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As someone who looked over résumés, I would be more impressed by a résumé which was elegant and a little different but readable than something with enormous graphics, fancy fonts, or blinking text. Or glitter. Remember that the readers are going over dozens of résumés in every batch. They need to look for keywords, ...

Stefan has several excellent points, which I'll echo and expand upon: Write up a contract. You don't start anything without a contract. It took me over a week to write my first contract, but that baby is as detailed and iron-clad as I could make it, and now I can slice-and-dice and adapt it to future jobs. The AIGA has a ridiculously detailed sample ...

You should probably consider several different versions of your resume - possibly one that's very traditional / sedate and one that's a little edgier. You should be doing a little research on any company you go to work for; it should quickly become clear which resume will be appropriate (just as you should be prepping for the interview by asking "khakis or ...

Welcome to the World of Graphic Design... lol.. you see their mind is growing with ideas because now it's trial and error to them. You give them a time limit. You know the job takes you 10 hours to do. You tell them how long it takes without revisions, offer 2 revisions then tell them to pay per revision there after. You shouldn't have to explain why, just ...

A Graphic Designer is one who is working on the conceptual/strategic side of things. A Production Artist is the one that takes the conceptual/strategic solution and and implements the mechanical files for the solution. You'll typically find Production Artists in ad agencies where they'd be working under the art directors. In design firms, the graphic ...

I think you've got your answer: ask here! (Not me. You lost me at "Steampunk"... :-) ) More generally, you want to see examples of work the designer has done that are roughly in the market you're aiming at. Doesn't have to be an exact match -- a good designer should be able to work in almost any style -- but you would want someone who clearly speaks the ...

I depends on your job position, is it a web-designer, photoshop-specialist or a vector artist, maybe UI designer? Here are most common: Can you show us your portfolio? Can you take "this" set of photos and achieve "this" effect in output? Give us 5 design ideas on how to make "this" work? Take "this" sample and produce the same result in 1-2 hours. That ...

I would highly recommend taking a look at the AIGA Standard Form of Agreement for Design Services. It is a very extensive agreement that somewhat favors the designer, so if you want to know how to cover your butt, this is probably the definitive document to read. I have read it many times over, and I don't see very much in there that is superfluous to even ...

Common sense would indicate that: if you are going for an "adult entertainment" related job, then do include such works in your portfolio and in your resume if you are going for a non-adult job, then don't include such works in your portfolio or your resume. If you regularly go for both types then by all means have two separate portfolios and resumes. ...

I don't know if I'd call it a disconnect. This is a product of the desktop publishing era. Many small businesses (at least in the US) employ an in-house "marketing" person who does it all. They often learn graphics apps on the job or through some kind of on-line training. I've seen this first hand, coming in as a freelancer. One person who learns web and ...

I haven't seen a QuarkXpress file in 8-10 years. When I do see a QuarkXpress file, I simply use the Q2ID plug in and convert it to Indesign. But that's my office. QuarkXpress is very much still in use for large production houses where they've been using it for 15+ years. Essentially if a business, or designer, started before the development of Adobe ...

Farray and DA01 have pretty much nailed the key points. My nickel's worth (inflation, don't y'know) speaks to the freelance vs. large firm part of the question. Larger firms tend to deal with larger clients, and should already have carefully-crafted boilerplate to cover the legalities. The sums involved and potential liabilities are often large, so the ...

You're asking how best to find people to do work for free. This is called spec work and is frowned upon by the industry: http://www.no-spec.com/ On top of that, it's a bad idea. Do you think you will get talented, experienced people that like working for free? In general, my advice for finding a graphic designer: pick a portfolio of good work and then ...

If you're being asked a lot of software questions, then the position likely isn't a graphic design position as much as it is a production artist position. Granted, that's where a lot of us start, so that's not necessarily a bad thing. I'd never ask a candidate to take a test or produce sample work on the spot or brainstorm ideas for a client. That's all ...

I can't speak for the differences between working at a larger firm vs freelance, but here are things that I typically specify: Product Definition What constitutes a final product? Who will own the final product? Assets Do we need any assets from the client to do our work? When must the client deliver the necessary assets? What happens if the client ...

