The Peril of Plagiarism

This article was authored by a guest writer, Divya Ghatrazu. You can read more of her thoughts at http://divyatypes.wordpress.com/. You can also follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/toomuchofDivya.

If it is not an output of your brain work, do not showcase it. What do I mean by ‘it’?

Ideas, materials, themes, schemes, pictures, actual documentation and anything imitating these even.

For the purpose of this article, we are going to discuss plagiarism on a broader definition.

Think of it on an expansive level that goes beyond words or “literary theft”

En route to becoming a successful creative professional there are many ethical hurdles. Making someone else's work one's own is a big issue. If you’re in a time crunch and need to get some things in order before a deadline, taking something that was not originally yours and taking credit for it seems like it is a simple solution. The material is available and you have limited amount of time. Simple solution right? Not necessarily.

What counts as plagiarism?

Everyone has been taught not to plagiarize when it comes to writing. The act and its consequences have been introduced to us at a very young age. Plagiarism doesn’t only imply cheating on a few papers or "borrowing" sentences. It means the theft of ideas. Not crediting the right sources for "inspiration" also counts as theft of ideas. The above articles provide a good, detailed list of what counts as plagiarism.

What’s the worst that could happen?

Cheating on school paper or an assignment is exponentially less serious than plagiarizing on a project or a document at the workplace. That’s because when you are stealing ideas at work, it's not just your reputation on the line. The company that hired you has its big rear end on the line as well. If you get caught, they get caught. Not only is the company a target to media and public scorn but other clients will reproach from ever working with a defamed company.

What happens to the person doing the plagiarizing?

The consequences are determined on the intent and the amount of copying. However, it is safe to say that most corporations will not excuse that kind of behavior.

Professional plagiarism comes with consequences. Ever heard of copyright infringement ?

The plagiarizer gets fired and is most likely not rehired to do the same kind of job again.

What about the person you stole from? Well other than being deeply hurt and angry, they feel like they are being taken advantage of. It is their work and they did do a lot of work to get something right. Take a look at this rant if you're still in doubt.

We all know that cheating is bad, but great ideas are not jut born out of nowhere. Every great work is influenced by something or someone else’s work. And even if we do “borrow” little things, we are smart enough to tweak it to look like our own so there shouldn’t be any trouble. Wrong, that still counts as plagiarism.

Here is a tip: it is okay to be inspired by someone else’s work but make sure you credit them.

Placing the right credit where it is needed is very important and is very helpful too.

You might need some references or ideas to build your own. However if you incorporate others’ ideas into your work be sure to cite the sources, or credit the right artist or writer.

If you didn’t work on it, do not claim it as your own.

I cited my sources. So should you.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/plagiarize

http://www.plagiarism.org/plag_article_what_is_plagiarism.html

http://www.ehow.com/about_5371475_penalty-plagiarism.html.

http://creativethursday.typepad.com/my_weblog/2009/10/well-then-theres-nothing-like-someone-stealing-your-art-claiming-it-as-their-own-and-then-selling-it-in-their-etsy-shop-as.html

http://webdesign.about.com/od/copyright/a/aa081700a.htm

http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/07/great-designers-steal/

http://www.emerson.edu/academic_affairs/policies/Plagiarism-Policy.cfm

The Nitty-Gritty: How to Apply for a Job

It might seem elementary, but to get a job, you need to apply for it. This post will walk you through the step-by-step process of applying for a job as a creative:

1. Do Your Research

To begin, decide which company (or companies) you want to apply to. You can check their website, ask employees who work there, or read press releases to get information.

This research serves two purposes: First of all, by examining the company, you can determine if it is a place worth working at (working creatively requires a good environment--try to stay away from soul-sucking jobs) Secondly, knowledge of the company’s previous work (creative corporations usually show off the work they’re proudest of) will help you to tailor your portfolio to them.

Try to figure out what the company wants, what kind of work they do and what work of yours would fit in with the company’s portfolio. At this stage you should find the job’s requirements and how the company wants you to apply.

2. Polish Your Portfolio

Get some examples of your work together so you can show them to your potential employer. If you're looking at a job in film or animation, you'll need a demo reel. If you're looking at a career in theater, music, or film acting, you'll need to get that audition piece ready. For our purposes, we’ll use the term “portfolio” to mean any demonstration of your creative work.

Make sure your portfolio is pertinent to the job you’re asking for (for instance, a web design company doesn’t necessarily need to see your sculptures). The work you show them should fit in reasonably well with the company’s own work.

For more info on portfolios, check out my previous post: http://iwordifygood.blogspot.com/2009/09/portfolio-artists-best-friend.html

3. Put Together/Update Your Resume

Though those who employ creative individuals are usually most interested in portfolios and samples, a resume is often still required.

After you’ve got your portfolio together, you should start on your resume (if the job you’re applying for requires one). This is record of what you’ve accomplished so far and can include:

• Your name and contact information
• A statement of purpose
• Your employment history
• Your educational history
• Any certifications or awards you’ve earned
• Extracurricular and charitable activities you’ve been involved with
• A link to your portfolio and/or your demo reel

Obviously, you don’t want to lie on your resume any more than you’d plagiarize on your portfolio. However, you do want to make sure your resume makes you look good. Put your most pertinent work (like working as a modeling intern if you’re applying for an animation job) front and center on your resume.

Also, consider that employers may only see the first page of your resume, so don’t put important info several pages back.

You can check out some examples at http://www.resume-resource.com/examples.html

4. Write a Cover Letter

A cover letter is a letter that says how you would fit in at the company you're applying to. You’ll want to take the best parts of your portfolio, and the most impressive sections of your resume, and use them as examples of why the company should hire you.

Try to address your cover letter to someone. Even if it’s “Dear Sir/Madam” or “Dear H.R. Director”, it’s still better than nothing. Of course, if you actually do have the name of the person you’re submitting it to, put it in there.

Your cover letter should also clearly state which position you’re applying for. At this point, check again to make sure that the position matches with your portfolio and fits with the experience highlighted in your resume.

For more information on writing a cover letter, check out http://jobsearch.about.com/od/coverletters/Cover_Letters.htm

5. Fill Out and Submit the Application

If the company you’re courting has an application, you’ll need to fill that out. You might want to save this until the end, because the application may include lots of redundant fields (for instance, the application may ask you to fill out your employment history, something already covered by your resume). If you have all the information gathered together, this step will go much more smoothly.

Get the application and all associated documentation to the company. Virtually all companies now use online applications, but a few may still ask you to mail your application in. Whatever the guidelines you are given, it’s important to follow them. You don’t want to make a bad first impression by turning in your application the wrong way.

6. Follow Up

After a respectable amount of time has passed since you submitted your application, you can call or email someone at the company to check up on the status of your application.

Just to be clear, "Follow Up" is not the same thing as "Be a Stalker". Don’t call the day after you submit, or more than twice per application.

It’s probably best to wait about 3 weeks to a month after you submit to ask after your application. The time it takes for a company to reply can vary significantly, so try not to get impatient.

If a company is impressed by your work and is interested in hiring you, they’ll get in touch and ask to schedule an interview.