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Since we’re now in the final leg of the One Week Job documentary, it struck me that the film still didn’t have an official poster.

To fix the situation, I tapped the skills of Vancouver graphic artist and illustrator Amanda McCuaig.

After approx 2 weeks of back and forth collaboration, the final result is, in a word, awesome. So awesome that I wanted to share with you the step-by-step process we took to make the vision a reality.

The Evolution of a Movie Poster

The first step was coming up with the general concept. I knew we needed to hint at all the jobs Sean tried over the year, but it had to be in a way that was still visually pleasing (without being overly complex). Amanda sketched her ideas out first:

We’re thrilled to announce The One-Week Job Program!

The One-Week Job Program is designed to provide others the opportunity to participate in a similar experience to my original journey. The first semester of the program will take place this summer 2010.

Here’s the low down:

1. 3 lucky individuals
2. 8 different jobs (one week at each)
3. $1500 per month

As I did during my 52 weeks, the selected applicants will blog about their experience on the OneWeekJob.com website; they’ll share stories from the road, all the career and life lessons they’re learning, and provide readers with an insight into the 8 different jobs.

“Why are you doing this?”

Most of us graduate from school with little work experience. We may choose a job because it’s something our parents did, maybe our friends or school counselor thought we should do it, or perhaps after filling out a career questionnaire it was the only response the computer spat out. Our choices are often influenced by fear, external pressure, lack of knowledge, or financial burden due to mounting student debt, and we quickly settle into a secure job.

Starting today, we’ll be periodically releasing outtake clips from the upcoming One Week Job documentary. The first is an interview shot with Kyle MacDonald, better known as the guy who traded a paperclip for a house.

Filmed in Sept 2007 in Montreal, Kyle talks about the importance of finding a job, higher education, and how to take care of your little place in the world.

Guest post by Kirsty, aka The Nerdy Nomad.

Kirsty, volunteering in Sumatra.

If taking a new job each week to find your perfect career seems like a bit extreme, but heading out to job fairs and going the traditional post-university route seems too timid, then I have an option that falls in the middle: volunteering.

Giving your time away for free might not seem like an ideal choice for a recent grad with loans to pay off and a job to find. You will find, however, that there is much to gain from volunteering, and that thinking only about the money is short-sighted.

Volunteering gives you an opportunity to follow in Sean’s shoes and work in all sorts of areas – from conservation to working with children to teaching to construction and so on – without making a full commitment. You will rarely be asked for previous experience, and you could find yourself doing some pretty interesting things.