Mixd last year at Hey! and are friends with them now, as well as getting a placement after meeting the creative director of Twentysix at Digitaleeds. I love going to these events anyway to meet people who are just as interested in the industry as I am!
Blog
It is good to have a blog so that people know your opinions on things and that you care. I probably should have a blog, but I know this is something I won't do. I'm not good at writing, never have been and I wouldn't have a clue what to write about. I can't string a tweet together let alone a whole blog post.
Email domain
This is really important to have a professional email domain because it shows you are a professional and agencies really don't like seeing @gmail etc.
I really didn't realise this and thought my email being @live was professional enough, so I decided to change this!!
I already bought a web domain called danjayharrison.com for when I have my own website, so I used this to create my email domain as well.
I thought this would be a simple process - but no. It was very hard. First I didn't know what to call my email and debated that for while, but ended up going for what my web domain name was in the first place. I then went onto Google Apps and filled in my details which wasn't as straightforward as it seemed and verify my domain name. I then had to go onto my domain hoster and edit DNS settings such as TXT and MX records, and follow the instructions on my Google Apps to get that working. I encountered a problem with saving the MX records (this tells my emails where to go) and had to contact my provider to solve the problem.
My new email is hello @ danjayharrison.com which is much more professional!!
Emails
When emailing agencies, find out who you are emailing and address it to their name. It doesn't take long to find this on their website, Twitter etc.
If I can't find who to address it to, ring up and ask who I should email.
I asked what they would want to see in the first email, and if sending them a link to my work firstly was rude. They said no and that it's okay to send a link to work and just to say that I like what they do, and want to do that myself, here's a link to my work etc.
They noted how at the end of the day they are just people like me, and I know I always forget this and overthink when I write emails.
After this session Mixd provided pizza and we went to the pub to have a chat and a drink. It was a great 3 day workshop, and I'm so glad I was able to take part. It was good being in that studio environment again, as I find that the atmosphere isn't very good in the uni studio due to nobody ever coming in to do work. It made me realise that it will be more fun in the industry when there is a studio full of people to bounce of who are all inspired to be there.
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