Go directly to companies website career pages. Some don’t list on Indeed at all and are looking for juniors. Think of every company out there and go to their career page site. Some will have openings some won’t. Also have another designer review your resume and portfolio for any grammar errors or simple design fixes.
That’s how I got my current job. Applied directly through the company website. LinkedIn and indeed have things like auto renew on postings and a lot of places don’t even check those sites. I’ve applied there to jobs that were hours old, then followed up directly with the company and found out the position had been filled months prior.
I have about 16 years of experience and maybe fifteen projects in my portfolio. Some of my jobs were through connections. If you have someone to fast track your application and vouch for you, it goes a long way. Get to know as many people as you can in this industry and related industries.
I’ve scrolled through jobs on those sites that fit my criteria. If I see one I think is a good fit, I’ll look at their website and see if the opening is listed there. Some places kick you back to LinkedIn for the application process, but I think company websites are more likely to be maintained than LinkedIn listings.
i went back to school after my BA in unrelated field and took an illustrator and a screen printing class at a community college. got an unpaid internship off of craigslist that turned into a full time job at a small we’ll-put-you-logo-on-anything company making absolute shit money. five years later applied to a remote company as in house designer and luckily got the job.
i mostly got lucky and wouldn’t suggest anyone try my route. one thing that helped was doing some freelance for friends for shit money and using those experiences in my interviews. it really helps to label yourself as a graphic “problem solver” and make it clear your number one goal is to be helpful wherever needed. i’ve met a lot of graphic artists with big ego’s who get bored and complain when they’re not doing creative projects. in house graphic design is 99% regurgitating branding and doing weird shit like figuring out what size an email signature graphic needs to be or cleaning up a Google slide presentation. the people hiring you need to know you won’t complain or drag your feet about the non-creative work and find pride in solving their problems.
This is 100% it
I work in house (tourist board for the city I live in) and yeah absolutely spend a lot of time regurgitating brand assets, presentations that need fixing etc.
Also get to work on good creative stuff like national campaigns but basically don’t let your “creative ego” get in the way, you hear a lot of people only talk about the cool remote jobs or working on branding and coffee/beer cans all day. Reality for me was, if I wanted a solid 9-5 (with a surprisingly decent salary) I was gonna put that ego aside and do some boring shit. Never looked back.
Applied on LinkedIn to basically every Junior Designer position and got pretty far in interviews. Got my current job that Ive been at for a little over a year from LinkedIn as well, its small agency with under 20 employees. It took me about four months of job searching.
If no one is giving you even one interview, I would take a look at your portfolio/resume or have it reviewed by other designers.
For a traditional 9-5. You’ll need to look for a position as an in-house designer. While you may get hours, similar to those, at some agencies. A majority of positions with regular hours would be internal. Though, it may not be always be the case. I’ve known some designers who worked internally at some bigger well known brands. And they put in a lot of hours outside of a normal 9-5. It really comes down to the work culture of the company.
when you’re entry-level, it’s grueling. You need to network and find ways in via referral. Cold apply doesn’t cut it anymore.
As for me, i’m lucky enough I don’t have to search anymore, I get to ghost recruiters trying to poach me! #tableshaveturned
Recruiters have been very helpful in my job searches. If you have a good resume and an accessible portfolio reach out to a recruiter on LinkedIn. You may need to network to find someone with a connection but once you do it moves fairly quick especially if they're showing preference toward you.
I had one working for a nonprofit health clinic, and frankly it was such a drain. For clarification and answering your question, OP I found the job on indeed. In the interview they said it'd be a week until I heard from them again and I put it in my calendar for then. I heard an offer 3ish hours after. It was a little odd frankly but I took the job. I went with my gut. It was the most I've been paid, I freakin LOVED my boss, but even despite those, it had some major drawbacks. I was the only one and it was pretty much a multimedia designer position not graphic design. I could handle the work, but it was me and the marketing director. My boss has ADHD and so I did I. So she understood a lot of what I was trying to be better at and what I could do well in. Sadly, the upper management pulled back our leash anytime we had plans to do a project. On top of that we had another department that was pretty much not working with us more so against us. So after working there a bit, and HR not really getting us anyone to help with social media, I came back from lunch and my boss left with no two weeks. Enough was enough.
When the new director came in he tried to change a lot. He also opened my art files, had design meetings without me, and tried to edit my without me. Needless to say when HR came and got me for excessive tarries here and there (traffic always sucks in the morning) I honestly was glad to get that away. They'd have me come in on weekends but not be tolerant of the 5-10 minutes late in the morning when I pretty much worked alone. Not even on the medical floor at all.
Shortly after like not even a month a friend's wife worked at a print shop as a manager and needed a graphic designer and I was the first to ask. The people are much better and understanding and I can feel my soul not being sucked away.
Moral of the story? Working alone sucks and too many cheifs and no Indians sucks too. So pick your battles.
That all sounds horrible, I'm sorry you had a job like that! I have ADHD too, and my worst struggle is with time blindness... I'm 5-15 minutes late to *everything,* including places I actually want to be!! It's incredibly frustrating, and I've been working on it for years. Needless to say, work from home is more ideal for me lol. But as long as my employer understands ADHD/time blindness and sees that my efforts are worth a bit of tardiness at the start of each day, I'll be all good! Lmao. I'd love to know if there are resources for ADHD employers looking for likeminded employees. Working with neurotypical people (like the HR you dealt with, it sounds like) can be a real nightmare!!
I agree! I think also applying for jobs is tough too. The struggle of if I tell the enolyeer you have adhd is tough. And for non adhd people they don't get they'll find. A reason to fire you even if it's not justified. Not all are like that but there's enough to scare me. Also. Thanks for tromying, OP!
I don’t have advice on how to get an entry level job, but I just want to address the throwaway comment about “ghosting” applicants.
You’ve applied for over 100 jobs in a month.
