The Journey to a Design Job: Qualifications
Getting your first design job is hard.
If you’re applying for the first time to a full-time design job, whether you’re coming out of school or transitioning careers, you have some hurdles to cross that many other applicants for the position will already have under their belt. In addition to that, you’ll be competing for a spot that plenty of others, like yourself, hope to snag as their first design job.
If that piece of information brings back that haunting feeling in the pit of your stomach you get when you feel like the odds are against you, that is OK. It’s only when you recognize that you’re up against a challenge that you can find the power necessary to overcome it.
At Designed Academy, we write to give you the tools you need to develop a proactive mindset toward your job application process. We’ll begin with defining what a proactive mindset is.
In short, being proactive in your job application process means that you will be the exact opposite of a victim throughout the entire journey. When circumstances are unfair, when you feel unqualified, or when an interview doesn’t go well, you must learn to recognize that you can make changes in your own life that will positively affect your endeavors in the future. This is not a self-help guide to wishfully thinking yourself into a job. This is the real-world guide to surviving the process known as job-hunting.
We’re going to focus on three critical components of your job application, then take a look at how to address them proactively. Today, we’ll discuss your qualifications.
Qualifications
Logically, the requested qualifications on a job listing are going to be a significant factor as you’re considering which jobs to apply to. There are so many things we could discuss about qualifications, but I don’t want to get into the nitty-grittyhere. Here’s what I want you to take away:
In everything, start with honesty. In my recent blog about developing your resume,I stressed the importance of being honest about your qualifications, experience, and capabilities. If the job description and requested requirements describe a role that you are clearly unqualified for, go ahead and respect that organization by withholding your application. A position as an art director, for example, is not likely to come your way as you head into your first design job. And that’s okbecause if you go through the process of applying proactively,you’re going to be amazingly positioned for promotion before you even go in for your first day.
That being said, however, don’t holdyourself back! If the job description and the company that you’ll work for sound like an AMAZING fit for you, put everything you’ve got into that application! If they’re looking for 2–3 years of full-time experience that you simply don’t have, make up for it in professionalism and results-oriented design skills. As a matter of fact, module 3 of our course, Design Your Career, addresses exactly that topic. So feel free to learn more here.
So here’s what it looks like to be proactive with your job qualifications:
You’ll need to express in your application that you recognize which qualifications you do not meet. Rather than playing the victim, you can change the narrative in your favor. In my own journey, I was short on the full experience qualification for the first design job I got at a marketing agency. Rather than asking that they ignore that, I communicated that I would fully understand if they must choose someone with more full-time experience, but that I’d love to be able to describe how my experience working as a part-time designer at my university where I reported directly to senior vice-president’s office taught me how to communicate efficiently. It was a fast-paced environment, and my work would literally get tossed in a trash bin by the Senior Vice President of the University when they weren’t on point. If they were looking for someone who could work quickly and handle criticism well, I was their guy.
At the end of the day, I was able to show the owner of the business that I had the technical chops necessary for his company and the professional skills required to make an impact with his employees and his clients. What you must understand, however, is that it is THE HIRING MANAGER’S DECISION whether or not you’re a fit for that position! Approach these discussions with humility, show them that you respect their opinions, and always be kind. Even if you feel over-qualified for a job, choose to smile and thank them for their time if they don’t see the potential in you that you know is there. It will never serve you to argue. And if you ever feel like your job interview is unfair, too bad. Fair is where you go to see the pigs.
So find your strengths and let them shine bright, don’t apologize for your weaknesses, but do respectfully understand if you are considered unqualified. Even just getting a reply from an application is an honor. You’re embarking on a challenging journey that will have tremendous reward if you are diligent. I cannot promise, however, that it will be without failures along the way. When you fall down, shake it off! Apply, fail, and apply again.
If you liked this, move on our post post about your cover letter.
Check out our unique online course. Design Your Career is the only online course created to help designers get the professional skills they need to land their dream job. Through 20 video modules, you’ll learn about design in corporate environments, market research, job application strategies and more.
