General Forums >> Career Advice >> Clean out your desk...
Clean out your desk...
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Posted 5 months ago As I posted in a previous thread, I was fired by an employer who will remain anonymous. I had previously thought I was not entitled to use any of the work I produced there in my portfolio, but I don't know the formal rules on this. I would really like to recover some of the work I made for them, as it's my only on-the-job experience in lieu of freelancing thus far. I want to prove to future employers that I have created items in various forms of graphic design, such as POP/POS, business cards, letterhead, web design, catalogs, etc. Am I legally entitled to non-commercial display of my work for purposes of employment? |
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| Posted 5 months ago I doubt it unfortunately. Work done on their premises on their dollar almost always becomes theirs. You probably signed a contract with them regarding this also. Did you? I've seen enough of the dark to always look for the light in people or situation. |
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| Posted 5 months ago That was probably in the fine print, yes. I just wanted to see beyond a shadow of a doubt. |
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| Posted 5 months ago No, you are not entitled. However, a clever and honest approach to your former employer can net at least a photographed copy of your work for your future portfolio resume. No doubt the originals will stay with your former. BUT, a copy may be obtained. "The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark." Michelangelo "Why does the eye see a thing more clearly in dreams than the imagination when awake?" Leonardo da Vinci
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| Posted 5 months ago (1) Did you sign an employment contract? (2) Did you read it first? (3) Did it have the words 'work-for-hire' anywhere in it? (4) If so, did you, after reading the contract, sign it? (5) If you did, you're probably screwed. That said, when in my former corporate incarnation, I worked under those rules. I ignored them. Every piece I thought portfolio-worthy was saved in a separate folder (nested, of course) which, when full, was burned to CD or copied to a thumb drive which was brought home - where I burned it to a CD. I never discussed or asked whether they had any objection to this practice. I considered it immaterial, since I had done the creative part - THEIR part consisted in running off COPIES of it for the customer. One thing I DID do to cover myself, tho', was to ask the CUSTOMER if they had any objections to me using the work I had designed for them as a self-promotion piece in my portfolio. If they said 'okay', I used it. If they had a problem with it, I didn't. Some things in life are actually quite simple if we just make 'em simple. And remember, before they can even SAY you did something to violate the contract, they have to be made AWARE of that event. Are YOU gonna tell 'em ... ? Thought not ... Anyone who has the power to make you believe absurdities has the power to make you commit injustices. — Voltaire |
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| Posted 5 months ago I agree with KingsKnight. Keep it simple. I always keep a copy of the original and post it to my online portfolio (which needs updating). I'd rather wait for someone to ask me to take it off the world wide web than hide my light under a basket. That said, I always heard the best things to have in your physical portfolio are the tears;-- the actual printed pieces, because they not only show you did the work, but that the work worked out well. As far as I know, there's nothing wrong with having published tears in your portfolio. |