Graphic Designer Needs to Redraw Goals

When graphic designer Kevin Young recently sought a new job, he launched a mail campaign that might have impressed the folks at Publishers Clearing House.

He sent out hundreds of resumes, faxed three different responses for each want ad that caught his eye and sent out “follow-up packages” showcasing his work, he says. Those efforts landed the 33-year-old Los Angeles resident more than 40 interviews.

But what they didn’t generate were employment offers.

Young discovered that he was repeatedly losing out to three categories of job applicants: graphic designers with significantly more experience than he had, design “geniuses” with dazzling visions and talents and recent art school graduates who had cutting-edge computer software skills.

When Young decided to apply for art director jobs, he received further bad news: People with far more art direction training than he had were nabbing the positions he coveted.

So Young took to the mails again, this time to ask the Los Angeles Times for a Career Make-Over.

Two experienced art advisors offered their help: Sarah Russin, director of recruitment and outreach at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, and Steve Witten, director of alumni and career services at Rhode Island School of Design in Providence.

* Set a career path. Both counselors first queried Young about his long-term career goals. Young admitted his future plans are still vague. Until now, he’s enjoyed virtually every creative endeavor he’s undertaken. Since majoring in commercial art 10 years ago, he has worked as a senior staff artist at an ad agency, a freelance interior designer, a merchandising director and a marketing design consultant. But after speaking with Russin and Witten, Young acknowledged that he needs to channel his energies into one specific calling.

“I guess art direction at an ad agency is what I’m most interested in,” said Young, adding that he believes he’d enjoy developing advertising campaigns for clients in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment. Unfortunately, though, he has little experience in the field, and, as yet, hasn’t found a mentor who could cultivate his art directing abilities.

Witten suggested that Young consider an assistant art director spot, which would give him directorial responsibilities. These might include working with design teams, handling freelancer contributions and helping manage client campaigns.

Young’s other alternative would be to continue as a graphic designer, creating brochures, mailers, catalogs and other promotional materials for corporate employers. To gain more of a competitive edge, he should take refresher classes in typography, color theory, design composition and drawing, Russin said. And though he’s comfortable with Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, he’d be wise to familiarize himself with other design software programs widely used in his field.

Russin suggested that Young subscribe to several communications arts publications, including Print, Graphis and Communication Arts. “This will let you see what’s going on in graphic design at a high level,” Russin said.

The two counselors also offered Young these tips:

* Overhaul the resume. Hoping to make his resume stand out from stacks of competing documents, Young had typed up his employment history within a famous vodka ad’s silhouette.

Though Russin and Witten deemed Young’s approach witty, they concurred that the strategy failed in several important ways.

First, Young had used someone else’s successful design, instead of creating an exciting image of his own. Second, the resume’s text had several glitches: Its tiny print was hard to read and could prove undecipherable when faxed, Witten said. Young’s contact information was difficult to find. And his objectives focused on what employers could do for him, rather than vice versa, Witten said.

Also, the resume contained several misspellings, Russin noted.

“Art directors are very picky, very particular,” she said. “For them, typos just leap off the page.”

Witten explained to Young that art directors often take as little as 15 to 20 seconds to eyeball a resume. “And that’s looking at it, not reading it,” he said. “For them, resumes are immediate visual tools--eye candy. Some of what I’m saying may sound fussy, but it reflects how art directors think and respond to visual images.”

Witten suggested that Young compose a statement about his skills that are most applicable to his future career. Young also should emphasize his ability to be a productive team player.

“Give the employers reasons to hire you,” Witten said. “Tell them what you can do to help them make money and how you can meet their needs.”

Both Russin and Witten suggested that Young abandon his scattershot approach to job hunting. Rather than respond to legions of want ads, Young should research companies he’s interested in, then send them personalized correspondence, a creative resume and some carefully chosen design samples.

* Rebuild the portfolio. Young had prided himself on his extensive portfolio, which contained about 60 samples of his work, including logos, mailers and photos of a church he helped restore as a child, as well as a wet bar and a spice rack he created.

Again, Russin and Witten were in agreement: Young’s portfolio needed to be thinned down to about 25 samples and sharply focused on a single design specialty. Young’s best sample should be presented first in his portfolio; his second-best should be positioned on the last page of his book, Witten said. Young can tailor his portfolio’s contents to each company he visits, the counselors said.

Once Young has put together a knockout portfolio, he can digitally photograph its contents and post them at https://www.portfolios.com, Witten said.

“I think I’m going to take some classes for now,” said Young. “I’ve been away from computer design for four years, and after seeing what’s out there, I think the brush-up will help.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Time for a Change

Name: Kevin Young

Occupation: Graphic artist

Desired occupation: Art director

Quote: “I am at wit’s end and seriously would like some help and direction on where to go next.”

*

Counselors’ Recommendations:

Update computer skills.

Take refresher courses in art and design.

Overhaul resume.

Redo portfolio.

*

Meet the Coaches

Sarah Russin is director of recruitment and outreach at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. Steve Witten is director of alumni and career services at Rhode Island School of Design in Providence.