Tag Archives: professional development

Web Design Boot Camp

Web Design Boot CampThe Society for News Design is hosting a fantastic two-day course November 7-8 at the Columbia College Department of Journalism: Web Design Boot Camp.

During the course, Tyson Evans, interface engineer at The New York Times, and Dave Wright, senior interactive designer at NPR, will show how to build a compelling web design that fosters online storytelling using HTML/CSS and widgets.

This course is designed for beginners, particularly print designers who wish to transition to news design. Those who are at the intermediate level will still find value in the course topics and can work one-on-one with the instructors. The agenda includes:

  • The state of news design online
  • Understanding the web’s acronym soup
  • Making progress independently of your IT department or other restraints
  • Hands-on with HTML and CSS
  • Web design strategies on news-driven deadlines

Online registration is now open. The fee for the course is $400 for non-members and $200 for non-member students and faculty. Members of The Society for News Design, the Online News Association, the American Copy Editors Society, and the National Press Photographers Association can take advantage of a discounted rate of $300, or $150 if you are a student or faculty member. Click here for information about a Foundation training grant to help with costs.

Web Design Boot Camp
Saturday & Sunday, November 7-8, 2009
Columbia College Department of Journalism
Chicago, IL
Online Registration

Upcoming PRSA events

There are a couple of events coming up for the Central Michigan PRSA chapter that I think would benefit professional writers.

The first is “Candidates and Campaigns 08: Media and Messages”, which will be held October 16. As Lindsey pointed out recently, the visual rhetoric used by candidates should be carefully selected with attention paid to the message being sent in each image. For this event, Ed Sarpolus, Government Affairs Director for the Michigan Education Association, will be sharing his insights and observations about how this year’s candidates and campaigns are using both traditional and new media to reach and influence voters.

You can register for the event online, and it will be held at the Kellogg Center in East Lansing. If you haven’t been to a PRSA event before, this would be a good one to try out, both for the interesting topic and for the low cost: $25 for members, $35 for non-members, and only $20 for students.

“Using Social Media: Pitching, Promoting and Protecting Your Organization’s Online Reputation” will be held on November 14 at the Kellogg Center. It’s a bit pricier to attend ($100 for members, $175 for non-members, $100 for students), but it will likely be a good opportunity for professional development for those who are interested in social media and how it can be used in the most advantageous way. The details of the event haven’t been posted yet, but check back to the PRSA website later on for more information.

Also, if you are a student and you are interested in attending PRSA events but have concerns about the cost, the Central Michigan chapter offers sponsorships. You can find out more information in the Student Services section, which also talks about award opportunities.

Best cities for young professionals

Forbes just released its “Best Cities For Young Professionals” list, which ranks the biggest metro areas on economic opportunity and appeal for young professionals.

And the top five are…

  1. San Francisco
  2. Boston
  3. Houston
  4. New York
  5. Minneapolis

Check out all 40 cities on the list. I was excited to see Detroit on there, ranked #33 for the low cost of living and top-quartile salaries for college and professional school graduates.

The ranking takes into account the locations of Forbes’ 400 best big companies and 200 best small companies, along with revenue, corporate practices, sales, earnings growth, and stock market performance. Median salaries are also compared with the cost of living for each city to see how much young professionals are able to take home each pay day.

This list is helpful for those who are job searching and would like a robust young professional community. Forbes also offers other resources for recent grads and young professionals, such as making the most of a career fair, dressing for success, and networking.

Must-read for web designers

If you’re a student who wants to do web design work after graduating, then Andy Rutledge’s “The Employable Web Designer” is a must-read.

Rutledge talks about how it is the student’s responsibility to make sure they have marketable skills upon graduation, and he lists what he considers to be the minimum requisite skills for a web designer. Skills like written communication, public speaking, and business etiquette made the list, along with typography, drawing, and branding.

So web design students and recent graduates, what do you think? Are there skills that surprised you or ones that weren’t on the list that should be?

I liked that the list included skills that professional writers and editors need for their day-to-day work as well. For example, “Idea Communication & Support” means being able to communicate your ideas and your reasoning for your decisions, which is a skill you must have as an editor. Does your client need to know the mechanics behind your edits? No, but you do need to be able to communicate your understanding of their work and how your changes make it better.

The bottom line is that no matter what program you attended, you are the one who has to make yourself marketable to the business world. What steps are you taking to make sure you are employable?

Social networking tools

In case you missed it, I kicked off the networking discussion with “old school” networking. Now let’s take a look at social networking tools, which allow you to still share inspiration and information with other professionals, but in the online space.

Location, interests, profession, education…you name it, you can be linked by it. The exciting (and somewhat addicting) aspect of using social networking tools is that you can actually see how you are connected to people and then use these connections to meet others. There are many tools available and since most young professionals have been using MySpace and/or Facebook since their college days, I’m going to focus instead on how you can use LinkedIn and Twitter for professional development.

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“Old school” networking

When it comes to finding a job, you’ve probably heard the phrase, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” There is some truth to that statement, in that often times you find out about job opportunities from people in your professional network. You could be referred to a job opening that wasn’t on your radar, or hear that a friend of a friend needs some freelance work done. So when building your network, you need to be smart about it and do it for both professional and personal development.

A great way to start is to find out what professional organizations are available for your field of interest. Continue reading →

The reward of volunteering

While volunteering means giving something of yourself without any monetary compensation, it is the personal reward of a volunteer experience that keeps people invested. But what about the professional reward?

Whether you’re a student, a recent graduate, or someone who has been in the workforce for a few years, volunteering is a great way to gain hands-on experience and build your resume. And, like an internship, a volunteer position may lead to a full-time career.

Volunteer Match is one of many online resources available to help people connect with volunteer opportunities. Below are some examples of the ways professional writers, editors, and designers can donate their time and talents while gaining more experience and professional contacts. These are all in Michigan, but you can define your search by state, city, or zip code.

Web Design: Update and maintain a nonprofit’s website.

Desktop Publishing: Promote educational opportunities through newsletters, flyers, brochures, etc.

Historical Research: Create a photo archive and collect oral histories.

Grant Writing: Write and research grants for a nonprofit.

If your volunteer experience has led to career benefits, such as a job offer, a stronger social network, or a better idea of what you like or don’t like to do, please share in the comments.

A Business Approach to Publishing

Recently I attended a two-day workshop called “A Systems Approach to Project Management” offered by the Human Resources Department at Michigan State University. I’m considering pursuing a Project Management certificate, and I figured that this workshop would be a good way to jump in feet first.

a handshake: good communication can ensure project success

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was impressed by the formalized approach to much of the work I already do on a day-to-day basis (communicating with team members, working under deadlines, organizing, and planning). More so, I was surprised at the depth of knowledge that makes up the study of project management. It may seem to be just common sense on the surface (something our instructor admitted), but I think many people under-estimate the amount of work that goes into planning, scheduling, budgeting, and managing a project.

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