“I am terrified of this industry…isn’t that stupid?” This is what my friend, a current graphic design student said about our profession. I find our industry and design community to be active and fun, filled with visionaries, entrepreneurs and go getters.

But for the 45 minutes following his remark we talked about his fears and I offered some tips and insights on graduating from design school and getting a design job. Here’s a recap of that conversation.

My school’s image

“My school hasn’t presented a positive image…” I hear this from students across the nation and he said it early on in our talk. Every school has a completely different program and some seem to stress areas of our profession over others. There’s a lot to learn and it’s difficult to cram into a few short years. Schools seem to garner reputations. You’ll hear some schools only teach their students software, things like that. But the truth of the matter when it comes to schools is: you can only get out of it what you put into it. If you think you’re not getting a certain kind of education, then fill in that deficiency. The way I did it was to attended a few colleges which is probably a little extreme. But I wanted to ensure I had a well-rounded education. And I loved it! I had fun living in different cities, meeting different people and learning from my professors.

Keep in mind that when you graduate, you’re not only competing with your classmates, but all other schools and out of work designers. Your portfolio needs to be the best. Do something different in addition to what’s required and you’ll be fine. Employers are looking for problem solvers, a creative mind, self-learners and team players. But most importantly they are looking for a perfect fit. They want not only the best designer but someone who can fill in the blanks. So you’ll need to show them you can do that.

On the interview and portfolio

Practice interviewing. Think of common questions an employer would ask and write them down. Google it to find different scenarios and find commonly asked questions. Then sit down with someone and practice coming into an interview, going through the questions, and presenting your portfolio. The goal is to become comfortable in the situation so your real interview will feel natural and you feel confident.

If your practice interviewer is not a designer, give them a cheat sheet of things to point out or ask so you can talk shop with industry terms.

Your handshake should be strong. Hold eye contact until your interviewer break it and lets go of your hand. Hold it longer than you think is necessary. Then hold it even longer. Practice the handshake again and again.

Don’t carry a huge portfolio. Your work should fit in your briefcase. Photograph your work and don’t carry the original comps. You only need to highlight the parts that tell a story. Take a look at design studios you like and see how they present their work. You want your work to be better than theirs since you wan them to hire you.

Attend every AIGA portfolio review you can. Even if you’re not ready to leave school, the practice and networking experience is invaluable. You’ll meet potential employers and get real world advice about your work in progress.

Design is a business

Remember that design is a business. Think of yourself as a business person first and a designer second. Market yourself like a product. Make it easy for employers to contact you on your website. Design is what you do, but you can’t work for a studio or company if people don’t know about you. Plus, marketing yourself well shows how well you can apply design principals to a real world product – you.

Your website

Don’t hind behind web forms. People want to speak with you so post your phone number and email in addition to a form. Let people contact you in a way that they feel comfortable, not what’s easier for you.

Post your photo. If people don’t know who you are or see your smiling face it’s hard for them to evaluate your personality.

Proof read

Proof read everything. Hire a copywriter. When I was a student I traded portfolio proofing for design and branding services. I couldn’t afford it when I was in school and trade is a mutually beneficial situation. My work was free of typos and my copywriters’ visual identities elevated their own level of professionalism.

Studio tours

AIGA offers occasional studio tours in every major city. Drop whatever you’re doing that day to attend them. They are that important and worth your time and investment. When you visit the offices, don’t just chat with the tour guide. Chat with the person who greets you at the door and and the employees of the studio. They will give you a honest impression of what it’s like to work there. If they are not happy despite the historical prestige of the shop, you won’t be happy working there either.

Social media

You can sign up for any AIGA chapter’s mailing list, Facebook page or Twitter account. Keep tabs on a few cities to find the right community for you. You can follow any company on LinkedIn, too. It will tell you who works there along with any new hires and past employees.

On your competition

There are always going to be better designers than you. But no one can be who you are. So be yourself. Be kind, nice and loving. Treat people well and others will notice it. Pay no attention to people who try to bring you down. Place yourself around people who are doing good and amazing things. Find friends that are creative in any industry. My personal favorite are drag queens and musicians. Their confidence is contagious.

On surviving design school

Do what’s required to get through school, but push yourself to do more. Schools can only offer you basic building blocks to start your career. But you need to do the rest.

I hope these tips help you get that design job you’ve always wanted. If you already have a design job, do you have tips of your own to share? Feel free to add them as a comment and share these tips with other designers and students.

Thanks.

Tags: getting a job, interview

This entry was posted on Sunday, August 1st, 2010 at 7:52 pm and is filed under Social media, Truths. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.