How a designer find a job in IT
Despite the fact that we are not the most famous digital agency in St. Petersburg, designer resumes regularly come to us by mail. And, of course, resumes come in response to posted design jobs. Why do I say resume and not portfolio? Because portfolios come rarely. I think all employers in our field have their own collection of amazing letters from designers. But, I would like not to discuss the human factor, but to give designers a few tips that will save a lot of time for all parties to this process. Someone advice may seem terribly banal (they are), but none of them was written without reason.
The percentage of such responses, fortunately, is not large, but it is. One applicant writes, they say, I worked there and there, studied here and even here, if you are interested, I will send a portfolio . Not interested, you can not send.
He needs only one thing - your portfolio. So give it to him. You can focus on education only if you studied in the British , but even this fact alone cannot replace a good portfolio. And about all these "faculties of information design" in technical universities, painting courses, etc. better not to write at all, really.
Just imagine, there is a person who has to look through dozens of portfolios a day, and you give him a link to the file sharing service, where the PDF weighing 400 MB is lying (I’m not joking, I actually sent it). There are a huge number of free sites designed to showcase your portfolio:
By the way, contrary to popular opinion, the resource fl.ru to those is a stretch, viewing a portfolio on it can turn into torture:
')
A small PDF file and even JPEG images just attached to the letter will also come off. Just no archives!
UPD. Wayne offered a good option: a letter with links to 3-4 best works, this, indeed, is also quite enough.
If you are applying for a position of a specialist in the field of UX / UI, it is not necessary to demonstrate the logos made. Of course, this may be an advantage, but the first thing that an employer should see when opening your portfolio are site layouts (interfaces, applications, etc.).
If you didn’t have real big clients with interesting projects, if you didn’t manage to work in a serious studio, this does not mean that you shouldn’t have strong jobs. Would you like to work with Nike? Make a website for Nike. Believe me, the employer will not care if the project, in which the specific work was performed, was a real order for a real client, if the work itself is amazing and beautiful.
You are many, it is not always possible to evaluate your experience only in your portfolio, the test task is a necessary selection tool. The answer in the style “for unpaid test tasks I don’t undertake” does not make you a professional who knows his own worth, rather the opposite. And if you do not trust the studio, which offers you to perform a test task, then perhaps you should not try to join it at all?
The experience is different, it can be negative, especially in our field. And if during the past ten years you have worked in a studio that produces a not very high-quality product, then this does not mean at all that you can apply for the position of art director, arguing that this is a great experience. Better a year to work as an intern in a serious studio than a few years as art director in a bad one.
And most importantly: patience and a little effort ;-)
1. Do not send emails without a portfolio.
The percentage of such responses, fortunately, is not large, but it is. One applicant writes, they say, I worked there and there, studied here and even here, if you are interested, I will send a portfolio . Not interested, you can not send.
2. The employer is least interested in your education, age and even work experience.
He needs only one thing - your portfolio. So give it to him. You can focus on education only if you studied in the British , but even this fact alone cannot replace a good portfolio. And about all these "faculties of information design" in technical universities, painting courses, etc. better not to write at all, really.
3. Make browsing the portfolio as convenient as possible.
Just imagine, there is a person who has to look through dozens of portfolios a day, and you give him a link to the file sharing service, where the PDF weighing 400 MB is lying (I’m not joking, I actually sent it). There are a huge number of free sites designed to showcase your portfolio:
By the way, contrary to popular opinion, the resource fl.ru to those is a stretch, viewing a portfolio on it can turn into torture:
')
A small PDF file and even JPEG images just attached to the letter will also come off. Just no archives!
UPD. Wayne offered a good option: a letter with links to 3-4 best works, this, indeed, is also quite enough.
4. Place the correct accents in the portfolio.
If you are applying for a position of a specialist in the field of UX / UI, it is not necessary to demonstrate the logos made. Of course, this may be an advantage, but the first thing that an employer should see when opening your portfolio are site layouts (interfaces, applications, etc.).
5. Experience in not good enough companies is no excuse.
If you didn’t have real big clients with interesting projects, if you didn’t manage to work in a serious studio, this does not mean that you shouldn’t have strong jobs. Would you like to work with Nike? Make a website for Nike. Believe me, the employer will not care if the project, in which the specific work was performed, was a real order for a real client, if the work itself is amazing and beautiful.
6. Do not refuse to perform the test task.
You are many, it is not always possible to evaluate your experience only in your portfolio, the test task is a necessary selection tool. The answer in the style “for unpaid test tasks I don’t undertake” does not make you a professional who knows his own worth, rather the opposite. And if you do not trust the studio, which offers you to perform a test task, then perhaps you should not try to join it at all?
7. Soberly assess your strength and do not chase after money.
The experience is different, it can be negative, especially in our field. And if during the past ten years you have worked in a studio that produces a not very high-quality product, then this does not mean at all that you can apply for the position of art director, arguing that this is a great experience. Better a year to work as an intern in a serious studio than a few years as art director in a bad one.
And most importantly: patience and a little effort ;-)
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/216213/
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