THE LANGUAGE OF DESIGN INTERNSHIPS. This publication breaks down the language of job listings so that young designers can spend more time thinking about what they want in an internship, and less time catering to hiring algorithms.
Lively
By Naomi Pleasure-Park MIAMI HEAT
ith chaos.
If you like a team oriented, crazy fun environment that likes to THINK BIG, then continue reading...
w Comfortable
MUST BE WILLING TO HAVE FUN!
NORTHROP GRUMMAN
AOB PRODUCTS
BIG MARLIN GROUP
WE WORK WHERE WE PLAY!
HUNGRY
ENTREPRENEURIAL
Intern perks include snack attacks, cold brew coffee on tap, & sports on the TVs!
upbeat
LIDS
sday" eat Wedne "M ly k e e w Our re all lunch whe is a group r for th e et tog e g ts n e m rt depa vittles. nition and fun, recog RENT KANSAS CITY
Must be a quick learner who can fearlessly jump into projects with little warning.
“Do-it-all” attitude is a must! MARKET GRID
CUR
We are humbly aggressive lifelong learners. KCF TECHNOLOGIES
Looking for our next des ign intern who is looking to become the next creative superstar.
YOU'LL LOVE IT HERE IF YOU HAVE A CALM FACE THAT MASKS A BRAIN WORKING AT WARP SPEEDS!
ENERGY LEVEL AXIS
ENVISION THE FUTURE
Team Player
non-traditional
GOLIN
KANSAS CITY CURRENT
Doesn’t see obstacles, only opportunity
INDEPENDENT
CRE
EK
CARO L I N A
self-starter
You’ll be invited into the trenches, learning the beauty and pain of copywriting, design and big-idea generation.
WEAR MANY HATS
IDEA RANCH
Real projects, not busy work.
motivated
BANYAN
EXPERIENCED
ATTENTION TO DETAIL
Other duties as assigned.
No experience necessary. You can learn on the job.
This may be the fastest work environment you will ever experience in terms of growth, decision-making, and time to impact.
T POSTNE
You will be held accountable to an exceptionally high bar.
Reserved
HIGH LEVEL OF MATURITY
We expect interns to bring a head-down, elbows-up work ethic. THE GASP COMPANY
SPRING HEALTH
humble
Flexible
ROCKSTAR
BESTLOGIC STAFFING
driven
Time management skills that would put a clock to shame.
Our interns need to be professional, courteous, pleasant, reliable, dependable and well groomed. BIRMINGHAM BARONS
This person must be able to manage moderate to high levels of stress. LHM SPORTS + ENTERTAINMENT
RIGIDITY AXIS
Lively + Flexible
Lively + Pressure Cooker
Reserved + Flexible
Reserved + Pressure Cooker
FIG. 1: CONTINUUM OF WORK ENVIRONMENTS.
Pressure Cooker
THE APPLICATION PROCESS. Exploring how search prioritization methods minimize the time and effort spent on the entire search process, with advice from students who went through it and landed a job.
125
100
75
50
25
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TIME MANAGEMENT
Discipline
Respondent #11, ID “In my opinion, job boards are a waste of time. I’d start with connecting with real people and companies so that you won't be thrown into a pile of 100 applications.”
low pressure Respondent #32, VCD “Don’t just apply for the sake of it. Internships are also not the end of it all and don’t feel pressured to apply to a lot just because others have been applying.”
FLEXIBILITY
Location
Respondent #29, IxD “I’d start early, and not hold onto too many expectations.”
streamlined Respondent #37, ID “In the future I'll spend more time networking and talking with professionals to find jobs rather than spending hours on LinkedIn and job boards. ”
Culture
MAIN SEARCH PRIORITY
Applied to everything
150
150
125
100
75
50
25
1
NUMBER OF JOB APPLICATIONS
2
3
4
5
6
7
LENGTH OF JOB SEARCH IN MONTHS
Each horizontal bar pairing represents one respondent
FIG. 2: PRIORITY VS. APPLICATION COUNT.
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SKILL BREAKDOWN. Analyzing skills and qualities tend to fall at which levels of requirement. Can be compared against individual levels as a general assessment of application readiness.
d
e Requir
THE OTHER AI Easily the most required hard skill, most design internships will want you to be at least “knowledgeable” about Adobe Illustrator.
