I Received the following email today from a student looking for advice on getting into the web industry.  I thought it was a good question and wanted to post the answer on our blog.  We get a lot of resumes from college students and I thought this would be a good chance to share more about the types of students we look to hire.

The Question:

My name is XXXXX, and I am a Senior at the University of Texas at Dallas. I am currently majoring in Arts and Technology.

Because I'll be graduating soon I wanted to ask someone who is already in my field of interest if you had any advice for someone just getting into web and graphic design.

My Answer:

1. Build an incredible portfolio.  Hosting is cheap and you can get student copies of the software.  Create pro-bono sites for local non-profits and make local small businesses a deal that they can’t refuse.  If you can’t come up with an actual project to work on, make something up and build a site around the idea.  Most interactive companies are busy and are looking for college graduates that can hit the ground running.  Nothing demonstrates that better than a strong online portfolio.
2. Participate in great internships.  If you are doing number one above then you will not have any problem finding a good internship.  We actually pay our interns a good wage and provide housing for them.  Most interactive companies probably do something similar.  There’s just no reason to graduate from college without a good online portfolio and actual work experience.
3. Delete your lame MySpace page.  We do background research on our job applicants and if we find a lame MySpace page with a picture of you and a beer bong then we are going to pass.  Not because we are opposed to beer, but because we are opposed to candidates that don’t understand the influence the Internet has in building their personal brand. 
4. Blog.  Create a personal blog where you discuss projects you are working on, things you are learning, and stuff in life you find interesting.  It can be personal, but keep it professional.  Again, you are building an online reputation for yourself.  Use your blog to demonstrate your passion for this industry and your knowledge of what’s going on.
5. Be a passionate learner.  The most important thing you will learn in school is how to learn.  You won’t remember the details in the papers you wrote or the tests you studied for, but hopefully you did develop a process for learning new things and organizing your thoughts around new ideas.  The Internet is a competitive landscape that is constantly changing.  Stay ahead of the curve and you will always be in demand.  When you start your new job, show up believing that you can learn something new from every person already working at that company.  In this industry your work will speak for itself…let it.
6. Don’t send a resume.  Instead, prepare a letter introducing yourself and why you believe you would be a great fit for whatever company you are applying at.  Provide the link to your online portfolio and your blog.  We get so many resumes from college students with little to no actual job experience, no links to projects they have worked on, and no cover letter explaining why they are applying.  We promptly file those in the not interested folder.