As my days as a college student draw to a close, I find myself looking forward to beginning my career in the web. I can’t wait to start designing websites for a living, but finding a job is proving difficult. Here’s a rundown of my current experience:

Part Time Job

I’ve been offered a contract position at Mighty, a small web design agency in downtown Grand Rapids. Right now, I’m waiting to hear if it’s going to work out and if so, when I can start.

I’m really excited about the offer, but at the same time know that part time (most likely ten hours a week) isn’t going to be enough to support me, let alone save money for an engagement ring. Insurance could also be a big problem. If the position developed into something full time, though, that would be perfect.

Ideas From Elevator Up

A couple of days after meeting with Cliff from Mighty, I had a chance to sit down and talk to Aaron over at Elevator Up. I had emailed him a little bit earlier asking if he had any advice for finding a job and he had some really good things to say.

You Don’t Need A Job

One of the first things that Aaron said was that he wasn’t sure I really need a job. He went on to explain that it may be better for me to work on a freelance basis. Elevator Up does a lot of pretty big projects, and Aaron offered to try to farm small projects to me.

Network, Network, Network

Probably the most important thing I picked up from my time talking to Aaron was the importance of networking. I’ve been getting to know a few people in the web industry around my town, and it’s clear that it will be really important to continue to develop those and other relationships.

There are a lot of opportunities to get out and meet other web designers and developers in West Michigan. Unfortunately, my class schedule has really held me back. Hopefully, though, I’ll be able to get more involved when I’m done with school.

Aaron had some really creative ideas for how I can get my name out around the area. My favorite was to have a “Hire Me” party at The Garage.

What I Can Do Now

Right now, I’m working on a couple of projects that I’ll be able to put in my portfolio. What I need to do, though, is actually finish designing my portfolio.

Also, I’m going to try to get involved with different groups in the area. This shouldn’t be as hard as before, since I’ll be done with school in about a week. Geeks Group over in the Holland area sounds fun and I plan on starting to go to that.

0 Cool post, man.