These are extraordinary times, where most of us have suddenly found ourselves with an abundance of time on our hands and even more time to ponder a career change. Not knowing what the social landscape is going to look like in the coming years has made a lot of people ponder a career change. One thing is shaping up to be certain though – a company website has never been more important, which means that there will likely be a boom in the web development world in the coming years.
If you’re looking to change up your career to a job that offers you the ability to work from home? Web design is looking like a pretty safe bet. Once you have taken your online courses and learned the art of website development, there are a few abilities that will help your resume stand out amongst the crowd and put you above your competitors.
Become an Online Generalist
Communicating with an audience is a super broad field. Communications can cross mediums and methods, from word of mouth to complex strategic marketing pipelines. While being a web designer or developer is a great start, the key to really standing out is to really open yourself up and learn about all aspects of the industry. Understanding best practices, how to write effective copy, and learning about theory will only help you become an asset to your potential employers – plus you may be surprised at the amount of content you will be expected to create when building a website.
Jump at Chances to Learn and Grow
The early bird gets the worm. The more you put yourself out there (in these COVID times, out there virtually) the more small jobs you take on and the more eager you are to learn and grow as a designer, the better you will stand out. Don’t be afraid of coming off as nerdy or like a grade school kid trying to make their first friends, that drive to compete is going to help you shine when compared to other applicants.
Get Good at Coding
Code, code, code. Not all web designers know how to or are decent at coding. Fill out your knowledge toolbox with coding skills – trust us you will need them. You don’t have to be going out to some fancy University to learn to code either. There are a ton of respected online tutorials or classes that can teach your basic coding skills and right now, what do we have but a little bit of extra time on our hands?
Be Personable
People may think of website developers as nerdy folks sitting in a darkened room drinking Mountain Dew and rarely ever coming out for sunshine but that is actually IT people… JOKES! In all reality though, website design is a super creative and collaborative field. It pays to be sociable, to be a team-oriented person because that would mean that a creative team might actually want to be around you, which definitely helps!
After all is said and done, honestly, the first item on the checklist to get your foot in the door is a really sweet resume and portfolio – remember that this is a creative field, so your portfolio should be killer but your resume should also be out of the box, intuitive, and engaging. If your application is a reflection of who you are as a person you want to get outside of the box with it and show off your rad self! Good luck out there, guys!