Comments on: Getting your foot in the door

By: David Airey

David Airey — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 13:52:18 +0000

I think you should have at least four years of dedicated design study behind you before attempting to find employment. I’m sure there are successful designers without it, but that’s my belief.

Whatever you decide, Jessica, all the very best of luck.

By: JC

JC — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 13:46:31 +0000

Thanks David. I don’t have an online portfolio at the moment; I’ve just got a portfolio as pdf document. i don’t do web design although i hope to learnt more about it. do you think i still have a chance of getting a job as a graphic designer?!

By: David Airey

David Airey — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 13:35:51 +0000

Hi Jessica, you’re very welcome. I don’t have time to look at your CV just now, but my advice is to focus on your online portfolio, rather than a gimmick on your CV. If I was hiring, I pay most of my attention to the designer’s website. As long as the CV was easy to read, with a clearly-defined layout, that’d be enough for me.

By: JC

JC — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 18:47:35 +0000

Hi David,

Thanks very much for all your tips on getting your foot through the door. I feel similar to ARC at the moment; I’m looking for my first design job and am worried that if I get a job, I’ll be out of my depth technically. All I can do is try though and keep my fingers crossed. Is there any possibility of showing you my CV to get your advice?! I understand if not! On one version of my CV I have written *UNIMAGINATIVE, *UNTALENTED, *UNCREATIVE (with an asterisk next to the words) in uppercase helvetica neue over a photo of mine. I’ve then written underneath in smaller type *does not apply to Jessica Cooper. It’s a risky approach but i really wanted to think of something that would make my CV stand out. I’m hoping it’ll catch people’s eye and amuse them! Do you have any advice?

By: ARC

ARC — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 10:40:24 +0000

I guess that’s pretty true. I just worry that I’ll fail or get yelled at, but then I guess -everyone- has a trial-by-fire during their career. Thank you very much, David.

By: David Airey

David Airey — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 17:09:34 +0000

Try not to worry, because it’s only when we’re out of our depth that we surprise ourselves with what we can achieve. I was out of my depth writing a book, but I learned an incredible amount from doing so, and, at the other side, things are looking better than before.

Good luck.

By: ARC

ARC — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 17:05:22 +0000

I’m not sure if this is relevant, but I’d like to ask your advice, David. I’ve just moved to a big city and I’m trying to get my foot in the door into some design studios. The problem is, I worked at a studio in a small town for nearly two years, and I spent most of it doing 20-minute advertisements, laying up a small weekly paper, drawing up tax invoices and forms, and perhaps a small smattering of business and DL cards.

Do you have any advice for people wanting to get better design jobs in a studio but don’t have a lot of good experience to stand on? Two years of experience looks good on a CV, but I worry what will happen if I get hired and get given a job out of my depth.

By: David Airey

David Airey — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 20:19:57 +0000

If I ever revert to employment, and tailor my CV for a specific job, there's no way I could include every project I've worked on. The new window / same window link discussion has been had here before. You might find it of interest: Should links open in a new window

By: Omar Ayoub

Omar Ayoub — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 22:59:20 +0000

Just a quick note David, maybe it is better to have a link open in a new window when I click on a commentator’s name instead of it opening in the same window and moving away from your website.

By: Omar Ayoub

Omar Ayoub — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 22:56:42 +0000

I might have misunderstood, but shouldn’t the resume include a record of all the projects while the portfolio includes only the best work? In my resume, I have cited most of the projects I have done underneath a heading that reads “Selected Work Experience”. Below each project is a one-liner that describes what I have done in it.
With my portfolio, I selected the best projects to showcase. You mentioned showing all the work in a book or a portfolio, but what if some of the projects are not as strong as you’d like them to be?
I guess it’s a war between the responsibility of showing a record of all the work a designer has done on one hand and a showcase of the very best of it on the other…