ERIC: The game-changing careers app you need to know
The ERIC App was born during the coronavirus pandemic, but the brand’s innovative perspective on creative careers advice and job searching has been making waves for years. And the best part, it’s all FREE!
ERIC is known for its revolutionary, immersive creative careers festivals, whereby ‘Millenials’ and ‘Generation Z’ can gain insider access to key contacts in the creative industries to hear their experiences and gain real-time advice on CVs and opportunities. It is the brand to know if your passion lies within any creative industry - be that fashion, marketing, publishing, social media, TV, gaming, journalism… the list goes on.
Now, founders (and best friends) Mae Yip and Samantha Hornsby have taken their passion to help young people - and especially diverse communities - online with the launch of The ERIC App.
Traditional recruitment processes can seem completely impersonal, hence ERIC’s app is built entirely on making the job searching and career development process unique to you. By creating an individual profile, you can select industries to follow that you are interested in, skills you would like to develop and personal qualities you need advice on.
Through curated playlists you can read articles, listen to podcasts and watch videos on career development - everything from important questions to ask before you accept a job offer, to what you should include in your portfolio through the years if you’re not applying for your first job. Though these are examples of some generic advice applicable to many, the team prides itself on aggregating advice that is industry-specific, such as tips from a luxury fashion brand intern, ‘how to’ guides on finding which publishing role is for you, and even the do’s and don’ts of becoming an entrepreneur with a festival food truck.
The actionable advice and event opportunities don’t stop there either as their self development section is just as important, tackling topics such as imposter syndrome, creative resilience, growing confidence, habits for high productivity, avoiding burnout and so much more.
A major benefit of the app too is that you can follow the announcements section to see the latest opportunities, jobs and internships from the UK’s biggest brands like the BBC, Sony Music UK and BAFTA. It also highlights funding and training programs to apply for, as well as mentoring schemes and unmissable workshops for networking. They even feature City Girl Network’s former Chief Operating Officer Rachael Mole’s new venture Sick In the City (SIC), which offers support and career advice to those with disabilities or chronic illnesses.
A really beneficial feature under the ‘Brands’ section is that you can connect directly with key figures in companies you follow as the app directly links to their LinkedIn profiles - a superb way to network, follow their activity and reach out to seek opportunities.
The team also collaborated with young talent to produce a zine in 2020 on the struggles young people face in finding employment, and what employers need to do to make a change. This was distributed to the hiring departments of the UK’s top 100 companies, with amazing feedback on how they’d like to adopt some of the ideas. You can read the zine yourself here.
To find out more about The ERIC App, visit their website, and I’d highly recommend following them on Instagram for insights into various industries, the challenges facing ‘Generation Z’ in particular and updates on key opportunities and events. You can download The ERIC App on Android and iOS.
Written by Hannah Bird
Disclaimer: The author did collaborate with The ERIC App to curate content, but has been a user of the beta version and experienced the benefits of the brand for years so offers an honest review that she hopes will benefit others seeking career guidance.
Help us keep the City Girl Network running by supporting us via Patreon for the price of a cheap cup of coffee - just £2 a month. For £3 a month you can also get yourself a Patreon exclusive 10% off any of our ticketed events! You can also support us by following us on Instagram, and by joining our City Girl Network (city wide!) Facebook group.