Thursday, May 1

Are you qualified? Discussion #10

So I will end this semester by sharing with you my biggest pet peeve from the year.

I experience deep pangs of angst every time I teach portfolio class when seniors submit the first draft of their resume. I cringe when I read the first item listed under Skills and Qualifications, “Proficient in Adobe InDesign, Illustrator and Photoshop.” My first beef is that I hate the word proficient used in a resume. Yack! Connotatively the word proficient has come to mean: just OK or passable. Using a term like “confident,” or even better “excellent” are much more accurate and resonating words to consider. You don’t need to come off as obnoxious but you do need to sell yourself.

What breaks my heart even more is that after four years of —often grueling—design training the first, most important and sometimes the only thing many CD seniors think to tell a potential employer is that they know how to use computer programs. YOU ARE DESIGNERS! You design, you think, you create, you problem solve! Wouldn’t you expect that any student graduating from any design program anywhere should be
able to use the Adobe Creative Suite?

If I were an art director I would expect you to talk to me more about your design skills and professional qualifications in a very succinct manner and using vernacular of the industry. Write like a designer that knows the field! Yes you do need to mention your computer skills but they shouldn’t necessarily be the first and the only skills you list.

So what are the more important skills that you have acquired? How and why are you qualified to work for a design firm? A potential employer scans a resume and looks at your sample sheet looking for information
applicable to the position they are attempting to fill. If that employer likes what they see and read, you may be called in for an interview with your portfolio. What are they looking for in your
portfolio? Projects that back up the claims in your resume and further illustrate the work on your sample sheet. So you may get a callback by listing some really impressive qualifications but if your work doesn’t back up you claims it could be a really short interview.

I little aside here and then we will get back to writing your resume. A designer’s resume must be designed with an attuned sense of typography. It is the first place a potential employer “sees” your sensitivity and attention to detail. A resume doesn’t need to be overly designed using your entire closet of bells and whistles but if it doesn’t look professionally polished, tweaked and fine-tuned it won’t be read. This very fact makes our resumes different than most other professions. You would be amazed at how fast an art director can edit a pile of 50 resumes down to ten by just “looking” through the pile.

So after overhearing me obsessively nag about this for about the millionith time in portfolio class, I got an email from a senior basically saying that identifying these skills and qualifications was really hard. “How do you do this?” the person asked.

Here is the advice I gave that person and I am sharing with you as well. Step out of your student shoes and look at yourself and your projects as a seasoned art director. What do you see? As an art director — unless you really only want your own virtual design puppet that is just proficient in all the Adobe programs—what information would you want to read in a resume? List everything you can think of and you will start to identify your strengths as well your unique qualities.

Skills are things you can do. Besides computer skills you have developed hand-skills, craftsmanship skills, organizational skills, time-management skills, communication skills, and writing skills. I am sure you can think of some more. Depending on your concentrations, experiences and possibly a minor you probably have specialized skills unique to your experience.

Break your projects down and analyze these experiences. Write them down. Don’t worry too much about the verbiage yet after about fifteen rewrites that will come. To get started, think about your magazine and newsletter projects. What skills did you develop over the course of the semester? Are you now able to generate unique editorial concepts targeted to specific audiences? Have you become adept at creating integrated visual/verbal messages with impact? Are you now confident designing with an extensive amount of text for editorial material? Keep going—what did you learn how to do besides setting up printer spreads in InDesign.

Qualifications are things you are. You can list wonderful qualifications until the cows come home but be sure your demeanor carries them out and also be sure your job references back you up. When you list yourself as an excellent time manager but have never been on time for work it will generally come back to haunt you. For qualifications, analyze your class/work experience and generate qualifications based on that experience. Have you developed a strong work ethic? Do you take and use direction well? Do you have a strong eye for detail? Are you a team player? Do you have good manners? Are you courteous? Are you a people person? Are you trustworthy and responsible? What kind of worker-bee are you?

This is one of the hardest things you will have to do as you prepare for your emersion into THE REAL WORLD not only will you need to write your resume but you will need to speak to these issues when
interviewed. So when Ms. She-May-Soon-Be-The-Person-That Pays-Me asks, “You say here in your resume that you take and use direction well, is that a good thing or a bad thing?” Will you be ready?

So this is my discussion topic to end the semester, what professional skills and qualifications are you taking away from Graphics II this semester that you could use to market yourself to a potential employer?

