Sweden, such a beautiful country... the landscapes and scenery to the architecture and ladies... just beautiful. Cold.... but, beautiful. I arrived in Sweden on Tuesday, 8th of April and jumped to work immediately. The first priority was to find a printing company that could print my work sample pages. Those work samples are probably the most important item for me to have while visiting prospective employers because without materials to hand deliver then I would have almost no reason to walk into an office. Luckily I found a printing company that really delivered, and not because I set expectations low after dealing with an inept company from the UK. I can't thank Digaloo Digitaltryck enough for their friendly and knowledgeable staff, but also the speed in which they were able to deliver the final product, all at a very great price. I will gladly recommend their services because thanks to Digaloo I was able to put together enough booklets to hand out while in Sweden and during the rest of my travels. If I happen to run out, guess who I will be contacting for replacements!
This week was mainly about visiting offices and with this being the first of several stops I learned some important lessons along the way. After handing off my work samples and business cards, I have been going through an inquiry regarding the company's software, fabrication tools, and licensed individuals - see the inquiry sheet below. I found that some companies are reluctant about revealing this info, but it helps me know how good of a match I am for each place I visit. I'm not being picky by any means, it's just that I will not even attempt to follow up or continually revisit career pages of companies that are not using software I am familiar with. Autodesk, Rhino, and Adobe are my big 3, and if a company uses digital tools that I am familiar with, then you can believe I will be a little more diligent in showing interest - I'm also not interested in making a major life move to work for places that use only Revit and Adobe.
Since this inquiry comes off as if I am some sort of software salesman and that my intentions could seem questionable, I think the way to go is to maybe ask if I can talk to a company's IT person. have them look over the items I have listed, and simply ask if based on what he/she sees would I be a match for the company. I genuinely want to know how compatible I am at each firm, and hopefully I can figure out a way where it doesn't seem like I am attempting to trick a company into revealing top secret information.
Again, this week has been more about business, but I have taken a few pictures along the way. Hopefully the weather this weekend will be nice for doing touristy type of activities and seeing sites around the city. Below is a small sampling of what has been keeping me busy, along with what I have seen and eaten so far.