"F*ck you, pay me." Maybe not quite in those words in all possible situations, but you need to always make sure you are in a position where if you had to, you could say exactly that, and back it up. The quote comes from the title line of a presentation given by Mike Monteiro, which EVERY independent contractor should see: ...

The purpose of a resumé is not to land a job. It is to land an interview. This important distinction is easily forgotten. It is the interview, and any follow-up meetings, that will get (or lose) you the position you're applying for. To get a job that makes you want to get up in the morning, keeps you excited through the day and leaves you with a happy buzz ...

I like resumés with a bit of flair. However, you should keep in mind form vs. function. If a resumé goes too far into form and loses function it's pretty worthless. I'd suggest using the necessary items and making them graphical in nature with nice headlines, use of font faces, etc. I would never put a photo on a resumé, ever. And I'd be hesitant to use any ...

Whether you go the LLC route or not, you're essentially a sole-proprietor / consultant / freelancer. For that model, I'd stay away from titles and just tell people what you do. Design, Development, Photography and Writing It's not short or catchy but you'll be able to explain yourself less and sell more. Think of the order of the words as the priority of ...

I wouldn't say those job descriptions are asking the candidate to actually be able to execute graphic design, but rather manage it--be it through vendors or other teams within the organization. Marketing and Graphic Design obviously are closely related and there is certainly overlap. It certainly doesn't hurt marketing folks to have some graphic design ...

According to the Wikipedia article, the last reliable report on marketshare for the 2 products was in 2004. It stated that Quark was 8 times more popular than InDesign. As 2004 was almost a decade ago I'd have a tenancy to believe ID has eroded that substantially. When I was going through school from 99-01 they were still teaching Quark, but even then I ...

I do use freelancer.com quite a bit, but have used them for web development mainly. I am considering using them for graphic design as well. Do think a cultural connection is more important here so would go for a designer connected to the culture/background of the client. Different cultures tend to produce different styles and these styles might by too loud ...

Resumes are a very specific type of document. A resume isn't there to give the recruiter/hiring manager an idea of your design abilities or creativity; it's there to give them a summary of your experience (work, education, and relevant outside activities). That's why resume's are in short bullet-list form broken down by chronology and/or expertise rather ...

Quite honestly... direct (snail) mail. A nice promotional package mailed to the Creative Director or Art Director. Phone calls show laziness. Emails will be seen purely as spam (unsolicited advertisements). A physical package delivered via mail shows interest, effort, direct attention, and a bit of research in the company (provided it's addressed to the ...

I'm not someone who's been in a position to hire someone with your skill set, so take this with a grain of salt. However, some thoughts: "Creative" is a really abstract idea. If I'm making a website and I don't know anything about design, I don't know if my first thought would be "I need someone creative." If I needed a writer, I don't know if I would say ...

A similar way of thinking about it: how many days' work will it be to complete the work? Assuming 4 cards a day if you're working hard and quickly but aren't yet very experienced, that's 75 working days. Assuming that's full time, that's 15 weeks or about 3-4 months' full time work. Maybe 2-3 months since you'll get better at bashing them out fast. So, ...

Farray and DA01 both make excellent points that you should take to heart. Whether you intend it or not, your question boils down to, "How can I get people to give me free design ideas for my new product?", so there is something fundamentally wrong with both the thought process and the business plan. If your project is worthwhile and the business plan ...

I think there is some confusion. Looking for a designer who is willing to do work on the promise of future profit-sharing and other compensation is not spec work. That's just the nature of many startups. However, asking a designer to someone to come up with "rough ideas they might have for the product" while not guaranteeing any sort of compensation or ...

If you are seeking a partner and not simply someone to do free work, you need to pitch to the designer the same way you'd pitch to any financial partner. After all, you are you are asking for an investment on the part of the designer. You need to explain and/or convince the designer that the service or product is something they would like to invest in. Make ...

I think all of us who have done the small free-lance thing have had to deal with this. Most of what I was going to write has already been covered in Stefan's answer, but I have a few more thoughts... Never ever feel awful about asking for money up front. They are going to have to pay for your service, whether up front or after the fact - so why feel bad ...