I know the job market is really tough right now, but asking as a general strategy - if you are a sr creative who has been pigeonholed into an industry niche by your agency work (ie, pharma, fintech) and want to seek out work in a new industry (ie: cpg, hospitality) what is the best strategy for structuring your book? Is spec work best even if you are more senior in your career? Volunteer work? How do you get your foot in the door to be considered, and prove your skills are transferable?

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Posting as :
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If you’re a designer/AD I think it’s a bit easier than a writer. Make sure your book looks absolutely incredible. Sweat every detail. Put in side projects that you love.

Then go meet people in person, and network as much as you can. Be transparent, you understand you might not have the typical book they look for but you just need a shot. You can even bet on yourself and offer to do FL to FT to show you’ve got the juice.

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I would strongly encourage you to volunteer for startups that could potentially be acquired by the companies you’re aiming. That way, when those companies are reviewing your book, not only are they able to relate to the work that they’re seeing, but they will be extra interested in seeing potential competition. Win-win.

Just making it up, but if you are aiming to be hired at Airbnb, redo the branding of an up-and-coming home-share startup.

it’s not that companies have no imagination, it’s that you want to stand out and tick all the boxes to be that perfect candidate.

And CD1’s advice above is perfect. Check out Semplice Showcase to see what a banging designer book looks like.

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Every recruiters checklist is different. And only the very few very good ones know how to look past them.

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People only hire you for the work you’ve already done. So, apply that as you will.

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