Panel: What Do Young Creatives Expect From The Modern Office?

At PSFK CONFERENCE LONDON 2012, PSFK’s Director of Consulting, Scott Lachut, led a panel of  ‘Young Creatives’ that involved an open discussion with some of Britain’s emerging talent who are on the brink of entering the real world, having just graduated from the UK’s top universities.

CEO Alex Brownless of ARTSTHREAD.com, a digital platform that seeks to promote creative graduates from across the globe by bridging the gap between university education and career paths, brought four young graduates to the panel: Christopher Hall (Ravensbourne College), Nadine Spencer (Polytechnic, Nottingham Trent University), Lior Smith (University of London/Goldsmiths College) and Rosie Thompson (Bucks New University).

The discussion dealt with hiring practices, especially when working with young graduates, and produced some feedback and suggestions for future employers:

Today’s Intern Could Be Tomorrow’s CEO
A self-coined ‘professional procrastinator that makes things,’ Christopher Hall recounted an interview experience in which the potential employer diminished his age and experience by not projecting an effort to connect. ‘Manners are important’, he said, ‘I want to be around things/people that make me chuckle.’

Forget Resumes, Ask For Bios
‘Give us a break’, suggested Nadine Spencer, referencing how resume applications were a difficult way to express who you are.  Without meeting as many potential candidates beyond their talent at selling themselves via a one pager, her notion was that companies were missing out on truly connecting with potential team members who could become more than employees. ‘Recruiting creative talent as the new casting,’ explained Scott Lachut.

Recognize Talents Beyond The Job  Advertised
‘I’m a maker, I make birthday cards, costumes. I took a course in Making, I expect to do no less than that.  I want to make for a living and I don’t want to settle for anything less,’ Nadine Spencer shared, explaining that her multi-skillset was an indication of her desired starting point in her career.  For Lior Smith, who spent two months dressed up as a superhero (as part of her final thesis), she wants to make the world a better place, an opportunity not often provided when starting a career, ‘maybe in 20 years we’ll get what we want,’ she commented.

Look Beyond Just Technology Skills
Rosie Thompson highlighted that most job descriptions requested experience and aptitude using various computer programs to get a job done, an oversight about how software knowledge depends on the context that it is taught within.

The Verdict: Young Creatives don’t want ‘jobs,’ they want an environment in which to grow their skills.