Where to Find Graphic Design Jobs
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.
A graphic design portfolio is the best way to display and showcase your past projects, creativity, and talent. A graphic design portfolio is vital when trying to pursue opportunities as a graphic designer within a company or as a freelance graphic designer pursuing clients. The graphic design portfolio can contain any number of items, in several different formats.
The first important step in developing a graphic design portfolio is deciding what work to include. You should only include your highest quality work in your graphic design portfolio. If you include mediocre work in your graphic design portfolio simply because you are concerned about not having enough pieces in your graphic design portfolio, you will lose important job offers and clients. It is better to have a few pieces in your graphic design portfolio that really showcase your talent and creativity than have many pieces that do not help you build a solid reputation as a graphic designer.
The next step in developing a graphic design portfolio is deciding what type of graphic design portfolio you want to create. There are four main types of graphic design portfolios: printed pages in a binder, an online graphic design portfolio, images placed on a graphic design portfolio CD, or a slideshow of images placed on a graphic design portfolio DVD. Really, it is best to create one of each type of graphic design portfolio so that you are fully prepared to offer whatever your prospective employer or client is prepared to look at to judge your talent and creativity as a graphic designer.
To create a graphic design portfolio of printed pages, you should choose only your best work, and only the best quality printed copies. If you are unsure of the quality of your home printer, put the images on a disk and have them printed for you at a print shop. The best quality and most creative pieces can look mediocre if not printed with high quality printing. You should then present the pieces in a professional manner. The best color for a graphic design printed portfolio is black, and the most professional style is leather. This should be something that is spiral bound, a book, or a case so that you can add or remove pieces from your graphic design portfolio easily as you progress in your graphic design career.
To create a graphic design portfolio online, you will first need web space. Website hosting and domain registration has become very cost effective. Most websites also give you free website building tools so that you don't have to know HTML. However, make sure that you sign up for website hosting with enough bandwidth to handle all of the images and potential traffic. Once you have your website set up, you'll want to choose your pieces carefully. Display them as thumbnails on one page, with each full scale piece appearing on another page when the thumbnail is clicked. This will give people with slower internet access easier access to your online graphic design portfolio.
To create a graphic design portfolio on DVD or CD, you must have a computer with a DVD or CD burner. To make really professional DVD or CD graphic design portfolios, you will want to get a CD or DVD burning kit that allows you to burn images onto the top of the CD or DVD and create labels for jewel cases. You can either save individual pieces on the CD or DVD, or you can simply save a copy of your website on the disc.
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