Round Table

How did you get your first design job?

Bite off more than you can chew.
Then chew as hard as you can.

I’d just graduated from journalism school, and I’d edited the university newspaper, so I knew my way around a Mac. I didn’t much like any of the journalism jobs I was offered, so I took freelance work as a finished artist. I got placed at a fledgling newspaper, working to the Art Director.

After a month, she quit.

The editor asked if I thought I could fill in for the Art Director for a few weeks, and I said “yes” and then I worked as hard as I could. Eventually, they gave me that job permanently. A few days after I signed my contract, the newspaper folded.

The publisher offered me a three month payout. Or, he said, I could come and work on one of their other publications — the inflight magazine for one of the world’s largest airlines.

I said “yes” and then I worked as hard as I could.

I worked under another Art Director, who was exceedingly talented and exceptionally focused on quality. She whipped me into shape in a couple of months.

Then she quit.

And then the publisher asked me if I thought I could do her job. And I said “yes”.

Then I worked as hard as I could. — Ross Floate, designer

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Lies, Damned Lies, and PHP

When I graduated high school — limping across the finish line with a C- grade average — I didn’t have much to show for my efforts. I’d spent the past four years playing in bands and messing around with web design, rather than doing homework or gaining any kind of job experience. I decided I would go to community college, and figure something out. But to pay tuition, I needed some dough.

I knew I loved the web, and I’d accidentally gained a not inconsiderable amount of skill while avoiding school. So I put an ad on Craigslist subtly inflating my experience, and waited. Amazingly, somebody actually hired me, and I started doing QA part-time at a small mobile ad agency.

I stayed at that company until it was finally bought by a giant company in San Francisco. They put all of us on folding-table desks in an unused spot in their massive building, not quite knowing what to do with us yet. One day, a passing web designer walked into our sparse office and asked, “Does anybody know PHP?”

We all looked blankly over at the guy, until finally I raised my hand. I didn’t really know PHP. But I was 19, and kind of cocky, and I figured I could learn it well enough fast enough that it wouldn’t make a difference. It turned out I was right — I was building sites for them for the next year and a half.

I’m not advocating lying. But sometimes being qualified for a job doesn’t mean knowing the right things, or having the right experience. Being qualified means being the person who can get something done. Even if you have to learn as you go. — Liam Campbell, developer

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If you build it, they will come.

In high school, I used to volunteer design work whenever and where ever I could. This effort got me on the good side of some influential people who were able to pull me out of boring classes and put me in front of a Macintosh Plus. Many happy hours were spent staring at a small bluish screen while learning Aldus Pagemaker as I cranked out invitations, posters, programs and t-shirt designs. It didn’t take long for my work to get out in the community, and I became known as a designer who could get things done. Soon enough I started getting paid for my work, and I’ve been a professional ever since. — Greg Storey, designer

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I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.

During a mid-semester portfolio review a teacher asked if he could have a print of a poster I made for his class. I jokingly replied, “I’ll trade you this poster for an internship.” Without missing a beat he responded, “O.K., I’ll just have to check with my studio mates.” I figured nothing would come of it.

That Summer began my first of two summers in their studio. I felt like the world’s worst intern for the world’s best designers. But they couldn’t get rid of me. I kept showing up.

The following late-Summer my mentor left the freelance life for the New York Times. He called and asked if I would join him as his assistant. I was stunned but didn’t miss a beat, “O.K. Yes. I’ll be right there.” I don’t think I told him I had since moved back to Kansas so as soon as I got off the phone I re-packed my stuff and flew to New York. They haven’t been able to get rid of me since. — Jennifer Daniel, designer

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Helping Hand

I used to keep a column up in TweetDeck for “WordPress Help” and find people having issues. I was still working in finance at the time, but was looking at possibly shifting careers. Sometimes I could answer a question with a tweet, sometimes a few emails, but never actually expecting money since I barely knew what I was doing. Eventually I landed a client or two from those help sessions. One of them is still a client today, nearly 9 years later. — Andrew Norcross, developer

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My boss writes for this blog

A studio I’d been following for a couple of years posted an opening for a designer. I was still in my last semester of school, but I didn’t know how long that opening would be vacant or if I’d have the opportunity again (collegiate anxiety makes everything apocalyptic). I was convinced it’d never work, that it was stupid and arrogant, but I replied to the opening anyway saying I was still a student but admired what they’d done and wanted to work with them. One week and two interviews later, I started interning at the studio. They hired me after graduation and I’ve been there since. — Andy Davies, designer

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