Mention the word ‘recruiter’ to a creative and you’ll always get a ‘marmite’ type reaction. You either love’em or you hate’em. Why such a strong reaction? Do you really need a recruiter to find a job, or is it better to just go it alone?

Save perhaps his personality, the freelance graphic designer’s portfolio is, undoubtedly, the most valuable asset in his professional life. I have written elsewhere that the portfolio is the freelancer’s shop window, an intimate glimpse into his or her being for all who view it. We have to love our portfolios, agonise over what goes into them, and tend and nurture them as we would a sapling we’d once planted. Nothing should be left to chance, not even tiny details, as it’s these, at times, that we may be judged on. So let us not delay any longer, but instead plunge into the sober, matte black folds of the portfolio…

At the same point each month, every month, an employed person receives a wage packet from his payroll department, and his his bank account is credited with his salary. Safe in this knowledge, he can plan his finances around this fixed point. For the intrepid freelancer things are a little different, for he must send out invoices to his clients, and then wait to be paid. So far so straightforward, but there are several factors to consider with regard to invoicing, which I’ll be taking you through below. After all, getting paid on time is what keeps us all afloat, and what freelance designer doesn’t desire that?

Woo hoo! You’ve finished college, you’ve put together your folio and you’re ready to take on the design world. Should you be looking for permanent or freelance roles, or just try and get whatever you can? Here are some things worth considering before you decide.