Are You Employable?
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- olli101
"Pulling from my experience as an agency designer, creative director, freelance designer, and now agency owner, I want to offer some advice for what skills and understanding are required for employability in today’s Web design professions.
I know from experience what the better agencies are looking for and I surely know what my agency looks for in a potential employee. I don’t suggest, however, that this is a comprehensive list, but it does touch on what I believe to be the minimum requirements for a competent and employable designer.
I hope that this list and my suggestions help aspiring designers to better craft their own preparedness and, if necessary, adjust their degree plans toward a more effective and responsible result.
Here are some minimum requisite skills and traits for Web designers entering the workforce:"
- flashbender0
well that was real nice of him to share
- boobs0
Good sensible article.
- "Good sensible article. " - boobs thanks boobs!threadpost
- 0000000
hire me, you c*nt!!
- harlequino0
If someone had clued me into the 'vocabulary' and 'business etiquette' skills earlier, I might not have spent that year fluffing for bbw flicks.
- and i would not be a world renowned courtesan._salisae_
- i sense a new business partnership brewingharlequino
- olli1010
"Vocabulary – You must possess a broad and functional vocabulary. This factor affects all other communicative efforts and almost always defines success and failure. Vocabulary is something that you should work to improve every day of your life."
Does "fuck off" count?
- robotron3k0
all that may have been true in 1992, but in today's market, designers are more often than not, able to recognize a good company from a bad one and their more likely to tell that company to fuck off.
what corporations don't realize is that designers talk and word gets around fast about companies that treat employess badly.
- hence, if a company want's talent, it's they who need to be the one that straightens out their vocabulary.robotron3k
- Or vice versa, if your name rhymes with Redric Deid.
harlequino - why my real name is Cedric Freed.... hmmmm....robotron3k
- designbot0
Sounds like your average douche who tries to hire a web designer, but then wants them to be a developer/project manager/copy writer/ seo specialist....
Also sounds like he would low-ball the hell out of people.
- SoulFly0
That is a nice article, but I think a little overwhelming for a student...
Somethings just happen with experience.
Being a communication major, with a concentration in graphic design, I took public speaking, business, marketing, drawing fundamentals way before I ever touched photoshop... still the phrase hold truth... "you really learn what you do on the job".In other words, this is actually a good article for designers with already a few years under their belt... Not really an article for students... in my opinion.
- i completely agree...SigDesign
- dito
Normski_Ejah - agreed.roberthuston
- SoulFly0
Yeah- after reading some of the other comments, I think I came to the conclusion that the authors hired a few recent grads and got disappointed and frustrated with the outcome... well... here's the thing, recent grads are junior designers, don't expect too much.
If you want a bad*ass designer... you better pay for a experienced designer...
- ukit0
Nice, but I thought I detected a little passive aggressive vindictiveness in there...maybe it was the part about designers needing "Basic Understanding of Human Behavior." LOL
- robotron3k0
lots designers can't get their act together anyway, I'd say 30-40% of them drop out within the first 4-5 years - dispondent, disillusioned, they usually go into real estate or film production, and have been know to run a marathon or two in their life...
- One time I checked, and it had the second highest drop-out rate, after Computer Science.SoulFly
- hammerofdawn0
I think I fall into the drop out category.
- oh yeah, I'm on my second drop out... it's hard to stay away from the easy money.robotron3k
- ukit0
well it is one of the few careers where it is instantly obvious how talented (or untalented) you are..unlike many career paths where you can sit at a desk for years before being expected to take on any real challenge
- Mimio0
I think "For people whose education has completely failed them" lays in pregnant silence within this article.
- sikma0
The "Professional Interaction Skills" should be made into a billboard.
- monNom0
I feel sorry for new grads. There's a lot of chicken/egg stuff in there.
- Geith0
Hogwash. It's all about talent, building a strong portfolio of work (even if it's school work) and making connections. Everything else is candy, unless you're a complete dolt, in which case, you can look forward to a lifetime of freelancing from your basement.
- SoulFly0
Have anyone watched "helvetica"... some of the most successful designers in New York... I don't think vocabulary or played a major role for them... hahahahahah
(for those who didn't see it... you needed subtitles to understand what they were saying)