When speaking to people about what I would like to do when I leave university, I tell them about all of my past projects and how I feel as though I have grown as a photographer and someone with a passion for photography and, now, graphic design. Working in a pub has really enabled me to meet a lot of different people, from a variety of job backgrounds. Being on the bar gives me time to be able to speak to the customers and get to know them a lot, this also works the other way around with them getting to know me. People tend to ask what my plans are after I graduate and when I answer with ‘I’m on the lookout for a job in photography or editorial’ a lot of the time they are very quick to say they know someone working within that field, or if I’m really lucky, they work in it themselves! This has happened to me quite a few times recently which is amazing! Each time I have been speaking to people about my work, I will show them my instagram and talk them through my projects and explain that I am a documentary and portrait photographer in the seek of some work. 

As I have been working a lot more recently, word has got out that I am looking for a permanent job in the creative industry and so having a lot of regulars in the pub has really helped because they are so loyal and have been helping me in so many ways. One of the ladies that I work with gave me her card as she explained that her friend on linked in was looking for a graduate to work with them on their editorial magazine. She explained how they would preferably like someone with a background in photography and graphic design which sounds perfect! The job would be in Bath but because I would (obviously) like to know a lot more about it, Kerrianne gave me her card so that I could contact her about it.

When things like this happen, it makes me have faith that I will be able to get a job and also have faith in my photographic abilities a lot more. I think this time of university life was always going to be sad and stressful but I am trying my best to network and make it known that I am in search for a job, at least, before I can start my own company and freelance with a good wage. I have contacted Kerrianne and am waiting to hear back for more information on the job. I just feel as though I should try to contact everyone who makes the effort of giving me their card because even if I didn’t want the job/it didn’t suit me, I will just take it as experience. 

This happened again at the pub with one of my regulars friends. I was just talking to them about university and what stage I was at with it currently, explaining that I was nearly done with my deadlines. Speaking to them about my final major project, I mentioned how I created my own newspaper from scratch after taking all of the photographs and doing all of the interviews. They were really impressed by this as I explained that I had to focus my time on all of these things including type face and thinking about layouts. I can promise that I wasn’t just boring them with this information, they were genuinely asking. With that, Dave’s friend explained that he was the editor of a music magazine in Bath and that they were always looking for people to join their team because they want to branch out a bit more. He explained how the main company is based in Singapore and that his part of the company is in Bath so he is the managing editor for it. I honestly couldn’t believe my luck that I was talking to someone who was in the editorial industry as I’d explained to him that that was something that I am hoping to go in to. Anyway, long story short, he gave me his card and told me that I should get in contact with him about potential work if this was a route that I wanted to go down. He explained how they too were looking for someone with a background in photography and knows how to work the Adobe suite, which I can say I am very familiar with now. 

I will be contacting Andy to express my interest in finding out more about the job and where I could go with it if they were looking for someone to work with them. My plan is to get as many connections into the industry as possible and work from there, especially around here as this is somewhere that I could see myself making a life. Being given business cards like this has made me so excited for my future and the potential connections that I am gaining from just speaking to people.