Job Seeker’s Don’t Know What They Don’t Know.

Job Seeker’s Don’t Know What They Don’t Know.

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Job Seeker’s Don’t Know What They Don’t Know.

Breeze Website Designers (BWD)’s Graduate Development Programme recently demonstrated that even promising learners and graduates from various creative disciplines still have a lot to learn before they are truly job-ready. Says Bashene Thamane, a multimedia design student from UJ who completed a four-week internship at BWD from June to July 2015: ‘When I came here I thought that I knew a lot of things, but I recently noticed that I do not know what I don’t know.’

Bashene was one of five students who were taken under BWD’s wing to give them a glimpse into the real working world, what it takes for a digital communication agency to function and the people dynamics that are at play. The other four students were Zuko Santi from Midrand Graduate Institute, Thabisile Nkosi from Boston Media House, Billy Mashego from the Tshwane University of Technology and Oswald Mohape, who is also from the University of Johannesburg.

A key take away from the experience that all the students were in consensus about, is that ‘simplicity is the ultimate sophistication’ when it comes to designing graphic elements, such as logos, business stationery and websites. They also learnt that not even the most visually attractive design will fly if it does not serve a strategic purpose. Creative concepts need to present well and convey the intended message to the target audience clearly.

Bashene enthuses: ‘I also learnt about things like guerrilla marketing, which are unconventional systems of promotion that relies on time, energy and imagination – rather than spending large amounts of money on conventional marketing. ‘This could for example involve the likes of content sharing and the use of social media platforms which is ideal for start-up businesses or small businesses who do not have huge marketing budgets,’ explains Bongani Gosa, Creative Director at BWD who mentored the students throughout the programme.

‘This approach also speaks right to the key lesson I wish for each student to take away,’ he says. In the professional space, creatives are not people who can do creative things. They are people who find creative ways to help their clients’ businesses grow. And that as economically as possible. In the same way, we don’t view BWD as a digital communication agency that designs creative elements. It is rather our business to leverage digital elements creatively, to help our clients accomplish their business goals. The difference may seem subtle, but it makes all the difference in the value we add for clients.’

In the spirit of giving back to the communities it serves, BWD will repeat their Graduate Development Programme in 2016. Students who wish to make use of this opportunity, may email their portfolios for consideration to (insert details). Says Gosa: ‘I have to admit that for me one of the most satisfying parts of owning a business; is how it empowers us to touch lives. Our Graduate Development Programme is just one way in which we can rise by lifting others.’