Working in the creative industries these days is a highly sought after career and so you need to do your absolute best to be able to work in this area as competition for jobs is fierce. It’s very common, especially when starting out, to work freelance. This can be particularly tough since you might find yourself up against seasoned professionals with years of experience, but don’t fret there are a number of ways you can increase your chances of getting work in the creative industries.
Contacts & Networking
It’s not what you know but who you know as the saying goes! Well not exactly, I’d argue that without the relevant skill then who you know won’t get you very far, but both skills and contacts are essential for success as a freelance professional. So it’s key to be good at networking whenever you meet potential contacts be sure to get details and keep in touch. It’s also advisable to look for unpaid work experience early on in your career because this gives you exactly the mix of skills and contacts you’ll need to further your career.
Have Examples Of Your Work Available
It’s essential to have examples of your past work available to show off your talents, be it a showreel for film and video artists, a portfolio for designers and artists and examples of published work for writers. This is undeniable proof of what you are capable of! Don’t forget to include details of what your exact role was and what you achieved on examples where it’s a collaborative project.
Industry Specific Job Sites
Sometimes it’s difficult to find jobs in creative industries, but just remember to be aware most creative projects and jobs aren’t advertised on regular employment sites. You’ll need to find ones for your skill or niche, but the good news is that there are plenty of them out there such as this one for freelance content writing jobs.
Find Your Own Work & Clients
Why do all your work for other people? If you’re freelance and getting work on a project by project basis then why not start getting your own clients and your own projects? Yes it’s intimidating but starting your own business is the next logical step to working self-employed, it’s a lot more work and you’ll need to learn business and project management skills but the rewards can make it worth it in the long run.
Branch Out To Be As Multi-Skilled As Possible
In this modern internet era it’s more important than ever to be multi-skilled as so many projects have many different aspects to them. It’s not essential to be doing all of these roles as a key role but it’s even useful to be able to help out or just understand what others in the process have to do and how it’s achieved. One good example is some of these skills a journalist might have to use in the multimedia age.
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