Just finished your college or graduated from University doing a design course? Or maybe you feel that you need to start doing something new in your life? Don't worry, graphic design jobs are everywhere. Nowadays, we live in a society based on computers; people are glued to the monitors for most of the time during a day, they spend hours on the internet surfing sites one after another. But look, each website is based on themes and visuals and those themes and visuals were designed by other people. And that could have been you. You might say you do not wish to do web design. I have an alternative way for you - there are many other areas which involve graphic design such as packaging, print design, advertising, marketing or publishing. The fact is, within all of these fields there are graphic design jobs that you may be able to fulfill.

The first question you might ask yourself is where should you start? Start searching on the internet, for example by using search engines such Google or Bing. Try to enter a phrase "graphic design jobs in YOUR CITY" into your favorite search engine and you will see results straight away. You might find many various kinds of websites that appeared in your search - nearly all of them involve job searches by type of job and location. To apply for any of these jobs available you will need to submit your CV and portfolio. So be aware. Some will be standard job search sites and others will be professional organizations. The true is that to find needed websites that provide quality content you will spend some time just looking through all of them and carefully selecting the right ones. Try to save them to be able to return to them at any time. What I would do is to make a specific folder in the "favorites" or "bookmarks" section of your internet browser. When you feel you want to return to these sites you can always refer to your folder. Easy!

If you're a member of a professional organization this can be an excellent place to start with at the first place. Every student is able to join them at any time. The effects of being a member are great and will pay back for the time you have spent on joining them.  Being a member of a professional organization additionally appears sensible and adds credibility on your CV.

Quality CV and portfolio are your passports to the future

You know where you are and where you would like to be. Currently you have to get prepared in order to success. The main question is – have you finished your CV yet? You might explore sites on the internet that explain and show you ways to write down CVs and provide you tips for assessing the one you have at the moment.  If you think that you wish additional experience to incorporate in your CV, become a volunteer. Voluntary is a great way of gaining a necessary experience if you have never worked in the field you have chosen as your profession. Ensure the company you would volunteer for provides references that you can include on your CV.

You will additionally need a portfolio in your hunt for graphic design jobs – that’s an obvious thing. Employers like to look at potential employee’s work he/she has done so far to be able to judge if that person fulfils the particular job’s requirements. Employers need to check your creativity and your designing skills. There are many forms of portfolios - paper, web and DVD/CD portfolios.  Again, you'll learn plenty regarding refining your portfolio by browsing the internet for info regarding creating a portfolio. Several of the work search sites, particularly professional organizations permit you to upload your portfolio to their website, together with your CV.  With others you'll post your CV, however not the portfolio.

It may be well worth the time and effort to create a website in order to share your best pieces of artwork with potential employers. A website's link could be also included in your CV and this can create a great opportunity to show off your portfolio. If your search for graphic design jobs includes web design, ensure your website has some examples of work you have done regarding web design. Do not upload artwork that you are not satisfied with in 100% as there is a huge chance your potential employer would not like it too. Remember your chances are limited so take your time and create some stunning designs! A good thing to do is to ask other people to judge what you have designed in order to get better and better. Comments and opinions from other people will definitely help you to understand what mistakes you do and what could be improved. The fact is everybody learns through life and everybody makes mistakes. You might be bad at designing today, but with a solid practice and exercises you will become a master one day. Guaranteed!  

Now, considering you have done your homework properly you are ready to find your graphic design position that will fit your skills and talent.

You may also be interested in Why Graphic Design CVs Get Rejected article.