by BlondieWrites on March 7, 2010
So, you have finished your college education or are close to getting that Bachelor’s Degree in graphic design completed, and you’re looking to get your foot in the door at a good, stable graphic design firm. But, you don’t know where to start. Getting into a graphic design firm can be difficult or easy, depending on your luck and the resources available to you.
The best way to get your foot in the door at a graphic design firm is through an internship program. Internship programs with local graphic design firms should be available through your college or university internship programs. If you are not sure if this assistance is available for graphic design firms in your area, ask your graphic design university or college department head. When all else fails, you can contact graphic design firms on your own to request interviews and information about possible internship programs.
When looking for an internship in a graphic design firm, you need to consider several things about yourself and what you are looking for in an internship at a graphic design firm. Are you willing to work without pay or with little pay? Many internship programs at graphic design firms do not pay their interns.
If you have a hard time finding an internship program in a graphic design firm, you can always check out graphic design departments in other types of companies, such as advertising agencies.
Using an internship is not the only way to get your foot in the door of graphic design firms. You can talk to your academic advisor or career counseling center within your college or university for help and options. If you have an instructor in a graphic design course that you have impressed, you might find that he or she has contacts with designers or management at local graphic design firms. Alternatively, you may be able to get involved in a professional association based on your credentials and references from your college or university academic advisor, department head, or instructors. Contacts in these professional associations can easily help you get your foot in the door of a graphic design firm.
Once you have your foot in the door, you have to impress the decision making or hiring managers within the graphic design firm. This requires showcasing your best work. If you are doing an internship at a graphic design firm, do your best work while you are there, and you might get a job offer. If you are going to an interview that you’ve gotten through contacts at a graphic design firm, make sure you come prepared with a professional graphic design resume and a graphic design portfolio that showcases your best work.
As more and more people become interested in graphic design as a career, it will become harder and harder to get into a good graphic design firm. However, with careful planning, networking, and the help of your college or university departments, getting into a graphic design firm should become a fluid transition from education to experience.
by BlondieWrites on March 7, 2010
Whether you are just out of school or simply feeling ready for something new, good graphic design jobs abound. We are living in a visual society; most of us spend hours on the internet perusing site after site. Every one of these sites has visuals, and those visuals were designed by someone. That someone could be you. And even if you don’t want to explore graphic design jobs centered around the web, there are so many other areas, packaging, print design, advertising, marketing and within all of these areas there are graphic design jobs that you may be able to fill.
Where do I start? Start looking on the internet. Enter “graphic design jobs” into your favorite search engine and start exploring. You’ll find many different types of sites – almost all involve job searches by type of job and location. If you want to apply for any of these jobs you will need your resume and portfolio. So be ready. Some will be standard job search sites and others will be professional organizations. Spend some time just looking through the sites and saving sites that you will want to return to. I recommend making a “graphic design jobs search” folder in the “favorites” or “bookmarks” section of your browser. Use this when you save the links you want to return to.
If you are a member of a professional organization this is a great place to go first. As a student you can join reasonably. Often there are o associate memberships that are also economical. Being a member of a professional organization also looks good and adds credibility on your resume.
Preparing for your graphic design jobs search.
You know where you want to go. Now you need to get ready. Is your resume ready? You can find sites on the internet that show you how to write resumes and give you guidelines for assessing the one you currently have. If you think you need more experience to include in your resume, volunteer to do some jobs for non-profit organizations. Make sure you do an excellent job and ask them if they will be a reference you can include on your resume.
You will also need a portfolio in your search for graphic design jobs. There are several kinds of portfolios – paper, web and DVD/CD portfolios. Again, you can learn a lot about refining your portfolio by searching the internet for information about designing a portfolio. Many of the job search sites, especially professional organizations allow you to upload your portfolio to their site, along with your resume. With others you can post your resume, but not the portfolio.
It may be worth the time and money to have your own web site so that you can put a link to your portfolio in your resume. If your search for graphic design jobs includes web design, then make sure that your web site is a reflection of the work that you can do in this area. Take time with it. Keep refining and changing it. Ask people to view it and give you comments, especially past instructors or mentors. In fact, it’s a good idea to have your present or past instructors or mentors review all your job search materials, resume, portfolio, DVD/CD, and web site.
Now, you are ready to find graphic design jobs that fit your skills and talent.
