Personal Practice : Graduating

Internship between 2nd and 3rd year
Created work relevant to real world briefs
joined a start up after graduating - introduced into a new way of thinking (no hierarchy you'd normally find in a major company)
differences between start up and major company - there are limitations to working in bigger company - more structured and hierarchy comes into it - do you want the freedom of a start up - or do you want to 'learn more' in a more structured system.

working to deadlines (practice creating work quickly to a high standard) - in different forms (posters, videos)
don't pigeon hole yourself
Intern more
Nail the production basics - develop the broadest range of skills (Indesign Aftereffects) (can you use a camera, can you write copy that sounds good)
email etiquette

Get IG / Site / PDF ready
Make an email hit-list of people in the industry you admire (what uni's did they go to, whats their IG)
Go to events, talks, launches

Versatile - junior designers can be expected to work across a lot
Nailing the soft skills i.e. time management, working within a team, organising projects, understanding business
Portfolio - make it diverse - look for a range of real projects - enthusiasm - whats new, what's next, influences, trends, insight - think from the perspective of the director (present in the right format i.e. digital portfolio in RGB) - empathetic (understanding what the person wants - tailor it)

Personal Practice