Take away the hours spent sitting at tables in echoing school / college halls, confused attempts at assembling exhibition panels and the embarrassing spells when no-one wants to speak to you, it has all been a very rewarding experience.

Variously I’m speaking to students who are looking at A level choices, HND or BTEC choices or degree choices. And in almost all cases I find that the careers advice given to students is getting better. It really is. What I find quite remarkably lacking though, is good interview advice.

Students looking to win a place in Further or Higher education generally need to win over an admissions tutor or two, demonstrating that they have flair enough to respond to teaching, and hopefully a style or passion that shows that they are dedicated to their subject. This is pretty fundamental stuff. You’ll notice that I didn’t make reference to anything in that last statement that said they need to be ‘good’ at
their subject. We all know how subjective that statement is; what is vital is that they show a passion for their subject and (here’s the kicker) an interest that goes beyond anything that they have been asked to produce before at school.

I’ve spent hours looking at portfolios that show exactly the same work, all school or college projects, and all of them predictable and executed using the same techniques. This is because most A-level or BTEC courses up and down the country generally request the same or similar projects of their students. These students then tidy up these projects, pack them in their portfolios and take them to interviews to
present to a tutor who has seen 20 students already that day, all with the same work. And those tutors get bored. Really bored.

So how to break that boredom? It shouldn’t even require explanation, but it does because when you are young it is hard to see things from the point of view of the tutor. And after all, most of the advice you receive comes from your careers advisor who is generally telling you to take school work.

Creative subjects should be fun. They should be something you are passionate about, and that you work on outside of school or college hours regardless of what project your tutor has you working on. You should be scribbling in scrapbooks, taking photographs, building sites, working on Flash animations or making videos. Why would you not?

Most students I speak to, when quizzed persistently about their personal projects have plenty to show. If you’re lucky enough to find the right student, they will have plenty of good work to show. But they all look shocked when you suggest that they present it! In my experience it is assumed that you show school or college work only at interview.

The fear is of course that this work somehow has less value than a project your school or college has asked you to, because surely all that schooling has been leading up this moment? That’s undeniably so, but your admissions tutor will want to see a little bit of what makes you, you. What makes you tick? What are your personal interests creatively and how do you plan to explore those interests during the
course?

Take one case in point. Day 2 of interviews, 15:30. 12 students in, and so far we had seen mostly the same projects presented to us. Enter student ‘A’ who wants to show us his portfolio website of photographs. Photographs of manhole covers from across Europe. The are beautifully photographed, hand printed on bromide paper, and then scanned, annotated with fabulous typography and worked
into a slick slideshow with music, transitions and the option to buy prints. Bizarre? Certainly. But it was so accomplished the he stood out from the crowd, and got a large tick by his name. I won’t go so far as to say I bought a print, but I was impressed by the dedication and hard work that had brought this project together. He was working on this in his spare time.
No tutor was asking him to do this. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not advocating the wholesale rejection of school or college work from these interviews – rather I’m encouraging students to consider that they will be one of many who will be presenting (more than likely) the same work over and over. I am also highlighting the huge importance of your personal interests and creative ambitions as these are ultimately what will fuel you through your course. Don’t undervalue these projects, no matter how unfinished they might be, or how insignificant you might consider them. They all show a dedication to work that is never evident in course work. Straight away this makes you a safer bet as a student as it shows that regardless of your education, you
are a creatively active person.

Being creative is something you are. It’s not something you just ‘do’.

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Further education or employment?

This was a major dilemma I came across when I decided I wanted to get into web development. Because the nature of this industry is fast paced, everything moves too fast for the education system to keep up with. But does this mean that the education system (in terms of technology) is redundant? Well I’m still not sure. But I will tell you my trail of thought.

• By the time I completed the course the technology would be out of date
• I can’t motivate myself to work at a place which I wouldn’t have much benefit from
• I wanted to learn and earn
• I work better teaching myself

Employment it is!

There is one type of employment that works really well in this industry. Apprenticeships. Most people think apprenticeships are just for plumbers and electricians, but its a great way to see what the real world is like. I started work (and still work there to this day) at Dorset County Council doing web applications with geographic/spatial data. But don’t think that I just worked 9-5. As soon as I knew enough about web development I started programming in my spare time.

Challenge yourself

It’s easy enough to pick up a programming language and develop a simple website, but how do you actually stamp your mark on the industry? You need to push yourself. My first website was a social network complete with video uploads, forums, chat rooms and everything. All I knew before I started the project was how to insert something into a database table and how to grab a value from a form (which I learnt on the job).

Keep going

Once you have a web app or two, just keep up the momentum. I currently have about 3 app ideas on the go at the same time.  This way I keep my head in the game, and learn about new technologies and methods. Plus I am working up quite a large portfolio to help me when I apply for another job.

Put yourself out there

When I created FootyTweets, my largest Twitter web app to date, I wanted to put myself out there, get some buzz generated, and getting people to recognise my work and efforts. So I looked at Twitter Developer Nest and put my name down to do a talk on the service and some of the issues I have come across.

I ended up speaking at the event and got lots of people asking me about the site and got lots of contacts. I loved it so much that I went back the next time and showed off my latest web app. Where did this lead? Well on Monday (30th September 2009) I went with a bunch of people I met at the event to have a photoshoot with UK Wired magazine.

I thought back and realised that if I’d just sat at home, made web apps and didn’t put myself outside of my comfort zone, then I wouldn’t be the developer I am today.

Your opinion matters!

I’m open to all of your input so please comment away below. You can also have a look at the Twitter polls that I put together for each issue of Scrunchup.

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