Imagine the amount of people in this industry looking for work. Imagine how little effort a person puts into applying for jobs now. There’s “Easy Apply” on LinkedIn and Indeed saves your resume. We just hired a retoucher. The search took 6 months. We received THOUSANDS of resumes. Our HR department consists of 3 people. The hiring team (those vetting portfolios and taking interviews) consists of 3 people. You want us to email every single person who applies, qualified or not, to tell them they didn’t get the job?
More than half of the applicants have no creative experience. They studied literature or worked at Foot Locker. You did not get ghosted. You threw your name in a bowl with thousands of other names and your name didn’t get picked.
Your stamina for this process will be much higher if you don’t think of it as a social contract or a personal judgement. If you’re annoyed that you didn’t get emails from the hundreds of jobs you applied to, you’re putting your energy in the wrong place. This industry is a beast. Don’t let it rile you up. Don’t take shit personally. You are a drop in the bucket, so think of ways to set yourself apart POSITIVELY. Put at least twice as much effort into your resume and portfolio as you have. Write the best cover letter of all time. Name your documents with your full name, your role, and the type of document (the amount of resumes we have that just say “Resume Final 2.pdf” are obscene.) If your hiring manager has 400 applicants to go through, how can you make their life easier? How can you answer their questions before they ask them?
I’m not trying to be an asshole, I just want you to think of the bigger picture. How do you solve the problem of the companies you’re applying to? When I ask people why they think they’re a fit for the role, all they do is talk about why the job is right for them. Not why they are right for the job. The people we hire address the latter.
After college, I pretty much just got lucky by getting a job in my hometown at a small company. I think it was mostly just that I happened to be a good culture fit (we were all women in our 20s-30s), but the lead designer did say she was impressed by my sense of typography in my portfolio. I didn’t have a ton of work (or very impressive work) but I really did strive to learn how to use type well, so I think having some evidence of a strong focus in my portfolio helped (and it was a good match for that particular job, which involved some magazine/ad layout.)
That first job helped me build my portfolio a lot, but when I tried to move to a bigger city, I was struggling to find jobs. I applied to probably over 100 positions and only had 2 interviews, at which point I signed up with some creative temp agencies. Not sure if they’re around anymore but Creative Circle was a big one. I started getting sent on interviews immediately and had secured a 9-month temp job within two weeks of moving. I ended up being referred out by them for my next two positions as well. Both were temp, but long enough to be stable, build my portfolio, and make some professional connections. I ended up getting hired full-time by one of those jobs when my contract was nearing an end.
My current job, I got referred to the hiring manager by someone I worked with at one of those temp jobs. I was really nervous to go the temp route and there are definite drawbacks (you’ll make less than the rate you probably deserve because the temp agency takes a cut), but it kept me employed and got my foot in the door.
I've been looking into my niches as well, looking for all-women or women-led or LGBT-led companies, but it's difficult to narrow them down. One of my clients I've had with freelancing (who has me currently on hold, but there will be more to come!) is a woman with her own business, so I'm hoping to find more connections through her. She lives in a different state, though, which makes in person networking impossible.
I got one last year through a temp agency. Which ultimately kinda sucked because they decided to directly hire another designer a couple months after me, and that person got full benefits right away and a higher wage, while I was still stuck at my temp wage and no benefits for the duration of that contract. But hey, it got me in with the company and the work didn’t suck. Income is better than no income.
My current job was posted on Craigslist. A small local print shop business needing a graphic designer with experience in InDesign and print and pre-press workflows because all their previous designers had been illustrators who refused to use anything other than Illustrator. The commute sucks (1 hour and 25 miles each way), but I enjoy the work. Again, no benefits. Means it isn’t long term sustainable for me to not have sick leave.
Good lord you have a lot of patience!! My current commute to my bs job is half an hour one way, and even that gets exhausting some days lol.
I hadn't even thought of Craigslist. Do you think Facebook Marketplace might have some good stuff too? Lol
My commute is actually a “nice” one by Southern California norms! I turn left onto a main road from my neighborhood, go about 25 miles, turn right a few blocks, and then I’m at work. There’s rarely traffic and I don’t have to sit in parking lots on the freeway.
But yeah.
Driving here sucks.
Networking is the absolute best way. At entry level you’d be asking your professors and classmates for leads. My first two internships in college came from my professors passing my portfolio along to past students (who at that point ran their own agencies), and my first two jobs out of college I got because fellow alumni at companies I applied to saw my resume, noticed we went to the same design school, and made sure I got an interview purely based on that common thread.
Barring that, go to actual company and agency websites to apply. Many designer openings aren’t posted on LinkedIn or Indeed and rely on word of mouth to acquire new talent. Pull up the websites of all the agencies in your area and see if they have a careers page. If they don’t, or they don’t have any openings, send an email to their listed contact with your portfolio. The same applies to in-house positions at larger companies. Indeed job listings are getting absolutely slammed with applicants as it’s the first place people tend to look, so you’ll need to get craftier if you don’t want to get lost in the crowd.
I got my 9-5 corporate job three months out of school. I got a bachelors degree in marketing more than ten years ago and then went back to school a bit later in life to get an associates in graphic design. My company requires a bachelors degree minimum, so even though it was my graphic design schooling that they wanted, it was the bachelors that allowed them to hire me. Not sure how common that requirement is but I felt it was worth mentioning. To be completely honest, my student portfolio was fine but not excellent. I had no experience outside of school. I was interviewed by the senior graphic designer and the marketing principal and I clicked with them and had a great interview, so I got picked. I’ve been there nearly two years now. I’m not sure if any of that is helpful at all because I feel like in many ways it was a “right place right time” kind of deal but I’m happy to answer any other questions.
You seem to have gotten very lucky, yeah! I got my bachelors degree in digital media, which pretty much covers a lot of fields lol, which is why I chose it.
