Creative Job Seeking: Learning Curve?

This is probably going to be one of my longest blog posts. I wanted to explain my experience with the application process in an attempt to get my foot in the door of the creative industry before I graduate.
 The daunting thoughts of life after graduating are becoming ever more apparent leading up to my final months of University. I've been working weekends at M&S in Bath for 2 years now. It's a well-paid job for a student but after James lecture about career planning I decided now would be a good time for me to start looking for a job in the creative industry which is essentially where I want my career to be. I looked on a few websites and came across a job advert for a Saturday job as a "Graphic's Service Assistant" in Southgate, Bath.
The questionable looking advert was on Indeed.com and featured 2 lowly lit images which read;

JOB VACANCY

We are looking to fill our Saturday Graphics Service Assistant position. 
Please Apply Within.


The advert had been live for a few weeks so I decided to email the company with my CV asking if the position was still available. I've included our email exchange it reads as below;


I received a quick response and due to me working that weekend I dropped in my Application form on the Monday.
The form was formatted like a CV asking for relevant details such as work experience, skills and abilities, the reason for applying etc.

I got a call from the store's manager on the Thursday inviting me to "come and have a chat about the position"
I was buzzing as it was promising I was offered an interview after the position had been advertised for so long. I attended the following Monday morning dressed for an interview; I was nervous but excited at the potential of getting my foot in the door of the creative industry.

I was met by the manager Steve; he took me down to the office and we began chatting about my university experience and current job. The "interview" was very quick and informal. I felt like even though I was the one meant to be interviewed I was actually leading the exchange. I had to ask him what the Job actually entailed as this was never explained online or in person.

Now here's where things get weird. I came out of the "interview" thinking I'd actually got the position. During the end of the exchange, I asked him if I needed any to attend any training beforehand etc, he said no and that I'd be trained when I started. I also let him know I couldn't start until April 6th as I needed to give notice to my current employer and do the overtime I've been given he said this was all fine as it was only a few weeks away. I shook his hand and left ecstatic that I'd got the Job, I called my mom and let her know and headed straight to my current employer to talk to my manager about my change in circumstance.

LUCKILY, I told him Digiprint was only a Saturday job and asked if I could change my contract and still work Sundays at M&S, he said he wasn't sure if that would be possible because they have a limited number of hours to spend on a Sunday. I left this with him and he said he could see what he can do.

Since I'm in my final months of uni I was actually considering quitting M&S so then i'd have more time to do my final project and the I would just work Saturdays at this new graphics job. I was told this new job would be minimum wage so realistically I couldn't afford to do this.

My current manager went out of his way to liaise with other staff members and the roster system as he didn't want to lose me as a valuable member of the team. We agreed I would work 4 hours on the late every Saturday after my shift at Digiprint and a 4-hour shift every other Sunday. This would mean I would be doing a 12-hour shift every Saturday; not ideal but I've got to do what I can to support myself and I didn't want to pass up this creative opportunity.

So it was sorted (so I thought) I would be starting my new job on April 6th whilst still at M&S and attending university in the week.

Over a week later I revieved this email;



Safe to say I was fuming but also very confused. My instant thought was they maybe gave the job last minute to a friend of one of the employees. I rang the store to ask them to explain the situation but never got through. So I responded to the email. I wrote an angry response at first but decided I had to tone it down and be professional as I didn't know the context to the situation.




So, despite the bizarre interview situation and the company giving me the impression I secured the job and that I had a start date it turns out I wasn't explicitly offered the Job. I hadn't signed a contract of employment so essentially there was nothing else I could do. Although the potential employer shouldn't have given me an impression that I'd got the job in the first place the experience has taught me that I should have covered my own back instead of putting myself in this tricky situation. Luckily it isn't going to have any significant financial backlash and I am still employed at the current job.