Design Jobs

Much like the last post... I have been working in an In-House design group for a large corporation. We have been scaled back dramatically over the past 3 years and are facing another possible round of layoffs.

I have been applying to jobs for the past 3 years and have had little to no response. I am curious if there is a resource within AIGA that can help critique and give pointers on how to fine tune my Resume and Portfolio for a job search in the 21st Century!!!

Much like the last post... I have been working in an In-House design group for a large corporation. We have been scaled back dramatically over the past 3 years and are facing another possible round of layoffs.

I have been applying to jobs for the past 3 years and have had little to no response. I am curious if there is a resource within AIGA that can help critique and give pointers on how to fine tune my Resume and Portfolio for a job search in the 21st Century!!!

Much like the last post... I have been working in an In-House design group for a large corporation. We have been scaled back dramatically over the past 3 years and are facing another possible round of layoffs.

I have been applying to jobs for the past 3 years and have had little to no response. I am curious if there is a resource within AIGA that can help critique and give pointers on how to fine tune my Resume and Portfolio for a job search in the 21st Century!!!

I currently am working at a publishing company and have been for over 16 years. I'm at the point in my life where I want to do something on my own. Wondering how the market is in the Minneapolis/St Paul area and what customary billing charges are for logo design? ad design? etc.

Looks like ALL the job postings have now disappeared. Weird.

Sadly, creative placement agencies do have tests to make sure you know where the most obscure Quark Xpress features are.

I understand there is a point to know the programs, but it doesn't prove proficiency or efficiency by taking a point and click test.

Though it is tough to find employment in a saturated job market, I think an internship is the only way to begin in this field. You start building a network of people who can help you find out about new job openings, give you recommendations for other jobs, utitlize you as a freelance resource or even hire you full time.

I don't think it's fair to dangle the carrot of a design job in front of recent graduates while asking them to do admin work or act as a courier. It shows a total lack of respect and gives a false sense of hope to these kids. And any design shop that gives projects to admins and couriers is shady anyway. Why not hire a real designer? There are pleny of them out there.

Side note... Unless there is a design test people need to pass in order to pay their membership dues I don't think a company looking for design candidates is guaranteed to find a certain skill level by limiting their search to AIGA members. There are a lot of talented designers who haven't joined the AIGA.

Erin - I guess it depends on who you ask, but I would say the market is fair for freelancers. There are certainly a lot of designers here. But, if you've got experience and a solid portfolio, I don't see you having much trouble. Plus there are some good creative placement firms here that can hook you up with gigs.

Best to you.

I'm a freelancer in Chicago and want to make a move up to Minneapolis. How is the freelancing world in Minneapolis?

I would think that having too much of a personal style would actually work against a person applying for a job. Most likely the job will call for a designer to create a look for a variety of brands, not just give it "their" look.

For better or worse some of these "unqualified" candidates are the people that will displace or replace the current crop of designers.

I don't get a lot of requests for employment, but the first thing that counts is passion. I know that many of the designers around were not the creme de la creme of great student designers, but were persistent and once hired showed up every day and worked hard to become very capable.

Of course it is not possible to hire every graduate that walks into any city, but i'm amazed by the complete lack of effort by the professional community to engage the student community. If you think a 20 minute tour of your studio is truly beneficial, then you are sitting at the table of antiquated thoughts.

Though my experience with young designers often parallels those of my colleagues, i realize that chances need to be supplied, not given by god. Please keep that in mind as you look for the "best and brightest".

I've noticed an improvement in the caliber of job postings since the website changed over. I'm very impressed. I guess it is apparent that by making this a member's only job board, the selection process for companies becomes more efficient. They are no longer bombarded with tons of applications of unqualified candidates.

Thanks for taking the steps toward professionalism!

I had similar troubles getting a design job at an entry level. I tried a parallel industry to get some expierence. I now have 8 years expierence in the signage industry but seems no design agency wants someone with my 'expierence'. Most of my friends in the industry tell met to get an entry level design position, this would be a 15-20K per year loss in pay. Has anyone had a similar expierence with any ideas as to how to break across the industries?

Thanks everyone for the great advice and support. I love that we have a place to discuss these sorts of issues through AIGA! I've tried several different angles so far and I will keep pulling for my dream. I have to. It's my passion and not everyone has clear dreams and goals these days. I've done two internships at both a small design firm and a large corporation, I've worked as a temp in the accounting department of an advertising agency, and now I'm working as a temp in a second shift production position in the document center of a large corporation. At least I have a variety of experience to put on my resume.

I have been in the industry for close to 12 years and my suggestion is to take on an internship. This is how I broke into the field. A high percentage of companies will hire interns to full time positions at the end of the program. And if they are not looking and you do good work, get a letter of recommendation. This may be all you need to help land a full time job.

The other choice is to work through a freelance placement company. This will give you exposure to a number of different companies and will help you determine if you like to work in house, for a design firm or ad agency.

I started out working as an intern at a design agency. They had me work the reception desk. I gradually worked into a design position.

I have over 12 years experience now.
In interviewing for full time positions over the past few years, I'm finding that employers want upper level skills for entry level pay. The problem is the rise in health care costs that employers have to pay. Get out there on November 7 and vote for the candidate you feel has the best solution to this problem!

I am having a similar experience...but am on the opposit side. I am a designer with over 12 years experience and am finding that the only positions open are for beginners to mid level designers. Employers seem to say they want a high level of experience but when it comes down to it they want they really want is a beginner or mid level desiner...I am finding that they are thinking I would get bored with the work...but I just really want to find a work and do design.

I am having a similar experience...I am a designer with over 10 years experience and am finding that the only positions open are for beginners to mid level designers. Employers seem to say they want a high level of experience but when it come down to it they want they want a beginner or mid level desiner...I am finding that they are thinking I would get bored...but I just really want to find a job.

Why are there so many upper level positions in the field open and hardly any starting positions, when most of the people looking are looking for a starting position? It's a catch 22. You have to have experience in the field, but you can't get any experince in the field without anyone giving you a chance for a full time job in the field. How about promoting designers from within to these higher level positions giving entering students a chance of entering the field at a lower position. It's almost impossible to get the kind of experience it takes in design by doing internships since they are only 3 months long, mostly partime, and most of those firms offereing internships don't hire on their interns.

How about a job fair?