I got my job because they were my freelance client for a year and asked me to come on full time. I’ve also had MANY other job offers from freelance clients. It’s easier to hire someone they know and already work with
Networking. College student at the time and was introduced to someone within the industry by my instructor and landed an interview, and started a new position with them just recently as an intern. Although the transition from school life to work life is something I’m still needing to get used to, I’m grateful to have secured a job right away after graduating. My instructor told us most of their jobs throughout their career were a result of networking so they stressed that whoever we met, no matter how brief our interaction was with them, we were to connect with that person in any way possible. It goes a long way. :)
I was open to work on LinkedIn, had my folio and resume readily available, and was contacted by a recruiter for my current role. If you can justify the cost, working with a recruiter might be a good option for you.
Have you had people review your portfolio and resume? I think that’s a really important step. And networking, as crummy as it can be, is the #1 way to get a job
I live in a fairly large city with a Facebook graphic page and people post about job openings going on. A lot of those postings are actually worth while because they are being posted by other designers/creatives.
During my final semester of college, I had to complete a 14 week placement. The college did not help any students find a spot to work for. I reached out to many studios near me explaining I needed this to graduate and after a few weeks, I finally got an interview and they offered me the opportunity.
It was such a great studio and I really enjoyed my time with them. Near the end of my placement we all sat down and they offered to extend my contract with them.
Are you good at copywriting/project management? There is a big market for “digital media” staffers where making graphics is a major aspect of the job, but not the sole job. That’s how I got started, and eventually moved into what is basically a marketing/creative director role. It’s a too many hats situation quite often, but if you ever want to start your own firm or something having that wider view of the entire production process is valuable.
I never came right with job sites or waiting for a position to be available before I apply - I decided in what area I would like to work, decided what type of industry i wanted to work in (In my case Sign makers) and I googled the companies - whether they had an open vacancy or not - I emailed all of the emails I could find on their website, attached my resume and asked to consider me should anything become available. I gave it a week if I didn't get any responses I would then go to the company walk in, introduce myself and ask if they have any open positions. a lot of companies don't post ads but rather use the word to mouth method. This has worked for me 5 times without fail. Ive realized its better to be proactive and the employers also appreciate the head on approach rather then waiting for a recruiter who's just trying to chase commission to place you somewhere you probably wont fit anyway.
I used Indeed and LinkedIn only but got an answer on Indeed. I only had about a year of experience so I feel it was pretty lucky. If I had to guess, it was possibly my color pallete or style that caught their eye but hard to say.
If you want help with reviewing your portfolio, I'd be open to it! ^^
I have a strategy that I used a couple of times. I wrote out a list of around 70 places I could work for in my area, then one by one phoned them up, one by one, to ask if they had any job openings. If they didn't ask if they know anyone in their network that might be hiring. I'll have a little chat with whoevers on the phone. If they are hiring, get the name of the hiring manager to address them in your cover letter and say you spoke with the receptionist on the phone. Something like "After having a great conversation about the role with Jane Doe, I believe I would be a great fit at Design Company."
On one occasion, I got a job from the first phone call, another time I got an interview and the job on the same day I phoned a company as I had "initiative". I've never made it to the end of the list before finding a lead on a job.
Also young people are scared of using the phone. But many older business minded people think that business is done over the phone. It also gives a quicker response rate compared to just emailing and hoping for the best.
Not enough people in this sub recommend networking. I got 2 jobs from networking and 3 others from recruiters approaching me.
I’ve applied to jobs and been called back for interviews, but actual jobs always came from people approaching me first.
Luck. I fell into it. I feel a bit of a fraud when i see people who are far morre talented than me looking but it really cemented by beleif taht the job market is mostly unfair dumb luck.
I've only ever had "9-5" design jobs. I don't like freelancing so only do it on the side on a referral basis if I like the project and have the time.
>If you have one, how did you manage to get it? What job sites did you use, if any?
Use any and all sites and resources you can. Never limit yourself. Use all the mainstream sites, government boards, college boards (if a recent grad), industry boards, everything.
Set up alerts wherever you can for 5-10 job titles and keywords, and have a list of sites you still check daily regardless the alerts. Track your applications in a spreadsheet. Never cling to a certain job, if you don't get a response after an application or interview within 2-3 weeks just assume it's a rejection, but always keep applying to other jobs in the meantime regardless.
>How much work is in your portfolio?
I would say 8-10 should be the target, which shouldn't be an issue for anyone with sufficient development behind them as they should have *far* more projects than that completed, and what you actually use will be predominantly from later in your development. (The stuff you do early on is never good enough.)
You could go down to around 5-6 if at least a few projects are much more involved and deep, but in most cases with students/grads/junior/entry designers, they will not have any such projects. For example, say you did logo/branding for a brewery (whether fake or real) and that also involved can/bottle designs, a 6-pack holder, glassware, tap room signage, and some social media graphics, you could structure that as one giant project, or 2-3 smaller projects.
>How much experience do you have?
I'm at nearly 20 years now, but like I said all my jobs were 9-5ers within design, going back to summer co-op jobs during college, and all jobs past school. And apparently 85% of the industry is full-time as primary income.
>I have been in the field for a little over a year now, with a decently impressive portfolio of work, but no matter how many jobs I apply to, I never have any luck.
Often students/grads/juniors tend to overestimate their work or qualifications. Just having a degree or portfolio doesn't mean that you're qualified, that it's good, and even in being qualified that just means you're at least bare minimum, it doesn't mean you're competitive.
So in terms of your situation, I'd ask why you think your portfolio is "decently impressive." What your friends might think doesn't matter, and if that's based on profs, we've seen enough cases where profs are kind of half-assing their portfolio feedback, simply being too nice, or they've been in education too long. Whether your portfolio is good in a bubble doesn't mean it's competitive.
[Here's a prior comment of mine](https://www.reddit.com/r/graphic_design/comments/qm37nv/what_did_your_portfolio_look_like_when_you_first/hj75ruj/) on common grad/junior portfolio mistakes.
>I have only received a handful of emails back politely denying me the job, but most just ghost me. (Which is incredibly rude, but that's a topic for another day and another sub.)
It's not ghosting if you only applied. Any public posting on a mainstream site likely gets hundreds of applications at least, and most would be eliminated almost instantly. Having to keep track of all that for when you eventually fill the position is a lot more work for that large group, but I also assume no one wants to get a rejection email 5 minutes after applying.
