Today I participated in the second annual Get a Job Boot Camp presented by AIGA of Iowa. The purpose of the camp was to give young designers, such as myself, the tools to grow in our field and help prepare us for the future of the design industry. Professional members of the organization shared their experience and advice about their design careers and prepared a series of presentations relevant to design.
The first presentation was called How To... During this time, I received information about how to find a job, how to start the search and how to recognize all potential opportunities to get my name and talent out in the real world. The presentation also gave me tips on how to market myself and present my portfolio.
The second presentation was called Defend Your Design. The presentation gave advice on how to explain design decisions to tough clients and how to answer tricky questions during an interview. Information was relayed through a series of short skits about real life scenarios.
Lunch was a time to work on networking etiquette. Each participant was assigned lunch tables randomly and after we were seated there was a short presentation about the dos and don'ts of networking over a meal. We were then challenged to practice our skills while dining with fellow boot camp attendees.
After lunch, participants were given the opportunity to have portfolios reviewed by professional members of AIGA. This was an excellent time to get constructive criticism and helpful interview advice one-on-one. I feel that through this experience I was able to improve the layout and pacing of my portfolio book. During these reviews, I was asked some really challenging questions that caught me off guard. Since the reviews earlier today, I feel that I have already become more confident about my portfolio and learned how to better talk about my work.
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