I was lectured a while back upon the goal of what it takes to get a job. The advice was blatantly obvious, but it has really taken the background in my mentality when looking to be hired. I share it without a direct quote, because I don’t remember who said it, but the aha moment made me remember their genius wisdom offering. The mindset they shared was the idea of presenting to the employer what you can do to make their team better. That’s it. I feel ridiculous with making this sound like the secret to life, but I feel like it’s a beneficial mindset.Now for designers today one way we present ourselves to employers is through our portfolio websites. Typically you’ll see endless amounts of portfolio sites sharing images of projects paired with rationales, which is fine. I just believe we need to think critically of how we do so. There are many creative opportunities a website can show an employer your skills that can help them.
This mentality will especially be a factor when posting your work to a portfolio site like Behance. There are so many people demand attention on a site of its stature that it’s hard to get joe shmo to click on your work.
I’m also a bit of a stickler for Stefan Sagmeister’s work, which I guess means Jessica Walsh too. I know their site isn’t a personal portfolio site to promote one’s self, rather they are promoting their studio. However, in their case, they are looking to be hired by companies. The opening page of Sagmeister & Walsh’s site doesn’t feature portfolio images and rationales. But, instead what they do show you is a live video of their studio. Some people might be saying, this video is just a site slower downer. I beg to differ, even though I agree it will technically slow the site down. I believe it communicates many things to the employer, one is that they are transparent in their workspace. Most important I think is that it communicates that they think differently and produce different solutions for their employers.
My main point is that there are creative solutions for telling employers, what abilities you have to offer them. Do your research for the job you want and the places you want to work and ask yourself, how can I make them better. Get out there, share your work, and question the typical ways of portraying your skill-set to possible employers.
Doubting Design 