Cheers and have a great summer! Ms. Dash

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

I feel like the best skill I am taking away from this Graphics two class is time management. I would have died if I had not made myself lists of what to get finished in a day and even figured out time frames I had to complete the tasks in. I figured out the rate at which I am able to work and how to schedule other classes' projects accordingly. I also learned a good deal more about the value of learning from others and their design examples. By looking at, for examples, newsletters that are currently in print, it is easy to pick out the good designs from the bad and then understand what makes them good. So here's to learning more over the summer and maybe even exercising a bit to get muscles.

JanelD_EC_GD11

Anonymous said...

I learned how to tolerate text and ease it in to the page. I also vastly improved my work flow in dealing with InDesign, instead of taking a blind leap into a project I can get a foothold and slowly start to climb, step by step. I learned how to blend images and text better. I learned the whole duo-tone process and dealing with a limited color palette.
Of course all of the basics improved as well; time management, craftsmanship, eating regularly during breaks from projects.

AC
EC Graphics II

Anonymous said...

Marketing myself, well...Id say thats I adapt well to any project. I am alittle better at editorial work then logos and Im fast at comprehending a problem and finding a quick way to project and answer to a targeted group. Im a bit of a slower worker but my final projects are always well designed and thoughout. I also have a slight problem with showing progress , my progress never really shows how my final design will turn out. But thats pretty much what I would say about me.
TrishaB_EC_GD11

Anonymous said...

I have learned a lot from Graphics 2. Ive learned how much of a slacker I am and how much I need to work on my time management skills. I also learned how much I NEED to learn and force myself to learn the programs especially Indesign. I feel a bit more comfortable with the program now than I have before but this summer my face will be implanted inside the Indesign CS3 Book. Frankly this class was stressful but fun at the same time. I look back and then look at my magazine and I think to myself I did that??.. in some good ways but in some not so good ways. Good because I know that I am definetly capable of doing somthing like that and bad because I can see that my lack of time management effected my end results. I know I could have done better. I think Graphics 2 really showed me and helped me see what I need to improve on but also made me feel a little bit more confident because of all the stress we went through and doing everything.. I still have all of my hair. I am very thankful and glad I took this class.

KATIEZ_DB_GD2

Anonymous said...

Graphics 2...Could "Stress Management 404" be a better name for the class? If this class and its work load didn't teach/force you to manage your time wisely, I don't think there's a class that would. It was very fast paced and you really needed to continuously show major development for each class. Also, I felt it was very close to what the "real world" would be like in terms of editorial design.

I really learned alot in this class; I became even more proficient in the Adobe programs, I continued my progress in better time management skills, I learned and experienced editorial design, and I really learned alot about myself as a designer. I got a better understanding of how I work under pressure and how to work better under pressure and I also learned more of my design strengths.

Overall, I am extremely happy with the course and feel it was a great success for me. It was challenging but if there aren't challenges in life then what is the fun in it and how will you improve if you aren't constantly challenged? We also had fun in the class which helps make good designs. Graphics 2=a great course and just another rung in the ladder to success.

KyleS_EC_GDII

Anonymous said...

the skills I have improved in would be visual/verbal synergy. I have had a lot of trouble in the past with integrating text with imagery. I have lots of practice under my belt now. I do have to say though, along with the whole "what to say on your resume" List as much as you can.. you can always take away, but if you lack in info, it's weak. Also, don't be afraid to show your personality in your resume. I think it is a good idea to talk about your interests and hobbies. Give that piece of paper life! Get noticed!
LindsayK_EC_GDII

Anonymous said...

The best skills that I feel I am taking away from Graphics 2 this semester are definately time management and being able to think in different lights. I often times find myself narrowing down my thoughts too quickly on a design direction and getting stuck within that design direction. During the process of designing my magazine, I quickly learned that I have to place myself aside and look at different topics in different ways. I had to learn how to think out of the norm of my usual pattern of designing. The magazine helped me do that because with every piece of written material that went into that magazine, I had to constantly adapt to the content being said within the written material. In the end, my design sensitivities had strengthened a lot. As far as the time management, I have definately sharpened those skills as well. If I didn't plan almost every second of my day around Graphics 2 and my other classes, I really would have been screwed. I actually used a planner this semester and I NEVER use planners. Lets just put it that way.

Anonymous said...

