Skip to main content

Skills Gap & Job Analysis



Another step that I took which helped me visualise the steps I need to take in order to get a job in the field I have chosen was to look into current web design vacancies. Understanding what skills employers seek from candidates would help me analyse my understanding of how prepared I am at the moment to get a job in web design and what I need to do to increase the chances of getting employed.

For the purpose I spent some time researching web design job specifications and came across a wide range of skills that are primarily required for the job. Here is a list of the vacancies which the content below is based on:

Based on the aforementioned vacancies, I made a list of required job attributes that employers in the web design field are most likely to look for in job candidates. Here are some of the most frequently demanded skills for a web designer followed by my view of how competitive I am in them (with scores from 1 to 5) and my opinion on how I can improve in the certain field.
  1. Have good working knowledge and understanding of CSS & HTML5 for creating online content

    • Level of competence -  4 (previous experience in constructing web pages for university projects that gained satisfying marks and feedback ; regularly practicing and improving current HTML & CSS skills by following online tutorials and trends for presenting online content (Lynda.com ; w3schools.com ; musefree.com)
    • Ways to improve - mastering my existing knowledge on web building programming languages by learning more about jQuery and Javascript

  2. Have experience in using Adobe Photoshop or other design packages
    • Level of competence - 3 (confidently using Adobe Photoshop for various purposes (academical, casual, work-experience related) ; successfully building online content from scratch by working with Adobe Muse & Dreamweaver for my own portfolio website)
    • Ways to improve - getting more familiar with Adobe InDesign - a valuable tool for publishing online materials  (posters,brochures,magazines) and creating appropriate layout styles ; improving current Adobe Illustrator techniques in order to be able to create specific ornaments and decorations for web pages

  3. Possess interpersonal skills and  have the ability to work within a collaborative environment
    • Level of competence - 3 (forming groups for previous and ongoing university projects with people with similar interests and design approaches ; maintaining a peaceful and productive workflow while being part of a group project)
    • Ways to improve - being more open to different opinions concerning the creative direction of the project ; ensure that people who don't voice their opinions as much are also heard and feel satisfied with the direction of the project

  4. Present a portfolio of original work showcasing all elements of design experience required
    • Level of competence - 3 (setting the foundation of my own portfolio website by choosing the following elements - parallax image technique for the separate sections of the website, navigation and logo (fixed to the top of the page) & images and font for presenting the content)
    • Ways to improve - research hosting solutions in order for the website to be uploaded online and accessible to everyone ; add responsiveness to the content so that it is easily displayable on various devices (PCs,mobile phones, tablets) ; think about appropriate ways to layout the key portfolio section that showcases my previous work in a professional manner

  5. Excellent presentation skills and ability to explain and sell ideas to clients and colleagues
    • Level of competence - 3 (previous experience as an assistant to an educational fair representing University of Portsmouth abroad (2013) ; doing small presentations as part of my ongoing university studies discussing design approaches and creative decisions for projects as well as presenting a favourite piece of online content and analyzing its distinguishing features)
    • Ways to improve - check feature events from Purple Door that could improve my presentation skills and confidence while talking in front of an audience

  6. Reliable planning and time management abilities to help meet deadlines & working  in a dynamic environment
    • Level of competence - 4 (successfully spreading work for university projects based on different factors - submission date, type of project (group/individual), type of artefact (digital/physical) ; set starting and ending points to the different phases of creating an artefact & keeping to them time wise ; review & hand-in the finished artefacts on time )
    • Ways to improve - look more into project planning methodologies and appropriate ways to organise my work on projects (reminders, sticky notes, Gantt chart)

  7. Understanding of Content Management Systems (CMS) and web hosting 
    • Level of competence - 2.5 (awareness of Wordpress and Joomla from looking into website creating approaches in the past ; seeing online tutorials for setting up a Wordpress based website and researching Wordpress themes )
    • Ways to improve - attempt to create a test webpage using a CMS, research ways of customisation, applying custom fonts and widgets ; look up hosting platforms, pricing and appropriate tutorials

  8. Awareness of Search Engine Optimisation Principles and cross-browser compatibility issues
    • Level of competence - 2 (have some knowledge on SEO tools but not much actual experience with using them ; experience with cross-browser testing and finding ways to ensure that when designing a webpage it is appropriately tested on different browsers with different resolutions)
    • Ways to improve - research SEO guidelines and tools ; work more on testing approaches (look into appropriate testing plugins, use different devices)
Also, most of the web design vacancies require some sort of relevant work experience in this area. I will talk more about this in the next few posts that will concentrate on my continuing  work with a web design agency on Isle of Wight called Bate Brand.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Signature Printing: Next Steps

During my next few meetings at the Bate Brand office Elliott asked me if I can start working on the footer section of Signature Printing as at that point we pretty much had most of the content for the homepage. All images were in place, the layout was approved and the animation that I had implemented was working well. Where text content was needed, I put placeholder text which would later on be changed by Bate Brand’s copywriter – Laura. For the footer I attempted adding a contact form, subscribe button and a small text box that contains address details and contact number. Mark then joined in and showed me how to customize the fields in the contact form and how to display a response message. Up to that point I and the rest of the team were pleased with the homepage. Subsequently, we decided that it was time to think about the rest of the sections in the main menu. I looked into other printing and print consultancy related websites’ navigation ideas more extensively and came up w...
Post a Comment
Read more

Creating a mockup for Signature Printing

For my next meetin with Bate Brand I researched some of the features that sites identical to Signature Printing incorporate. Subsequently, I created a PSD mockup that included a carousel slideshow, fixed menu at the top of the page and parallax scrolling I presented the mockup to Elliott and justified my choice for the sections and dynamic functionality (where available). He seemed pleased with it and said him and Mark would go through it more extensively. Also, Elliott gave me access to Bate Brand’s Squarespace account so I could explore it a bit more and attempt adding content blocks, check the available templates and see how the mock I had created can be best represented with a Squarespace template. I decided to use the Bedford template as a start. I had no difficulties placing content blocks or rearranging them. However, after analyzing the settings options and doing additional research online, I found out that the template does not support parallax scrolling o...
Post a Comment
Read more

Looking for work experience

Acquiring work experience before graduating and getting a feel of what working with professionals feels like are objectives I consider as highly important. This led me to applying on a voluntary basis for several companies on Isle of Wight as a Web Design intern, hoping to produce some original work and make contacts that would help me if I decided to take a placement year. In October 2016 I approached several companies by email and phone. I attached my best pieces of work that match the quality of the projects I had seen in the portfolios of the businesses. A lot of them however were small web design agencies that that could not accommodate a student due to lack of space. Eventually I received a message from a company called Bate Brand that seemed interested in my work. I was invited to their office for an informal chat that would help me and Mark (Bate Brand’s director) see how I can be useful for the company. On October 21st I met Mark and his team in their office in Ryde. ...
Post a Comment
Read more