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How to Get Hired to Do the Design Work You Want to Do
How to Get Hired as a Graphic Designer
(to Do the Work You Want to Do)
When going through the hiring process here at Go Media, we see a lot of portfolios. Some are good, some are bad, very few make us stop and say…”wow, okay!”
The portfolios that really stand out to us are strong in branding, print design and web development, have a bit of edge, and hint at a background or strength in illustration. Why? Because we want to find a designer that:
- Is passionate about the same type of work we do.
- Is stylistically similar to us, but still has range.
- Is psyched about using the same programs as we are.
Really want to work at ____ << dream company here (for purposes of this article, we’ll call it Go Media!)
We want it to feel like your portfolio was created with us in mind. Whether that means removing pages from a physical portfolio or modifying your website for this particular job search, it’s time to make some necessary adjustments that will seriously make our heads turn. If this sounds like it will take a lot of extra time and effort, you’re correct. But, it’s worth it.
Here are our recommendations in regards to your portfolio:
MIRROR OUR PASSIONS – BECAUSE YOU SHARE THEM
As you may have heard us preach, you MUST do your homework about Go Media and know our company inside and out. It will take hours to truly understand our services, as well as our history. As mentioned above, Go Media has a strong background in illustration. So, when designers open up their portfolios, show off their illustration skills and refer to our history, we are really wowed. Without doing any research, however, you will likely miss this important bit of history altogether and miss out on some great conversation with us. And quite possibly, a position here at the company.
PAIR DOWN, SHOW RANGE
After you’ve come to understand our major service areas, you should start to pair down your work to match ours. Once you have narrowed down your portfolio to your strongest print, branding and web projects, you can leave the watercolor painting work you do in your free time to the wayside. It just starts to clutter things up.
From there, show us a sample of what you do best while simultaneously showing range. Illustrate the fact that you can work with any client we throw at you, from gritty, down-home BBQ restaurant, to a quaint cupcake shop, to a biker bar, to the world’s largest healthcare center.
SHOW US THAT YOU’RE VERSATILE
We really like our designers to show that they have a wealth of knowledge working in many different programs. One reason is that we need designers to work in specific programs for very specific reasons. (For example, we need designers who are experts in Photoshop that can work on our mockup templates.) Another reason is that we want to ensure that we can all work on and in the same files if needed. Use your portfolio/case studies as a vehicle to show us that you are comfortable in Adobe Creative Suite and other programs if applicable.
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At the end of the day, in order to get hired as a graphic designer here at Go Media – to do to work you want to do and truly love to do, all you need to do is to show us the work you want to be doing through your portfolio and, in person, a real fire and passion for that work.
And don’t forget to leave out any work that distracts us from seeing the designer that deserves a seat at our table. Good luck!