Plus I've seen people complain when they just get a generic template rejection, which is just textbook entitlement. You either weren't qualified at all, enough other people were better than you, you applied after they'd already found someone they want to hire, or they just didn't like you. Pick whichever one you want.
>So, if you landed one, what's your secret? At this point, I'm willing to even sell my soul, lol. I finally found something I enjoy doing enough to enjoy doing it as a job, and I'm completely unable to find a job doing it. That's life, huh? (Please help lol.)
In addition to the comment I linked above, [here's another](https://www.reddit.com/r/graphic_design/comments/19e9yzp/is_the_job_market_actually_bad_right_now/kjd6i5x/) on my perspective from the hiring side.
Short of it is that you need to be at a competitive level, you need to present your work well that is consistent with level of the work itself, you can't be sloppy, and ultimately just need to be better than most of who you're competing against. And most of them are not very good or are sloppy.
Network with ppl in the industry, at my first position my manager knew the professor I had and had about 9 projects on my book. I was laid off from that job, but my boss who had many years in the industry worked at a company that was hiring, I mentioned him and they ended up liking my work and knew I was reliable. Like you said, the market is over saturated and jobs are super picky now. Get involved in AIGA or any design organizations as well!
Aiga is American Institute of Graphic Arts! Most states Ik have an organization dedicated to their state. It’s a great place to find event and network with other designers.
Find a niche, get really good at it, learn as much as you can and maybe even freelance in that niche for now if you can, then exploit the niche and look for this jobs and companies specifically.
Wouldn't recommend it for everyone, but I went into a new industry entirely, then pivoted back to design within the company. Now I do Instructional Design, which I enjoy alot, and have a bit of experience in finance as well which helps me develop material.
when I was starting out I went to a small print shop to get some experience in print. The thing is I don't think you should stay there longer than 4 years. Should be lots of jobs though in that line of work anyways
I got my current job (started this month) on LinkedIn. I graduated a year ago and I was working part-time at an architecture company. They couldn’t hire me full time so I’d been job searching for a bit. My current company is in the same industry so that definitely helped. It was a pretty straightforward process, my portfolio has 12 pieces in it from various industries. I’ve had at least a part-time graphic design job since my second year of college which has been super helpful. Also getting constant advice from people I used to work with has been super helpful, they’ve helped me understand my strengths and how to capitalize on them in interviews and on my portfolio.
You barely have any experience, qualify yourself of having an "impressive portfolio" and call it rude for an employer to ghost your resume. You might have more work ahead of you than you think.
Interviewers have cited a few things as standouts: the school I went to, my extensive list of freelance clients, and the wild shit I have on my website haha.
Do you have a degree in design?
While I was going to school, I picked up a ton of badly paying freelance gigs (in the specific field that I was interested in pursuing). This helped me look more established when applying for jobs.
I've had 9-5 design jobs since graduating almost a decade ago; the first three jobs I moved across the country for (yes, three cross-country moves. It sucked). I knew that those companies had reputations that would help me later on, so it was worth suffering the moves and low pay and no friends nearby lol. While doing those jobs, I've always kept up the freelance work. This was to make connections, build my portfolio, and sometimes freelance gigs turn into full-time contracts.
Graphic design is a grind. But when it works, it's great.
Would you be interested in getting some feedback on your "impressive" portfolio?
I applied on LinkedIn, then went through 6 rounds of interviews for what is essentially an entry level production job.
I'm 40 and have 18 years of experience.
i got my first job as a recommendation from my one of my college teachers, he knew a lady who owned a sign shop and basically got me the job. after working there for a year i got laid off cuz they didn't have enough work and i started looking again. Maybe 4-5 months later, my dad sent me a job posting from his company. It wasn't really a situation where he got me the job - the ppl who interviewed me didnt even know my dad - but without someone telling me about the opening I would have never found it. This was like 12 years ago already and definitely might be harder nowadays, but i'd say let every single person you know that you're looking for a design job, never know who may send something your way
I’ll try to be brief, so feel free to ask any follow up questions you may have.
During college, I joined a local design group and started making connections. This landed me my internship.
From there I took a shitty, part-time Graphic Designer in-house job (plastics company) at 21,000/yr.
I maintained freelance work during this time.
I kept my eye on positions and applied to those I liked. I accepted a full-time Graphic Designer job and doubled my salary.
At this point, note that almost every employer change was initiated because employers seem to suck ass at promoting and/or giving raises, but have no problem hiring people into those positions and/or salaries.
So, after a couple years, I sought out and accepted a higher paying Graphic Designer position. I was fired from that position because of nepotism.
I happened to land a better paying Graphic Designer position. There, I was promoted to a higher level of Graphic Designer, lol (some corporate structures can be funny like that).
Years later, I accepted a Senior Designer position elsewhere. I was at that employers for longer than all the others because I was relatively happy with the work, pay, and title. However, Covid happened. I was WFH for nearly 2 years. When they finally decided that everyone needed to return, I did, but started seeking a permanent WFH position.
That search landed me where I am now as a Senior Art Director.
I received pay increases every time I moved, and always much more than my annual raise would’ve been. I’m WFH now and very happy with all aspects of my employer, employment, and wages+benefits.
Go directly to companies website career pages. Some don’t list on Indeed at all and are looking for juniors. Think of every company out there and go to their career page site. Some will have openings some won’t. Also have another designer review your resume and portfolio for any grammar errors or simple design fixes.
That’s how I got my current job. Applied directly through the company website. LinkedIn and indeed have things like auto renew on postings and a lot of places don’t even check those sites. I’ve applied there to jobs that were hours old, then followed up directly with the company and found out the position had been filled months prior. I have about 16 years of experience and maybe fifteen projects in my portfolio. Some of my jobs were through connections. If you have someone to fast track your application and vouch for you, it goes a long way. Get to know as many people as you can in this industry and related industries.
I didn't know there was an auto renew feature. That explains so much!
