Tag Archives: interviews

Student perspective: Design jobs

If you are a student or just starting out in your career, then you definitely need to check out the Design Jobs series from Andrea Zagata.

You might remember Andrea as the designer behind the creative leave-behind we featured last fall. Andrea is also a journalism senior at Michigan State University, and she recently shared her perspective on searching for a design job in a four-part series.

First up—putting together a design application packet from cover letter to clips. Need help choosing your best work? Andrea shares how to cut your clips in part two.

Once you’ve sent your application packet to potential employers, it’s time to get ready for interviews. Andrea offers insight from her experiences as both the interviewer and the interviewee.

The series wraps up with a guest blog from MSU alum and freelance graphic designer Daniel Thai on networking, showing how connections made face-to-face and online can lead to freelance work and valuable contacts.

The Design Jobs series offers a lot of valuable advice, even for non-designers, so be sure to check it out along with the rest of Andrea’s I Shot the Serif blog.

Communication & Web Design

I have had many discussions with fellow professional writers about how well-crafted content is essential for good web design, so I was thrilled to see an article from Smashing Magazine about the necessity of good communication for websites.

In “Clear And Effective Communication In Web Design“, web designer and blogger Steven Snell does a fantastic job of breaking down methods of communication, challenges for designers, and communication basics. To help make all of that much easier to do, he also gives tips and goals for creating good communication, along with its results.

But for me the most interesting aspect is that this article reinforces the importance and value of hiring professional writers who have the ability to effectively communicate through writing and design.

Snell talks about how a website needs to quickly and clearly communicate while also showing personality, improving branding, and taking into account the medium and the audience. This should sound familiar. Just look at how some of our “In the Workplace” web designers and developers have defined professional writing:

“Being able to strongly communicate an idea in as few words as possible with enough honesty and candor to grab someone’s attention.” – Joe Sak, XHTML/CSS/JS Web Developer

“Knowing who your target audience is, what your audience is looking for, and tailoring your document to meet those needs. We analyze, synthesize, and deliver.” – Andrew Saulter, Web Designer/Developer

“Communicating clearly and effectively to a specific audience through a specific medium.” – Kristen Byers, New Media Development Specialist

“Being clear and concise when communicating a message.” - John Phillips, User Interface Designer/Developer

Web designers not only need to know how to communicate effectively through their design work, they also need to know how to talk to employers about the need for an effective communicator and web designer. With the current state of the economy, it is more important than ever to be able to communicate your value as a professional writer when writing a resume, designing a portfolio, or interviewing for jobs. Snell’s article provides some great language to do that, so be sure to check it out.

Caught on tape: PW @ MSU

The Viva PW website recently published video interviews with Dànielle DeVoss, Director of Michigan State University’s Professional Writing (PW) program.

The videos cover:

  • skills developed in core PW classes
  • types of careers available to PW students
  • types of media a PW student will use
  • what distinguishes PW from other writing-based majors
  • how PW alums have found their training useful

Check out the videos to see not only what MSU’s PW program offers students, but also to get some excellent language on what professional writing is and why professional writers are essential.

For example, one of the videos includes a great quote from Marissa Hayes, MSU PW alum, about what professional writers do:

“Professional writers can efficiently communicate both onscreen and in print through writing, design, and style. Professional writers have the ability to thoughtfully support their decisions and methods through clear and concise interpretations and explanations. Our experience with visual and document design, rhetorical principles, web authoring, and a range of writing in different contexts makes us more cultivated professionals.”

Head over to the student-produced Viva PW site for more information about professional writing skills and careers.

Creating a personal brand

I’ve had some great conversations about branding with other professional writers since posting about creating a professional identity, so I was very excited when graphic designer Victoria Pater created her personal brand, “fresh”, and shared the process on sparkle + fade, her design blog.

Victoria Pater's Fresh brand

The thought and detail that Victoria put into creating a sample booklet is inspiring and a wonderful example of how you can brand yourself as a creative professional while developing something to leave behind after job interviews.

You’ll be able to learn more about Victoria in June through our “In the Workplace” series. In the meantime, feel free to share how you created your personal brand or the personal brands that you’ve been inspired by.

Professional Interviews – A few brief tips

interview questions 

Spring is finally upon us, and for many seniors and upperclassmen, that means job and internship interviews. Before you don your best suit and give ‘em the old firm handshake, take a few steps back and make sure that you’re prepared.

As a recent graduate I remember well what it’s like to be on the job hunt and how intimidating that first interview can be – take a deep breath…

Ready?  Now start putting your portfolio in order! (You do have a portfolio, right?) Continue reading →