So you’ve just graduated with a degree in graphic design, and now that hard-earned diploma is burning a whole in your pocket. You’re itching to get to work, to dream up the next great design, and you want to launch yourself into your career as soon as possible. Here are a few tips to find your job in graphic design.

Networking

This is something you should be doing throughout college--getting to know your professors, working at internships among the top graphic design firms, keeping in touch with upperclassmen who graduated into good jobs. Keep doing it during your job hunt as well. Not only should you attend fairs and festivals to make a few face-to-face connections, but consider joining organizations and guilds such as the American Institute of Graphic Arts. Local graphic designers’ organizations may yield even better results because you’ll be able to meet people in your area.

Job Hunting

The old-fashioned way doesn’t hurt. Flip through the classified section of your newspaper and see if anyone’s hiring. Online job search sites are an even more productive place to look, especially with the knowledge that graphic designers are, by nature of their professional, a rather tech-savvy bunch. Craigslist is the big one, and graphic design organizations will often have their own job search sections on their sites.

Once you do alight upon a likely opportunity, get your resume ready and contact the employer as quickly as possible. Competition is stiff in the graphic design industry, so try to nab the job before it’s taken by someone else. If you’re requested to come in for an interview, then you’re halfway there.