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Meeting my potential first employee tomorrow
Got a young lad coming in tomorrow. I contacted a charity called workingrite who help young folk into employment by matching employers with youngsters who want to learn a certain trade but can’t get a foot on the ladder. All going well he’ll come on an initial placement for 12 weeks. There is no obligation on me after that but obviously the idea being that I can offer him a job at the end of it. For someone like me its ideal. Very low risk. Only costs me £35 a week – the charity subsidise the rest of his wage, they pay all his travel and PPE. Anyway this guy’s 18 and interested in graphic design so we’ll see how it goes.
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20 Replies
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When we interviewed for an apprentice we had a bank of questions from my Aunty who worked for a large company involved with recruitment.
90% had nothing to do with the job…
If they are using the correct software (adobe, corel, etc,) not word you’re half way there, asking general questions, do they know what bleed is? Whats the difference between vector & raster? Have a chat about it, if they’re passionate it’ll show.
Once you’ve grasped they’ve half an idea what they’re doing, find out about them, what do they do in free time, sit playing computer games, out partying, or playing sport? Where do they see themselves in 5 years? This will tell you if they’re outgoing, likely to be rolling in late, etc.
I’ll see if I can dig out the questions tomorrow if you like?
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Cheers David, he’s coming in at 10 so that would be great
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He’s interested, don’t expect him to have any knowledge at how to use the software or what a vector is. Hopefully he will come with the right attitude and a willingness to learn and that’s all you need for £35 a week. I’ve always found if someone is excited about the job the job doesn’t disappoint as there is so much variety!
I think that charity is a great idea and would be very willing to do something like that myself. 🙂
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Facebook will also tell you a lot about a person. If their status says my boss is a wonker then I’d say maybe stay away. -young kids of today just give the info out so freely!
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quote Craig Tiley:He’s interested, don’t expect him to have any knowledge at how to use the software or what a vector is. Hopefully he will come with the right attitude and a willingness to learn and that’s all you need for £35 a week. I’ve always found if someone is excited about the job the job doesn’t disappoint as there is so much variety!
I think that charity is a great idea and would be very willing to do something like that myself. 🙂
There’s no substitute for enthusiasm , and desire to learn. But it’s a business, if you can find someone with a basic grasp of the basic concepts, it will save time & money.
There’s an abundance of ‘designers’ who can make pretty pictures in photoshop, but cant supply a print ready file, with a spot colour, and outlined fonts.
We didn’t spy on facebook, it’s far more exciting to guess who would walk through the door, we got it miles wrong with one.
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Just re reading the initial post, does Workingrite help anybody of that age get there leg on the first rung of the ladder or is it for young folk who possibly have not had the best start to their young adult life? – I was thinking it was the latter.
If it helps anyone of that age I’d say yeah I’d like a few of the basic concepts.
Oooooo spying, I wouldn’t call it that! More like browsing with purpose!
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No it’s for anyone Craig. Have a look at the site. http://workingrite.co.uk
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Wow what a great idea! Isn’t it a bit open for employers to misuse this system? However I will be looking to see if there is such a thing in Stoke! 🙂
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I suppose potentially it could be but I guess the idea is that the employers buys into the ethos and gives a young person a chance.
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Well he’s not off to a good start. Was supposed to be here at 10. Now nearly 10 past. His only saving grace might be that the woman from the charity is bringing him here so lets see what they say.
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probably stood at the back of your place smoking a cigarette and updating his Status on Facebook…
"will i or wont i, go in for this interview?" 😉 -
I know he’s not cause that’s exactly where I am, smoking a fag and updating sign app lol
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Signapp…. And who could blame you mate. 😉 😆
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I’ve been looking for some charity like this around my area today, looks like its only in Scotland! Has anybody in England heard of anything like it particularly the North West? :shocked:
Robert, Love the app by the way 😎
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Well they arrived at 10.30 and i have to blame the coordinator as she had it down for mid morning despite me saying 10am.
Anyway, I’ll probably give the boy a shot. He’s pretty clueless when it comes to software and doesn’t know what he wants to do in the future. He got an A in art and Graphic communications at school but that’s about as far as it goes. He seems quite outgoing and pleasant to talk to which is a start.
Its pretty low risk for me and you never know, this might turn out to be industry for him.
If it was for straight forward employment i don’t think i would employ him based on his experience but then that’s what this charity is all about, trying to find jobs for kids who don’t really know what they want to do, heck i’m 39 and still don’t know what i want to be when i grow up. -
quote Ewan Chrystal:Well they arrived at 10.30 and i have to blame the coordinator as she had it down for mid morning despite me saying 10am.
Anyway, I’ll probably give the boy a shot. He’s pretty clueless when it comes to software and doesn’t know what he wants to do in the future. He got an A in art and Graphic communications at school but that’s about as far as it goes. He seems quite outgoing and pleasant to talk to which is a start.
Its pretty low risk for me and you never know, this might turn out to be industry for him.
If it was for straight forward employment i don’t think i would employ him based on his experience but then that’s what this charity is all about, trying to find jobs for kids who don’t really know what they want to do, heck i’m 39 and still don’t know what i want to be when i grow up.If the risk is low and there is no string attached, it’s worth trying.
I remember me, I was 18 and I ended up into a workshop to help people in there. There were 2 of us, only one to stay after a trial and a test (basic questions about vectors, vinyl etc.)
I knew nothing about this industry. Never heard of Corel, vector or raster and it was for the first time when I saw a printer bigger than A4 and a cutting plotter. I was a perfect zero in this industry.
The reason I was accepted was because the other one didn’t liked it and he left before the test. He knew nothing too anyway.But I liked it and I started to learn. It took time, I have done many mistakes and wasted many materials.
The point is, some people don’t know they like it because they don’t know it exists or how it works, same as food.
And I bloody hate that question "Where do you see yourself in 5 years?". -
Ha ha I did ask him what plans he had for the future, he was honest enough to say he didn’t have a clue
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I have two employees and both are lovely people. Its better to find someone you get on with and train them up in the job than get someone who knows the job but you dont get along with. Its a large part of your life being at work and you have to enjoy the company of your collegues than the work most of the time.
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So, the new lad starts tomorrow for a 16 week placement. In the office today sorting out H&S policy, accident book etc.
He has no software experience so the plan is to start him off by letting him find his way round Flexisign. I have a user manual and i can show him a bit but i’ll just let him have a play for a while. He’s an 18 year old so will probably suss it out in no time. -
The best thing you can do for a few days is let him see what sign making actually is.
Show him what vinyl is, all the processes, what a cheap corri sign is, what’s an expensive Led built up letter job looks like.
That way when you set a task at least they have an basic idea why you want them to do it , I.e why you need to vectorise artwork with nice tidy vectors l, not just use the magic wand vectorise tool that leaves crap end products,
Why detail is so import as everything they do on the screen is likely to be magnified x1000 . So even the tiny thinks count.
This is the biggest flaw designers have, no concept that their detail can make a huge impact on the end product no matter how good the design.
Also make an effort to get on, as you’ll probably spend as much time if not more with them than your wife / family.
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