The Right Stuff for Landing a Job

Landing a job in the digital age in a down economy is a real challenge. For print production professionals, the task of making yourself noticed in a sea of applicants for fewer and fewer job openings has never been so daunting.

First, it’s important to have the all-important training and experience. That doesn’t necessarily mean "book learning," although that’s still an important factor for some potential employees. We have heard from any number of employers who simply don’t put a lot of stock in a graphic arts degree. Most are more interested in hands-on experience. How do you show what you can do when you’ve never had an actual job in the print industry? Creating a digital portfolio (not necessarily a big portfolio: one that time-limited prospectors can get through in a couple of minutes) can be a big help. A few easily verifiable recommendations can also help: when you list a reference, make sure you include their email and phone number. Most important: ask them first before you list them as a reference!

These days, a digital resume is practically a necessity, but be careful where you post them. There are many web sites out there that are more interested in gathering your personal information than getting your name to prospective employers. And some sites are vulerable to hackers. While you want to spread your name as much as posible, you don’t want to set yourself up for exploitation. Some of the general social networks like Facebook and My Space aren’t particularly good for job searches. But sites like Plaxo and LinkedIn have shown good results. There is also a job directory specifically for printing positions (not sales) at www.printoolz.com, though it’s new and there aren’t an overwhelming number of ads there and you can’t currently post your resume. And of course you can check the jobs list on graphicartsonline. Just click on the jobs link under the classifieds tab at the top of the page.

There are also sites like Monster.com. Sites like this offer a lot of support and security for free, as well as paid services like resume writing and so on. I have heard mixed reviews on their effectiveness.

Producing a solid resume can be a stumbling block for print production professionals, who by and large are not English or business majors. There are plenty of online sites offering tips for producing a resume, but the best piece of advice may be to run it by someone with a human resource background who can offer some constructive criticism and help you mold it into a piece that will enhance your prospects. If you don’t know such a person, perhaps one of the folks you list as a reference can help you with that.

Check out Printing Tools at Graphicartsonline.com.