Review: Don't Get a Job… Make a Job

If you aspire to become a creative director or an art director, then Don't Get a Job... Make a Job: How to Make it as a Creative Graduate probably isn't for you. But if you're looking to carve a successful, relevant career in the ever-competitive creative industries, read on.

Written by design writer and academic Gem Barton, and published by Laurence King, the 144-page book is bursting with invaluable advice for creative graduates on how to make their own opportunites – and get noticed – instead of chasing a finite number of positions.

As Barton writes in her introduction, "the days of trading in your degree certificate for a nice safe job offer are gone". It's not enough to graduate anymore: those leaving university are the next generation of entrepreneurs.

"If there is one piece of information you take away from reading this book," she continues, "let it be this: if you cannot find an opportunity that you like/want, then you owe yourself to make your own!"

And that's precisely what Barton sets out to inspire readers to do. Split into seven chapters, topics include: putting yourself out there, going mobile, specialism vs diversity, touch calls, going it alone versus diversity, reinventing yourself, creating positive change and much more.

Illustrated with advice and relevant case studies from inspiring entrepreneurs in the fields of architecture, design, graphic design, art, fashion, retail and publishing, Don't Get a Job… Make a Job is a useful resource that celebrates the various strategies that students and graduates are taking to gain exposure, and is a valuable resource for any new creative graduate on how to forge your own path.

Don't Get a Job… Make a Job is avaliable for pre-order, and will be released on 16 March.

Don't Get a Job… Make a Job: How to Make it as a Creative Graduate