PEN TO PAPER The most frequently required soft skill is written communication, typically (in 62% of listings including the phrase) preceded by the qualifiers “excellent” or “strong.”
Illustrator
Written Communication
Photoshop
Time Management
Attention to Detail THE WORKS
InDesign Willingness to Learn
While not as popular as listing a specific Adobe program, many positions will ask you to be proficient in the whole suite. You can safely assume they mean the “main” ones.
Positivity
Adobe CC (Whole Suite)
Social Media
Independent
Portfolio
Google Suite
Color Theory
Microsoft Office
Multitasking
KEYFRAMES NOT SO KEY? Unless explicitly marketed as a motion or video internship, most positions consider any animation or video editing software to be a plus for applicants.
Interest in field
MacOS
AutoCAD
Typography
Presentation Skills
UX/UI concepts
Figma
Premiere Pro
After Effects Photography Second Language
A Plus
Copywriting
Customer Service
Storytelling
HTML/CSS
WordPress
Marketing
Traditional Art AR/VR
Adobe XD
Publication Design
Work Experience
Tends to be required
Hard skills
radius = popularity of skill
Soft skills
Tends to be a plus
Tends to be preferred
FIG. 3: REQUIREMENT INDEX.
Working toward Bachelor’s
PREFERRED
FORMULA OF A DESIGN INTERNSHIP LISTING. What you might expect when you plug “design internship” into an online job board. Visit listingtranslator.com to install the browser extension accompanying this publication.
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us and acclaimed branding studio with PretendEmployer is an ambitious ambitio
expertise EXPERTISE ranging from logo design to brand copywriting and social CREATIVITY to all its work, media management. PretendEmployer brings creativity to deliver maximum impact for clients and reach a diverse diverse customer base. [Insert aspirational company tagline here]. 2
PretendEmployer is looking for our next Design Intern who is looking to become the next creative superstar. We are seeking someone who is motivated and interested in what's going on around the curious, highly motivated SELF-STARTER that not only world and how it impacts brands. You are a self-starter TRENDS but could create a few, too. Do you have experience understands trends, with Adobe Creative Suite? Looking to use your skills to help brands be culture If so, PretendEmployer is lookmore creative and connected to culture? ing for candidates just like you! 3
AUTHENTIC Our paid, full-time internship is designed to give you the authentic experience of working in a real branding studio. This will be a 3-month long internship chock full of valuable valuable learning opportunities. Sound like you want to work with us?
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You must be a junior, senior, or recent college graduate. You must be available to work a full-time schedule, Monday–Friday, 9 flexibility as needed. a.m.–6 p.m. ET, with some flexibility This is a hybrid position with an expectation to work in our New York office at least once a week.
Mission and vision statements are concise yet high-promising phrases that describe where a company sees itself now and in its future endeavors.
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IS THIS YOU?
This is where they tell you who you are—that is, if you are the archetype of an intern they have dreamed you up to be. In this section, employers list more descriptors, this time outlining the kind of employee they’re seeking. The point of these terms is to tell you the type of behavior that could help you be a successful intern at their workplace.
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QUICK SUMMARY
LOGISTICS
The minimum qualities or abilities the employer expects in an applicant.
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REQUIREMENTS
Subjective measurements of required hard and soft skills.
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Familiarity with video editing software a plus. Interest in copywriting strongly preferred, but not required. Experience creating and maintaining a WordPress site preferred.
Social Values
Keep an eye out for terms referring to social ideals, such as diversity, creativity, or ambition—these are often used in the place of a straightforward list of values.
A pithy abstract.
Fluent in Adobe Creative Suite (InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop). enthusiasm passion, and curiosity. Must show enthusiasm, Must have the desire and willingness to learn new skills. PROACTIVE thinker, always bringing in new ideas. You’re a proactive Strong desire to collaborate, with a positive positive demeanor. Sensitivity to trends influencing popular culture and design.
Time Management
THE HOOK
Here, the employer gets your attention with their impressive values, missions, and characteristics.
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5
Behavioral Quality
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PREFERRED, A PLUS
Knowledge or qualities that *might* help you get a foot in the door in the application process.
Company Acclaim
FIG. 4: EXAMPLE LISTING ANALYSIS.