Each week I get two or three requests for design work. They come sometimes from contacts, but more often than not they come from random people. Sometimes they even come from web-famous people or well-known companies. What is interesting about this though is that I no longer freelance, advertise for work or even have a portfolio.

Actually it can be pretty hard to contact me, though I did finally put up a little website for myself sometime ago.
Although these days I turn away all this work, for some years I did in fact work as a freelance designer and happily always had more work than I could do – despite being inclined to overwork.
So how do you get web design jobs? Or any other type of job? Here are some things that have worked for me.

[size=14pt]1. PUSH YOURSELF AND GET GOOD[/size]

I’m not the best designer out there, and you don’t need to be either. But you do need to be pretty good. I like to think that there is an 80/20 rule applying here. That is to get 80% good takes a few years of work, to get that last 20% and get to the top of your field takes a lot more effort (and/or talent). I think I’ve gotten to 80%, I design things that are solid. I’ve never won any awards, but my work is functional, appealing and generally well-liked. I admire really great, cool and clever designers, but know that I’m probably never going to be one of them.

So how do you get 80% good? You push yourself of course! I started out years ago as a mathematics major who liked fireworks tutorials, not exactly a recipe for good design. But I read a lot of really good design books on typography, grids, aesthetics, colour, more typography, branding, advertising, even more typography … you get the picture. I went to design events and conferences, talked to designers as much as possible, got a job at a small agency and endlessly talked to the senior web designer there.

I also did as much work as I could find. First I wrote tutorials, then I started entering competitions (never mind that I never won, or even had anything worth competing most of the time), then I started taking charity jobs, then freelance work and the whole time I would design my own sites and brands over and over and over. Do I think you need talent to be a good designer? Not particularly. It sure helps, but I like to think I made up for a lack of talent or artistic background with sheer hard work.

[size=14pt]2. BE LIKEABLE, EXCITED AND ENTHUSIASTIC[/size]

I have met some really talented people who I would never want to work with, simply because I didn’t really like them. The people who are going to hire you are … well, people. And like any other people, they are going to like someone who is nice, friendly, warm, interested in them and interested in their project.

It’s often the little things that make a big difference in this area. Chioma likes to tell a story about a photographer she knows who takes cups of coffee with him to photo shoots for his clients, and has noted that a few times this has been the deciding factor in winning him future jobs. A friendly tone in emails, a genuine interest in people, enthusiasm about work, it all helps!

[size=14pt]3. BE REFERRABLE![/size]

A large number of jobs for most freelancers come from referred clients. Do a good job for one person and they tell others for you. 80% of all the jobs I’ve worked were referrals and I think being referable is extremely important. Focus on the characteristics that make people want to work with you, and be reliable, very reliable.

Reliability is one of the most prized characteristics for a freelancer. As a client finding someone you can rely on means solving a problem permanently. Many freelancers are not reliable, and this presents and easy way to stand out from the rest.

[size=14pt]4. DESIGN THE PORTFOLIO YOU THINK YOUR CLIENTS WANT TO SEE[/size]

It never fails to amaze me how many designer portfolios I see that feel like they are aimed at other designers. The language you use on your portfolio site, the pieces you choose and the presentation should all be pitched at the clients you are trying to land. When hiring designers for corporate work I’ve had people present me portfolios of grungy, edgy or just arty work. This is a huge turn off and for a client, rather confusing. People want to see what they want to buy, not something completely different. So if your target market is edgy, make it edgy, if it’s corporate, make it corporate. Spend the time defining your brand and target market and then create a portfolio that will appeal to them.

[size=14pt]5. FOCUS ON CLIENTS AND BE FLEXIBLE[/size]

To be a good designer you need to do work that fits your brief. You should not do work that you happen to want to do, use a trendy style just because, be fixated on designing how you like or any of the other many sins designers regularly commit. If you focus on solving your client’s problem, are flexible and adjust to their needs and within the framework of your brief put together the best possible design solution you can, then you are going to be a designer in demand.

One common complaint I hear from designers is, “my client has bad taste” or “my client demands changes that ‘ruin’ a design”. First of all, let me say, I *completely* understand. Unfortunately that’s rubbish, and you’ll need to get over it.

If you want to make things to please yourself, go be an artist. If you want to be a designer you have to learn to manage your client, explain why some things are good and others bad, fit their requirements, be flexible and compensate for external issues out of your control (your client’s love of pink or their horrid logo). That’s just part of the job description.

[size=14pt]6. GET A HIGH PROFILE[/size]

But you don’t need to own a high traffic website to get a high profile. Most of the job offers just get sent to our various contact forms saying things like “Who is your web designer?”, “I have a job for your web designer” and so on. In other words you just need to design a site that has a high profile. You can do this by getting your work into CSS and web design galleries or by offering to design a high profile blog (lord knows, some of them could do with a redesign).

There are other ways to get a high profile too. Positioning yourself as an expert and achieving credibility are great ways to make clients come to you. Often becoming an acknowledged expert has more to do with deciding you are one than any external nomination. One excellent strategy to achieving is outlined in Leo’s recent article on giving away your services

Those are my insights into why work offers come easy for me. I hope they help you too on your way to freelance and design success! And let's i forget, Prayer is the Master Key.

You have spoken well bro most importantly by ending it with ''And let's i forget, Prayer is the Master Key''

feyisara: You have spoken well bro most importantly by ending it with ''And let's i forget, Prayer is the Master Key''

Thank you bro. Hope to see you ontop soon.

Good one

Slyr0x: Good one

Thank you bro.

Men, you really know your onions...guess what? I stopped reading after you mentioned the 80/20 rule. To become the greatest, you really need to work far more than the best are already working and it will be a matter of time before you qualify to be mentioned as a great man in your chosen field. Thanks for the insight.