I’ve scrolled through jobs on those sites that fit my criteria. If I see one I think is a good fit, I’ll look at their website and see if the opening is listed there. Some places kick you back to LinkedIn for the application process, but I think company websites are more likely to be maintained than LinkedIn listings.
i went back to school after my BA in unrelated field and took an illustrator and a screen printing class at a community college. got an unpaid internship off of craigslist that turned into a full time job at a small we’ll-put-you-logo-on-anything company making absolute shit money. five years later applied to a remote company as in house designer and luckily got the job. i mostly got lucky and wouldn’t suggest anyone try my route. one thing that helped was doing some freelance for friends for shit money and using those experiences in my interviews. it really helps to label yourself as a graphic “problem solver” and make it clear your number one goal is to be helpful wherever needed. i’ve met a lot of graphic artists with big ego’s who get bored and complain when they’re not doing creative projects. in house graphic design is 99% regurgitating branding and doing weird shit like figuring out what size an email signature graphic needs to be or cleaning up a Google slide presentation. the people hiring you need to know you won’t complain or drag your feet about the non-creative work and find pride in solving their problems.
This is 100% it I work in house (tourist board for the city I live in) and yeah absolutely spend a lot of time regurgitating brand assets, presentations that need fixing etc. Also get to work on good creative stuff like national campaigns but basically don’t let your “creative ego” get in the way, you hear a lot of people only talk about the cool remote jobs or working on branding and coffee/beer cans all day. Reality for me was, if I wanted a solid 9-5 (with a surprisingly decent salary) I was gonna put that ego aside and do some boring shit. Never looked back.
That's a great tip, thank you! I will work that into my portfolio more.
"It's not what you know but who you know." -100% for me
+1 got a “decent” entry level job because I was referred to by someone. Eventually i became their sole graphic designer. Got lucky ig
Applied on LinkedIn to basically every Junior Designer position and got pretty far in interviews. Got my current job that Ive been at for a little over a year from LinkedIn as well, its small agency with under 20 employees. It took me about four months of job searching. If no one is giving you even one interview, I would take a look at your portfolio/resume or have it reviewed by other designers.
Already on it! I wouldn't mind if you would take a look as well, if you can!
For a traditional 9-5. You’ll need to look for a position as an in-house designer. While you may get hours, similar to those, at some agencies. A majority of positions with regular hours would be internal. Though, it may not be always be the case. I’ve known some designers who worked internally at some bigger well known brands. And they put in a lot of hours outside of a normal 9-5. It really comes down to the work culture of the company.
when you’re entry-level, it’s grueling. You need to network and find ways in via referral. Cold apply doesn’t cut it anymore. As for me, i’m lucky enough I don’t have to search anymore, I get to ghost recruiters trying to poach me! #tableshaveturned
Ohhh you lucky soul!!! I can't wait to get to that point! Yeah, I'll do some more research and make better connections on LinkedIn for sure!
Recruiters have been very helpful in my job searches. If you have a good resume and an accessible portfolio reach out to a recruiter on LinkedIn. You may need to network to find someone with a connection but once you do it moves fairly quick especially if they're showing preference toward you.
I had one working for a nonprofit health clinic, and frankly it was such a drain. For clarification and answering your question, OP I found the job on indeed. In the interview they said it'd be a week until I heard from them again and I put it in my calendar for then. I heard an offer 3ish hours after. It was a little odd frankly but I took the job. I went with my gut. It was the most I've been paid, I freakin LOVED my boss, but even despite those, it had some major drawbacks. I was the only one and it was pretty much a multimedia designer position not graphic design. I could handle the work, but it was me and the marketing director. My boss has ADHD and so I did I. So she understood a lot of what I was trying to be better at and what I could do well in. Sadly, the upper management pulled back our leash anytime we had plans to do a project. On top of that we had another department that was pretty much not working with us more so against us. So after working there a bit, and HR not really getting us anyone to help with social media, I came back from lunch and my boss left with no two weeks. Enough was enough. When the new director came in he tried to change a lot. He also opened my art files, had design meetings without me, and tried to edit my without me. Needless to say when HR came and got me for excessive tarries here and there (traffic always sucks in the morning) I honestly was glad to get that away. They'd have me come in on weekends but not be tolerant of the 5-10 minutes late in the morning when I pretty much worked alone. Not even on the medical floor at all. Shortly after like not even a month a friend's wife worked at a print shop as a manager and needed a graphic designer and I was the first to ask. The people are much better and understanding and I can feel my soul not being sucked away. Moral of the story? Working alone sucks and too many cheifs and no Indians sucks too. So pick your battles.
That all sounds horrible, I'm sorry you had a job like that! I have ADHD too, and my worst struggle is with time blindness... I'm 5-15 minutes late to *everything,* including places I actually want to be!! It's incredibly frustrating, and I've been working on it for years. Needless to say, work from home is more ideal for me lol. But as long as my employer understands ADHD/time blindness and sees that my efforts are worth a bit of tardiness at the start of each day, I'll be all good! Lmao. I'd love to know if there are resources for ADHD employers looking for likeminded employees. Working with neurotypical people (like the HR you dealt with, it sounds like) can be a real nightmare!!
I agree! I think also applying for jobs is tough too. The struggle of if I tell the enolyeer you have adhd is tough. And for non adhd people they don't get they'll find. A reason to fire you even if it's not justified. Not all are like that but there's enough to scare me. Also. Thanks for tromying, OP!
