Your resume is the first thing you step out with on your journey from graphic designer student to working graphic designer. It is the key that unlocks the door to having your LinkedIn profile and your portfolio reviewed, and ultimately getting an interview and… a job!

If you’ve arrived at this blog post, congratulations! And not just on finding the post. But congratulations because you are either at a stage in your transition from student to graphic design professional where interviews will happen, or you have the foresight to look ahead to that time. 

There are many ways to retouch skin in Photoshop, some more advanced than others. Since each method provides different results, it’s important to know where the image will be published. For example, if you’re retouching the skin in an ad related to food, perhaps the client wants something more natural and with a little retouching, but if you retouch skin for the cosmetic industry, the client likely prefers perfection while keeping some texture, with an appearance of porcelain-like skin.

Meetups and user groups are unique and underrated assets in making the transition from student to working professional. 

What makes meetups and user groups unique, and why should they be part of your career pathway from beginning to… wherever it leads?

The old adage “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know” is one-sided. You might be the best friend of the coach of the United States women's national soccer team but if you can’t play soccer, you’re not going to make the team. Better put: It’s not just what you know, it’s also who you know.

As a communication designer or developer (or both), your portfolio is your calling card. It is the first thing potential clients or employers want to see, to find out what you can do, why you do what you do, and how you do what you do (for more on how to prepare your portfolio for job hunting, see Why Your Design Portfolio Should Emphasize Process, Not Just Content).

Being a dynamic job seeker does not just mean approaching the mission with energy and enthusiasm. Those qualities are important! But there is a specific, scientific meaning to being a dynamic as opposed to a passive job hunter. 

In today’s world, job seekers and employers connect through online job boards and networks. Job boards and online job networks overlap but are not the same thing, and a proactive (as opposed to sit-around-and-hope) approach to job hunting requires understanding the difference and the relationship. Let’s break that down.

Let’s start this exploration of job hunting networking with some good news for coding and design students: If you are entering the job market with coding or communication design skills (or both), you are entering at the right time with the right skills. 

Once you have assembled your design portfolio content, the remaining piece of the puzzle is to find a place to post it for review online.

Let’s quickly run through the main components you need for your portfolio.