The best skills that I feel I am taking away from Graphics 2 this semester are definately time management and being able to think in different lights. I often times find myself narrowing down my thoughts too quickly on a design direction and getting stuck within that design direction. During the process of designing my magazine, I quickly learned that I have to place myself aside and look at different topics in different ways. I had to learn how to think out of the norm of my usual pattern of designing. The magazine helped me do that because with every piece of written material that went into that magazine, I had to constantly adapt to the content being said within the written material. In the end, my design sensitivities had strengthened a lot. As far as the time management, I have definately sharpened those skills as well. If I didn't plan almost every second of my day around Graphics 2 and my other classes, I really would have been screwed. I actually used a planner this semester and I NEVER use planners. Lets just put it that way.

SarahG_EC_GDII

Anonymous said...

I feel like I've developed many skills in graphics. My time management has improved tremendously. This semester I've only had to pull one all nighter! I also feel that I have become a much harder worker. After seeing my first draft compared to what I've accomplished after being pushed to the limit, I have an urge to work as hard as possible. That being said, I can also say that I take constructive criticism well. Sure, sometimes after working so long on something and being told to do it over frustrates me, but I've learned that it's all for the better.
Graphics 2 was such a stressful class, but it's made me a much stronger person and designer.

Liz_W_EC_GDII

Anonymous said...

I knew there was going to be a huge work load for this class and managing my time was going to be an issue. Even though I wrote down everything I needed to do I still missed things here and there. Another thing I used to do before this class was put other classes on the back burner that weren't so important. Since the beginning of the semester I figured out how to manage all my time without forgetting about other classes (because they were all actually important this year) so I was forced into managing my time. Graphics was one of the hardest to manage but I'm glad I was pushed so much to be better because it's going to help me out in the “real world”. I also learned how important it is to spend time on fine tuning! Most frustrating thing ever but it does a lot for your work in the long run, feel more accomplished. Glad this class helped me out to get through the rest of the time I'm here and outside of here.

KaitlinC_EC_GDII

Anonymous said...

It is funny to look back on some of my first design work (shudder) from visual translation and realize how far we all have come. It is hard to pinpont precisely all I have learned, but using my early work as a reference it is easy to see how much I have improved, developed a sensitivty to desgn, and learned and implemented a broad desgn vocabulary. I can work a lot faster now; getting the concept and basic design of a project is relatively easier than when I fist started designing. And, of course, working with the programs extensively has led to greater proficency and faster work. Which leaves time for details. This class was the monster course for the semester, and really was an invaluable part of our design education.

KelseyS_EC_GDII

Anonymous said...

I feel as a designer I made a lot of progress coming out of Graphics II because of the schedule we were put on for the magazine and kinda being thrown into the newsletter at the end.

The magazine allowed me to really find a style I feel comfortable with. I feel it is easier to work on something you really enjoy, instead of just doing it to please a teacher. I found that I enjoy editorial work. I actually have always liked it before.. but never had the chance to do anything much more than a brochure.

And honestly I want to say what helped me this year most is.. I learned how to sleep. It may sound silly... but it REALLY helped. I am such a happier person and a better designer when I am not stressing and tired. This plays into time management. I still have some work to do with that... I don't have the BEST time management skills yet,... but this year I definitely made progress. Handing in that magazine on time, and being ready early was the BEST feeling in the world. It gave me confidence in myself because I have in the past given myself to the last minute to finish things. (Not such a good idea) So just knowing I can handle that now helps a lot.
I am very picky and get very detail oriented... (especially at the end of a project) this I know will always be so I now I can estimate a good time to give myself to finish. When I allow myself to do this, I don't get flustered. I take my time to do things right and it makes me feel a lot better about it in the end.

There are many other things I feel I have improved on this year...
(the quickness of putting together the newsletter)
but this is getting long :)
Thanks GDII. :) It was fun.

Brittany_CG_EC_GDII

Anonymous said...

This is something I never really thought about. I have my "resume" up on sites like Monster and CareerBuilder, but it's all in that generic language like "proficient." I guess I need to spice it up a bit.

Graphics II has been great for me. I feel like I could sit down and lay out anything anyone could throw at me, regardless of the amount of type, or lack thereof. I can come up with unique concepts and create a well-balanced layout. The single most important thing the class taught me, though, is the concept of consistency and how utterly important it is. Everything I do from here on out that involves multiple pages or pieces will have that foundation. Oh, and grid systems, of course. :) As far as computer skills though, my workflow is much improved, and I know I can do things with much more efficiency now than before. It's really been an awesome learning experience.

DarbieB_DB_GDII