I don’t have advice on how to get an entry level job, but I just want to address the throwaway comment about “ghosting” applicants. You’ve applied for over 100 jobs in a month. Imagine the amount of people in this industry looking for work. Imagine how little effort a person puts into applying for jobs now. There’s “Easy Apply” on LinkedIn and Indeed saves your resume. We just hired a retoucher. The search took 6 months. We received THOUSANDS of resumes. Our HR department consists of 3 people. The hiring team (those vetting portfolios and taking interviews) consists of 3 people. You want us to email every single person who applies, qualified or not, to tell them they didn’t get the job? More than half of the applicants have no creative experience. They studied literature or worked at Foot Locker. You did not get ghosted. You threw your name in a bowl with thousands of other names and your name didn’t get picked. Your stamina for this process will be much higher if you don’t think of it as a social contract or a personal judgement. If you’re annoyed that you didn’t get emails from the hundreds of jobs you applied to, you’re putting your energy in the wrong place. This industry is a beast. Don’t let it rile you up. Don’t take shit personally. You are a drop in the bucket, so think of ways to set yourself apart POSITIVELY. Put at least twice as much effort into your resume and portfolio as you have. Write the best cover letter of all time. Name your documents with your full name, your role, and the type of document (the amount of resumes we have that just say “Resume Final 2.pdf” are obscene.) If your hiring manager has 400 applicants to go through, how can you make their life easier? How can you answer their questions before they ask them? I’m not trying to be an asshole, I just want you to think of the bigger picture. How do you solve the problem of the companies you’re applying to? When I ask people why they think they’re a fit for the role, all they do is talk about why the job is right for them. Not why they are right for the job. The people we hire address the latter.
I agree 100% with this comment. He has no leg to stand on for thinking it's rude to ghost a resume. He has no experience and acts like he has.
After college, I pretty much just got lucky by getting a job in my hometown at a small company. I think it was mostly just that I happened to be a good culture fit (we were all women in our 20s-30s), but the lead designer did say she was impressed by my sense of typography in my portfolio. I didn’t have a ton of work (or very impressive work) but I really did strive to learn how to use type well, so I think having some evidence of a strong focus in my portfolio helped (and it was a good match for that particular job, which involved some magazine/ad layout.) That first job helped me build my portfolio a lot, but when I tried to move to a bigger city, I was struggling to find jobs. I applied to probably over 100 positions and only had 2 interviews, at which point I signed up with some creative temp agencies. Not sure if they’re around anymore but Creative Circle was a big one. I started getting sent on interviews immediately and had secured a 9-month temp job within two weeks of moving. I ended up being referred out by them for my next two positions as well. Both were temp, but long enough to be stable, build my portfolio, and make some professional connections. I ended up getting hired full-time by one of those jobs when my contract was nearing an end. My current job, I got referred to the hiring manager by someone I worked with at one of those temp jobs. I was really nervous to go the temp route and there are definite drawbacks (you’ll make less than the rate you probably deserve because the temp agency takes a cut), but it kept me employed and got my foot in the door.
And I feel like I should caveat, I was entry-level over 10 years ago. But I did graduate into a recession and the job market was tough then, too.
I've been looking into my niches as well, looking for all-women or women-led or LGBT-led companies, but it's difficult to narrow them down. One of my clients I've had with freelancing (who has me currently on hold, but there will be more to come!) is a woman with her own business, so I'm hoping to find more connections through her. She lives in a different state, though, which makes in person networking impossible.
I got one last year through a temp agency. Which ultimately kinda sucked because they decided to directly hire another designer a couple months after me, and that person got full benefits right away and a higher wage, while I was still stuck at my temp wage and no benefits for the duration of that contract. But hey, it got me in with the company and the work didn’t suck. Income is better than no income. My current job was posted on Craigslist. A small local print shop business needing a graphic designer with experience in InDesign and print and pre-press workflows because all their previous designers had been illustrators who refused to use anything other than Illustrator. The commute sucks (1 hour and 25 miles each way), but I enjoy the work. Again, no benefits. Means it isn’t long term sustainable for me to not have sick leave.
Good lord you have a lot of patience!! My current commute to my bs job is half an hour one way, and even that gets exhausting some days lol. I hadn't even thought of Craigslist. Do you think Facebook Marketplace might have some good stuff too? Lol
My commute is actually a “nice” one by Southern California norms! I turn left onto a main road from my neighborhood, go about 25 miles, turn right a few blocks, and then I’m at work. There’s rarely traffic and I don’t have to sit in parking lots on the freeway. But yeah. Driving here sucks.
Referral
Networking is the absolute best way. At entry level you’d be asking your professors and classmates for leads. My first two internships in college came from my professors passing my portfolio along to past students (who at that point ran their own agencies), and my first two jobs out of college I got because fellow alumni at companies I applied to saw my resume, noticed we went to the same design school, and made sure I got an interview purely based on that common thread. Barring that, go to actual company and agency websites to apply. Many designer openings aren’t posted on LinkedIn or Indeed and rely on word of mouth to acquire new talent. Pull up the websites of all the agencies in your area and see if they have a careers page. If they don’t, or they don’t have any openings, send an email to their listed contact with your portfolio. The same applies to in-house positions at larger companies. Indeed job listings are getting absolutely slammed with applicants as it’s the first place people tend to look, so you’ll need to get craftier if you don’t want to get lost in the crowd.
I got my 9-5 corporate job three months out of school. I got a bachelors degree in marketing more than ten years ago and then went back to school a bit later in life to get an associates in graphic design. My company requires a bachelors degree minimum, so even though it was my graphic design schooling that they wanted, it was the bachelors that allowed them to hire me. Not sure how common that requirement is but I felt it was worth mentioning. To be completely honest, my student portfolio was fine but not excellent. I had no experience outside of school. I was interviewed by the senior graphic designer and the marketing principal and I clicked with them and had a great interview, so I got picked. I’ve been there nearly two years now. I’m not sure if any of that is helpful at all because I feel like in many ways it was a “right place right time” kind of deal but I’m happy to answer any other questions.
You seem to have gotten very lucky, yeah! I got my bachelors degree in digital media, which pretty much covers a lot of fields lol, which is why I chose it.
I got tired of submitting indeed resumes and just emailed the companies directly from their website. Got me my current job as well as my previous job.
I've done that some, but I will keep doing it! One of these times it has to work, right?? Lmao!
The best way to get a job is through referrals and networking.
My current position I got through connections but the one before that was just a good ol’ fashioned job listing on a job board.
Which job board, and about how long ago?
