I have the good fortune of attending the premiere conference for web designers and developers in the country - An Event Apart (this time in Austin). Some notes below from the keynote presentation from Jeffrey Zeldman. Titled "The Fault, Dear Brutus (or: Career Advice from a Cranky Old Man).
- Our other jobs (before we became designers) give us perspective. Makes us thankful to be a designer. We are extremely lucky.
- Work never sells itself. You have to be able to explain your design.
- Never talk about aesthetics. Talk about the business problems you're solving.
- Attitude trumps work in most companies (great work + bad attitude = fired).
- In big companies, politics trumps work. Its not fair, its just how it is.
- First impressions are forever.
- We have met the enemy and he is us. We are the only thing standing between us and success.
- You need a good portfolio. Use sites like Dribbble and Behance if necessary to make sure that some of the work you do can be shown.
- Blog like nobody's reading. Blogging is how he ended up on stage today (inception joke).
- Don't wait for someone to hand you the dream job/project. Take it. DIY (do it yourself).