A talk with Lucy Painter - Author of In With The Interior Design Crowd

Lucy Painter started her career in musical theater in 2000 at the brit school of performing arts and you can definitely tell from her animated, passionate way of speaking about the interior design industry.

Painter has now worked as a recruiter for the interiors industry for 15 years, and over that period of time, has learnt a thing of two about how to get a graduate job within the industry. Lucy spoke to me and my class about how to immerse yourself within the interior design industry and how to get a foot in the door, whilst promoting her book, In with the Interior Design Crowd.

Painter stated by going through a power point filled with helpful tips and tricks to be the best you can be, by the time you graduate. She noted that if you start networking and getting experience now, by the time you leave university you have a head start over anyone else and are more likely to get a great graduate job.

Lucy's biggest suggestion was to create an interior design 'bible' - a notebook that contains all of your notes all in one place. She said to subscribe to design magazine email lists and each day check them and write down any information that feels relevant. i.e. particular projects, who designed that project? Who is the director of that company? What's their background? What connections do they have? And try and connect with them. Find them on LinkedIn, compliment their work and ask them a few questions. Maybe even ask if you can send your CV over when you graduate and ask for their advice. People love to give advice, don't be afraid to ask them for it.

When talking about her book, Painter said that she wrote the book because she realised that there was a real gap in what companies were looking for and what candidates were offering. “When I put out a job for a junior interior designer, I’ll get maybe 100 applicants come through,” she says. “But of those people, maybe only five, at the most eight, are typically shortlisted for interviews.”

There are, according to Painter, many reasons for this, from not including sufficient sketches, to not explaining the stories behind projects. Throughout the book, she aims to demystify the process by including “sneak peaks” of established designers’ portfolios.

Another big tip Painter suggests, is to never underestimate the power of a business card. They may seem old-fashioned but in reality you never know who you're going to meet in person and who you're going to bump into so always be prepared to advertise yourself in a professional way and a business card is the best way to showcase that.

In terms of your CV and portfolio, don't be afraid to do unpaid work to build up your experience and put that on LinkedIn, create your own website, and just start getting people to see you and get yourself noticed! Think of your USP and try to incorporate that into your CV too. i.e. photography or sketching skills.

Lucy's book is out now on her website https://www.studio.eu.com/book/ and is half price for November 2020. For an Extra 20% off, use code IDC20