samples are necessary imo. resume w/out samples goes in a special round Inbox - on floor next to desk. ID isnt a fast food job. its visual career. present yourself appropriately. want your skills to prove you are better than school reputation? samples do that.
What I am trying to figure out is how much does the reputation of the school you go to affect your desirabilty. For example, lets say you get a number of applicants from a school over a number of years and are impressed/not impressed by their work when, if ever, does it get to the point where you as an emlpoyer start labeling applicants from that school as bad/good and does it affect who you bring in for internships,interviews, etc.?
Junglebrodda: Re-read these posts and I think you will have your question answered, although not as clearly as you might like. The bottom line is everything on your resume reflects on you. Sometimes good, sometimes bad, sometimes not as much as you think. Basically, do some research. Use an IDSA directory, this board or just emails to some local firms to find out if your school has a good rep. If it does, emphasize it! If it doesn’t, make sure your work is good enough to outshine it, and stuff it near the bottom of the resume (you still need to list that indeed you’ve attended some school).
I know from talking to people that their are schools so bad that they literally toss the resumes and samples in the trash without looking…they do exist. Now go do some homework and let us know what you find out.
Switch made some good points, things are very different with schools since the 80’s, not to mention the value of a degree has plummeted as many schools expland for the $, not the rep. I went to a school where I felt I didn’t have much say in the matter, didn’t find work afterwards, hit up CCS for some backup skills and a small loan. If you don’t get what you need, go somewhere else and get it, I feel that speaks volumes on a resume as it displays the ability to self assess.
i know this doesnt have much to do with schools but i feel it is an important point. when i was researching my school’s id program as a freshmen i thought it looked great. this was mainly because i didnt have much else to base it on nor the knowledge to really know what the difference was between quality work and a leather clad shark jumper.
however, what i did know was that when one of my classmates came back from a summer long internship at addidas, the mother scratcher could ideate as well as god. (or so i thought at the time). i quickly realized that for me to really get better, i would have to shame myself by taking my work to professional firms to get feedback. then i did internships, sometimes paid, sometimes not. it didnt matter because i wasnt being graded against the student curve, but rather against wether the solution actually solved the problem in all the right ways that this thing called product design is suposed.
my point is that schooling is important- as a start. but you really dont see designers making real progress until their skills are being tested in the real world. if you cant afford a well respected school - ie. ccs, risd(ha!), cranbrook, art center, or even if you can, be willing to work for peanuts while you are in school if it means getting real world experience. it will take you much further.
When you come from a school with good reputation, the employer’s expectation of you rises too. Some designer told me that they hired an Art Center grad for contract job and was unimpressed.
I guess if they hired someone who graduated from a less reputable school, the disappointment wouldn’t have been as great.
What I am trying to say is that even when you go to a good school, you still, and ought to, have to be the best, because it is your skills that will make employers want to keep you, not the name of the school you are from.
Also, going to a good school probably means you are exposed to more competition, and if you are able to survive in it, you are probably better than those from a less competitive environment.
Keep in mind that this is just one factor that can sway someone’s initial interest in you, and that it’s not going to guarantee that you will or won’t get an offer. It may make you more likely to get an interview. Choosing a school is an investment: in your program’s reputation, faculty, and alumni network. The school also invests in you when it accepts and graduates you. For employers who are inundated with job applications, this is a quick, convenient way to sift through the pile of resumes. There are so many recent graduates looking for work that employers can afford to be very picky, even unreasonably so. Of course, it’s not entirely fair.
Remember that lots of things can jump out to a potential employer. Your internship experience, other coursework, study abroad, or relevant minor are important, too. Sometimes what catches a person’s attention may not even relate to the position but simply make you an interesting person to work with, like your interest in archeology, fluency in German, or that you’ve volunteered with the Red Cross.
Packaging yourself well is also a must: a well-designed resume and work samples. Pay attention to details like the paper you use, and make sure that everything about your presentation is integrated and supports your work.
Unfortunately school is more important than it should be. Ive heard from employers not hiring people from my school because of past reputation.
But every year there are always a few students that despite the program busted their asses and actually became competitive, so those employers are missing out on a potential candidate by labelling applicants by their school. I know this from experience: i got a phone interview with an electronics/communications company, and the guy told me that he “usually doesnt even consider grads” from my school, but that my resume and samples impressed him.
So, heres a tip: put education section in your resume at the bottom, let your skills and experience be the first thing employers see.
But to back up YKH, it’s all aboout the samples. The samples get looked at first, if they don’t pass the test no one will care if you went to Harvard and spent a summer in the Red Cross!
yes because people are confortable with what they know.
However there are no set rules- I have seen art center and midwest public university people get hired side by side.
There’s a little book called “Selling the Invisible” by Harry Beckwith. He describes, in sorta fable like ways, how to differentiate yourself (brand YOU- remember that? feels so long ago). Very good stuff, especially of you come from an underdog school.
Generally speaking, firms like a brand-name school, specific profile matters somehow less. I think it’s unfortunate because grads profiles from any school vary with time, for better or worse, but school reputation still is a pretty reliable indicator of a potential hire’s success chances in a new job.
Where I work, we focus heavily on what the individual brings new to the table, but anyone here would be lying through their teeth saying school name plays no role in hiring decisions.
Conclusion is, focus on differentiating yourself from the masses first, but coming from a respected program is a bonus.