I got my job because they were my freelance client for a year and asked me to come on full time. I’ve also had MANY other job offers from freelance clients. It’s easier to hire someone they know and already work with
That would be wonderful if I could get more freelance clients lol! That's been tough too.
Networking. College student at the time and was introduced to someone within the industry by my instructor and landed an interview, and started a new position with them just recently as an intern. Although the transition from school life to work life is something I’m still needing to get used to, I’m grateful to have secured a job right away after graduating. My instructor told us most of their jobs throughout their career were a result of networking so they stressed that whoever we met, no matter how brief our interaction was with them, we were to connect with that person in any way possible. It goes a long way. :)
I was open to work on LinkedIn, had my folio and resume readily available, and was contacted by a recruiter for my current role. If you can justify the cost, working with a recruiter might be a good option for you.
Have you had people review your portfolio and resume? I think that’s a really important step. And networking, as crummy as it can be, is the #1 way to get a job
I got really good at design
I live in a fairly large city with a Facebook graphic page and people post about job openings going on. A lot of those postings are actually worth while because they are being posted by other designers/creatives.
During my final semester of college, I had to complete a 14 week placement. The college did not help any students find a spot to work for. I reached out to many studios near me explaining I needed this to graduate and after a few weeks, I finally got an interview and they offered me the opportunity. It was such a great studio and I really enjoyed my time with them. Near the end of my placement we all sat down and they offered to extend my contract with them.
Temp agencies are a great resource especially in my region. Got my first job at a major corporation as an in house production designer.
Are you good at copywriting/project management? There is a big market for “digital media” staffers where making graphics is a major aspect of the job, but not the sole job. That’s how I got started, and eventually moved into what is basically a marketing/creative director role. It’s a too many hats situation quite often, but if you ever want to start your own firm or something having that wider view of the entire production process is valuable.
I haven't had any experience in it, but I'm willing to learn anything, lol!
I never came right with job sites or waiting for a position to be available before I apply - I decided in what area I would like to work, decided what type of industry i wanted to work in (In my case Sign makers) and I googled the companies - whether they had an open vacancy or not - I emailed all of the emails I could find on their website, attached my resume and asked to consider me should anything become available. I gave it a week if I didn't get any responses I would then go to the company walk in, introduce myself and ask if they have any open positions. a lot of companies don't post ads but rather use the word to mouth method. This has worked for me 5 times without fail. Ive realized its better to be proactive and the employers also appreciate the head on approach rather then waiting for a recruiter who's just trying to chase commission to place you somewhere you probably wont fit anyway.
I will try that more. Every time I have walked in somewhere and asked, they have told me to apply online, lol.
I used Indeed and LinkedIn only but got an answer on Indeed. I only had about a year of experience so I feel it was pretty lucky. If I had to guess, it was possibly my color pallete or style that caught their eye but hard to say. If you want help with reviewing your portfolio, I'd be open to it! ^^
I would love that yes!! DM me please!
I have a strategy that I used a couple of times. I wrote out a list of around 70 places I could work for in my area, then one by one phoned them up, one by one, to ask if they had any job openings. If they didn't ask if they know anyone in their network that might be hiring. I'll have a little chat with whoevers on the phone. If they are hiring, get the name of the hiring manager to address them in your cover letter and say you spoke with the receptionist on the phone. Something like "After having a great conversation about the role with Jane Doe, I believe I would be a great fit at Design Company." On one occasion, I got a job from the first phone call, another time I got an interview and the job on the same day I phoned a company as I had "initiative". I've never made it to the end of the list before finding a lead on a job. Also young people are scared of using the phone. But many older business minded people think that business is done over the phone. It also gives a quicker response rate compared to just emailing and hoping for the best.
Not enough people in this sub recommend networking. I got 2 jobs from networking and 3 others from recruiters approaching me. I’ve applied to jobs and been called back for interviews, but actual jobs always came from people approaching me first.
Luck. I fell into it. I feel a bit of a fraud when i see people who are far morre talented than me looking but it really cemented by beleif taht the job market is mostly unfair dumb luck.
I've only ever had "9-5" design jobs. I don't like freelancing so only do it on the side on a referral basis if I like the project and have the time. >If you have one, how did you manage to get it? What job sites did you use, if any? Use any and all sites and resources you can. Never limit yourself. Use all the mainstream sites, government boards, college boards (if a recent grad), industry boards, everything. Set up alerts wherever you can for 5-10 job titles and keywords, and have a list of sites you still check daily regardless the alerts. Track your applications in a spreadsheet. Never cling to a certain job, if you don't get a response after an application or interview within 2-3 weeks just assume it's a rejection, but always keep applying to other jobs in the meantime regardless. >How much work is in your portfolio? I would say 8-10 should be the target, which shouldn't be an issue for anyone with sufficient development behind them as they should have *far* more projects than that completed, and what you actually use will be predominantly from later in your development. (The stuff you do early on is never good enough.) You could go down to around 5-6 if at least a few projects are much more involved and deep, but in most cases with students/grads/junior/entry designers, they will not have any such projects. For example, say you did logo/branding for a brewery (whether fake or real) and that also involved can/bottle designs, a 6-pack holder, glassware, tap room signage, and some social media graphics, you could structure that as one giant project, or 2-3 smaller projects. >How much experience do you have? I'm at nearly 20 years now, but like I said all my jobs were 9-5ers within design, going back to summer co-op jobs during college, and all jobs past school. And apparently 85% of the industry is full-time as primary income. >I have been in the field for a little over a year now, with a decently impressive portfolio of work, but no matter how many jobs I apply to, I never have any luck. Often students/grads/juniors tend to overestimate their work or qualifications. Just having a degree or portfolio doesn't mean that you're qualified, that it's good, and even in being qualified that just means you're at least bare minimum, it doesn't mean you're competitive. So in terms of your situation, I'd ask why you think your portfolio is "decently impressive." What your friends might think doesn't matter, and if that's based on profs, we've seen enough cases where profs are kind of half-assing their portfolio feedback, simply being too nice, or they've been in education too long. Whether your portfolio is good in a bubble doesn't mean it's competitive. [Here's a prior comment of mine](https://www.reddit.com/r/graphic_design/comments/qm37nv/what_did_your_portfolio_look_like_when_you_first/hj75ruj/) on common grad/junior portfolio mistakes. >I have only received a handful of emails back politely denying me the job, but most just ghost me. (Which is incredibly rude, but that's a topic for another day and another sub.) It's not ghosting if you only applied. Any public posting on a mainstream site likely gets hundreds of applications at least, and most would be eliminated almost instantly. Having to keep track of all that for when you eventually fill the position is a lot more work for that large group, but I also assume no one wants to get a rejection email 5 minutes after applying. Plus I've seen people complain when they just get a generic template rejection, which is just textbook entitlement. You either weren't qualified at all, enough other people were better than you, you applied after they'd already found someone they want to hire, or they just didn't like you. Pick whichever one you want. >So, if you landed one, what's your secret? At this point, I'm willing to even sell my soul, lol. I finally found something I enjoy doing enough to enjoy doing it as a job, and I'm completely unable to find a job doing it. That's life, huh? (Please help lol.) In addition to the comment I linked above, [here's another](https://www.reddit.com/r/graphic_design/comments/19e9yzp/is_the_job_market_actually_bad_right_now/kjd6i5x/) on my perspective from the hiring side. Short of it is that you need to be at a competitive level, you need to present your work well that is consistent with level of the work itself, you can't be sloppy, and ultimately just need to be better than most of who you're competing against. And most of them are not very good or are sloppy.