This is a wonderful post. You said you no longer freelance. However, I hope you still run a blog. You got content bro.

defile sleep

Great post, thanks

Great post...

What about getting international clients.
Its quite difficult to attract intenational client when they discover you are a Nigerian.
A quick way getting foreign client is by given your potential clients US Phone Numbers to reach you.
By doing so, they will assume you are in the US or you have a business affiliate in the US.

You can get US phone number configured to ring on your phone line here in Nigeria at Usacallsms. com

20mins free trial for US Numbers is currently being given on this nairaland thread;


https://www.nairaland.com/1417258/get-usa-phone-number-calls#17756029

Great job, good advice, good talk

Lol
.

looking back, i will say it has been very good and i want to say my success lies with God and some internet marketing skills i picked up...

as for getting international clients...i think that is easier than getting the locals to pay you...im a member of one of the most reputable internet marketing forum and i sell my service as a web designer/logo designer. they dont really care if im black or a nigerian as long as i have good reviews...

i make much more from int. clients than i make with our locals here. [although my service comes very cheap but when you convert the currency to # its very encouraging and when you deliver at the right time you have a life long outsourcers]


last year alone i got so overwhelmed with projects from jv deals that i became a disappointment to some of them, and this really affected my profile. but since then ive learnt my lessons. it was all about the money then. but not anymore, its more about helping others when needed... i have given out web tutorial video that cost me so much here on nairaland just to make sure many also have the opportunity to get something doing.

web designing is not all about how good your design is but what your website will do to impact their business. i think one thing ive noticed working for me with the locals here is selling seo service with web design. business owners want something that will impact their business positively and telling them that you can help thier business achieve good visibility on the search engine has worked wonders for me recently.

winexviv: Good day everyone!

Few weeks ago, i made a post here as a broke web developer thinking of changing career.

Fortunately, I made the nairaland frontpage. I got lots of emails from people requesting that i should do one web project or the other.

Now, the story is different. God has made it for me. I have gotten a good number of jobs in just few days and i get my pay quick. Many thanks to the moderator and Nairaland.

Wow! I am Very Proud of Your Achievements. How things can change within a very short time. It's good to be good if I must say. I went through some of your past posts and you seem to be a very willing to help kinda person.
By the way, your write up is powerful, I actually thought you even copied and pasted it from some international web design blog .lol

If I must ask, I just started self tutoring my self in php and MySQL, how long will I ever finish my self training to become a standard Web developer to start receiving Web development jobs .Thanks

getting to know php and mysql could be quite difficult if you dont have a basic html knowledge but that is not to say you cant learn it...there are lots of tutorials[videos] you can pick up online to help yourself...how long will it take you to get the hang of it, it really depends on who's doing the learning, some learn faster than others...

D.trader:

Wow! I am Very Proud of Your Achievements. How things can change within a very short time. It's good to be good if I must say. I went through some of your past posts and you seem to be a very willing to help kinda person.
By the way, your write up is powerful, I actually thought you even copied and pasted it from some international web design blog .lol

If I must ask, I just started self tutoring my self in php and MySQL, how long will I ever finish my self training to become a standard Web developer to start receiving Web development jobs .Thanks

D.trader:

Wow! I am Very Proud of Your Achievements. How things can change within a very short time. It's good to be good if I must say. I went through some of your past posts and you seem to be a very willing to help kinda person.
By the way, your write up is powerful, I actually thought you even copied and pasted it from some international web design blog .lol

If I must ask, I just started self tutoring my self in php and MySQL, how long will I ever finish my self training to become a standard Web developer to start receiving Web development jobs .Thanks

Thanks bro. The best way to become a good developer is to pick-up a complex tax that requires php and mysql and start working seriously on it. Before you know it every function and syntaxes will be part of you. Also, Challenges you will face along the way will build you better. Goodluck bro.

lame post. Its all about connection.

Really!!!!!!!!!

D.trader:

Wow! I am Very Proud of Your Achievements. How things can change within a very short time. It's good to be good if I must say. I went through some of your past posts and you seem to be a very willing to help kinda person.
By the way, your write up is powerful, I actually thought you even copied and pasted it from some international web design blog .lol

If I must ask, I just started self tutoring my self in php and MySQL, how long will I ever finish my self training to become a standard Web developer to start receiving Web development jobs .Thanks

it takes about a month to study it and maybe four months to master it. You will also learn new tricks on the job

luvscholar: it takes about a month to study it and maybe four months to master it. You will also learn new tricks on the job

Uhm, when you say master it - you must specify what. Let us say you want to learn only joomla, yes you can.

But let us say you want to learn: html, css, javascript,php,mysql. . . . .responsive design,joomla,dreamweaver and master it. Heaves

dhtm12:
Uhm, when you say master it - you must specify what. Let us say you want to learn only joomla, yes you can.

But let us say you want to learn: html, css, javascript,php,mysql. . . . .responsive design,joomla,dreamweaver and master it. Heaves

do you learn dreamweaver?

I learnt ALL (almost all), but i specialize in writing my own codes sha, be it dreamweaver, extensions etc




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And even ETT (END TIME TINZ) *phew, and i shall get banned again by the elstiupedo moderator/admin*

For the ehm uncountable timz, one day, nairaland will get tired of banning me.

dhtml12: I learnt ALL (almost all), but i specialize in writing my own codes sha, be it dreamweaver, extensions etc




#



And even ETT (END TIME TINZ) *phew, and i shall get banned again by the elstiupedo moderator/admin*

i meant "what's there to learn about dreamweaver that it got listed among php, mysql and stuffs?"

^^^There is much to be learnt about dreamweaver, you know what i mean?


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ILLUMINATI TINZ!