the loop says...

After taking a giant leap of faith and leaving jobs at MTV that they both loved, Matt Fayle and Pip Jamieson have successfully launched The Loop.

Helping to connect creatives and extend the benefits of word-of-mouth that the industry relies on, The Loop is opening the pages of notebooks, the doors of studios and darkrooms and providing a stage for individuals to showcase their talents.

We sat down with Pip to discuss the journey of The Loop, how to get a foot in the door of a tough industry and the benefits of taking a risk.

Danni Le Toullec: What motivated the creation of The Loop? 

Pip Jamieson: Both me and my partner in crime, Matt, used to work at MTV; Matt in Digital and me in marketing. The idea for The Loop was born out of my frustration in finding fresh creative talent - we were overly dependent on word of mouth, and incredible people were slipping through the net. On the flip side Matt, being the "digital guy", was constantly being asked by creative friends & colleagues for advice on the best way to build their own websites to showcase their work online and promote themselves to potential employers and clients.

We brought these two frustrations together and The Loop was born.

DL: Can you explain The Loop to our readers who have not had the opportunity to visit the site yet?

PJ: THE LOOP is an Australian-based folio-building & networking site for creative professionals. Creatives can promote themselves online by creating a FREE online profile; including portfolio, showreel and resume and gain access to tons of industry jobs. One way to think of it is as Seek, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube all in one place.

The Loop showcases the creative talent of individuals working across all creative industries including animation, creative & art direction, event management, fashion design, graphic design, illustration, industrial design, interior design, make-up & hair, marketing & PR, photography, production & editing, stylists, textile design, visual arts, web & digital design writing & more. 

The aim of the site is to help connect creatives with one another and with industry. We've been lucky enough to attract some amazing brands who are already signed up, posting jobs and searching through the profiles. These include Network 10, Frost Design, BBC, Moon Communications, MTV Networks, Discovery Networks, Animal Logic, The White Agency, Fuel VFX, Sixty40, Deepend, Hopscotch Films, XYZ Networks, FBI Radio, Dr D Studios, iIoura, Collider and many more.

DL: The Loop offers members and viewers so much more than just a creative industries jobs site. From our experiences we've found it to be largely geared toward connecting the creative industries. What inspired you to build a site that facilitates this connection?  

PJ: At the moment there is limited opportunity to see what other creatives are doing outside the office, studio or industry body event. We wanted to create a space where people could be inspired to collaborate and showcase their work to others, with the eventual aim of securing that dream collaborator, employer or client.

DL: What was the biggest challenge you had to face in the process of getting The Loop live?

PJ: The hardest part was making the leap and resigning from jobs we both loved to start the site. We knew we’d have to do without a salary for over a year while we developed and launched the site while at the same time sinking our entire life savings into the project. I can’t tell you how scary that is! Especially as we resigned at the start of the GFC and job advertising revenue was plummeting. Everyone thought we were nuts, and there where moments when we did too!

But to be honest it’s the best decision we’ve ever made. I now get emails all the time from users who have found work through the site, I can’t tell you how amazing that feels, to know not only is the site up and running, but it’s working  - people are getting jobs! It makes the months of eating canned tuna kinda worth it!  

DL: To get a job in the creative industry, it is most usually who you know rather than what you know that will land you a job. Do you have any tips for people trying to get a foot in the door?

PJ: Before you even start chasing and applying for that dream job, make sure you have all your ducks in a row. A kick-ass current online portfolio, a well-written CV (tailored for the employer), some great references up your sleeve and some research on the company is a must. That way when you apply for the job you'll already be ahead of the pack.

If the company you want to work for isn’t currently advertising then taking the initiative and contacting them directly is a great way to go. Chat to whoever is responsible for HR or the department you want to work for, try and set up a meeting; send them a link to your portfolio and CV and also ask them to contact you if an appropriate job comes available. This is actually how my business partner Matt landed his job at MTV. That’s the great thing about online portfolio and CV sites - they’re always current so when a job does come up, an employer has instant access to current skills and projects.

Something unique on The Loop, that we introduced specifically to ensure people don’t miss out on that dream job opportunity, is “Company Alerts”. For example if you’re desperate to work for a company on The Loop - and there are a heap of good ones: Frost Design, Moon Communications, Discovery, MTV, Animal Logic and loads more - and they’re not currently advertising jobs, you can set up a job alert for that company. That way, when the company advertises a job you’ll be the first to know. 

mtv, pip jamieson, matt fayle, the loop