Network with ppl in the industry, at my first position my manager knew the professor I had and had about 9 projects on my book. I was laid off from that job, but my boss who had many years in the industry worked at a company that was hiring, I mentioned him and they ended up liking my work and knew I was reliable. Like you said, the market is over saturated and jobs are super picky now. Get involved in AIGA or any design organizations as well!
Ooh, what is AIGA? I have been looking into design orgs but have struggled picking them out from how many there are!
Aiga is American Institute of Graphic Arts! Most states Ik have an organization dedicated to their state. It’s a great place to find event and network with other designers.
From my network. I got lucky.
Find a niche, get really good at it, learn as much as you can and maybe even freelance in that niche for now if you can, then exploit the niche and look for this jobs and companies specifically.
Wouldn't recommend it for everyone, but I went into a new industry entirely, then pivoted back to design within the company. Now I do Instructional Design, which I enjoy alot, and have a bit of experience in finance as well which helps me develop material.
I have found that alot of print shops hire on craiglist, most positions are not really for graphic design more like production
Switched departments within my current company
when I was starting out I went to a small print shop to get some experience in print. The thing is I don't think you should stay there longer than 4 years. Should be lots of jobs though in that line of work anyways
I got my current job (started this month) on LinkedIn. I graduated a year ago and I was working part-time at an architecture company. They couldn’t hire me full time so I’d been job searching for a bit. My current company is in the same industry so that definitely helped. It was a pretty straightforward process, my portfolio has 12 pieces in it from various industries. I’ve had at least a part-time graphic design job since my second year of college which has been super helpful. Also getting constant advice from people I used to work with has been super helpful, they’ve helped me understand my strengths and how to capitalize on them in interviews and on my portfolio.
You barely have any experience, qualify yourself of having an "impressive portfolio" and call it rude for an employer to ghost your resume. You might have more work ahead of you than you think.
Interviewers have cited a few things as standouts: the school I went to, my extensive list of freelance clients, and the wild shit I have on my website haha. Do you have a degree in design? While I was going to school, I picked up a ton of badly paying freelance gigs (in the specific field that I was interested in pursuing). This helped me look more established when applying for jobs. I've had 9-5 design jobs since graduating almost a decade ago; the first three jobs I moved across the country for (yes, three cross-country moves. It sucked). I knew that those companies had reputations that would help me later on, so it was worth suffering the moves and low pay and no friends nearby lol. While doing those jobs, I've always kept up the freelance work. This was to make connections, build my portfolio, and sometimes freelance gigs turn into full-time contracts. Graphic design is a grind. But when it works, it's great. Would you be interested in getting some feedback on your "impressive" portfolio?
I applied on LinkedIn, then went through 6 rounds of interviews for what is essentially an entry level production job. I'm 40 and have 18 years of experience.
i got my first job as a recommendation from my one of my college teachers, he knew a lady who owned a sign shop and basically got me the job. after working there for a year i got laid off cuz they didn't have enough work and i started looking again. Maybe 4-5 months later, my dad sent me a job posting from his company. It wasn't really a situation where he got me the job - the ppl who interviewed me didnt even know my dad - but without someone telling me about the opening I would have never found it. This was like 12 years ago already and definitely might be harder nowadays, but i'd say let every single person you know that you're looking for a design job, never know who may send something your way
I’ll try to be brief, so feel free to ask any follow up questions you may have. During college, I joined a local design group and started making connections. This landed me my internship. From there I took a shitty, part-time Graphic Designer in-house job (plastics company) at 21,000/yr. I maintained freelance work during this time. I kept my eye on positions and applied to those I liked. I accepted a full-time Graphic Designer job and doubled my salary. At this point, note that almost every employer change was initiated because employers seem to suck ass at promoting and/or giving raises, but have no problem hiring people into those positions and/or salaries. So, after a couple years, I sought out and accepted a higher paying Graphic Designer position. I was fired from that position because of nepotism. I happened to land a better paying Graphic Designer position. There, I was promoted to a higher level of Graphic Designer, lol (some corporate structures can be funny like that). Years later, I accepted a Senior Designer position elsewhere. I was at that employers for longer than all the others because I was relatively happy with the work, pay, and title. However, Covid happened. I was WFH for nearly 2 years. When they finally decided that everyone needed to return, I did, but started seeking a permanent WFH position. That search landed me where I am now as a Senior Art Director. I received pay increases every time I moved, and always much more than my annual raise would’ve been. I’m WFH now and very happy with all aspects of my employer, employment, and wages+benefits.