These are the necessary questions for artists and designers building a career.
To make this Questionnaire into a Career Plan, copy and paste the questionnaire into your own document, answer the questions, then create paragraphs under each header as in the professional example and student examples (download).
Tell us about you:
Your Name, Address, Phone, Email:
Your Blog address that you will create in this class:
What your career objective?
What is your tagline?
What is your 30 second description?
(Create a cover sheet with this information including your logo)
Your Market:
What are the trends in your market?
What is your market position summary?
Who are your competitors? List 3 include websites.
What is your differential in your market? (Are you faster, more diverse, better, easier to use, online shopping cart, digital, hand in projects digitally, use a tablet, better lighting, style differences ie rotoscoping, flat shapes, rendered foreground with abstract background)
Describe your most important strengths and core competencies.
What factors will make you succeed for the companies you wish to work for?
What do you think your major competitive strengths will be?
What background experience, skills, and strengths do you personally bring to a company that will improve their bottom line? (Are you able to discuss, ideate, rework, give presentations both verbally and written?)
What is your focus within your market?
Describe the customer demographics of the companies you wish to work for? (These are the consumers or businesses who are the most likely to buy from the company you will work for.)
• When choosing a target market of consumers, use some or all of the following parameters: age, gender, where they live, where they work, occupation, education, income level, marital status, race, needs, values, buying patterns, styles, lifestyles, cultures, interests, hobbies, personality types or traits.
• When choosing a target market for businesses, use some or all of the following parameters: industry, type of business, annual sales, number of employees, location, number of years in business, type of ownership, membership in trade associations or organizations.
Your Marketing Plan:
What is your marketing plan in order to get the job you want?
What is your marketing budget for the first year as you look for a job?
How will you advertise your need for work?
How are others in your market advertising?
What type of marketing collateral will you use?
How much will it cost to produce the marketing collateral?
Create a timeline:
• To meet your goals, what do you need to do while in school until graduation?
• What needs to be in your portfolio based on your market research? (List projects by market, medium with details about (length of project if time based))
• What classes will you need to take to meet your goals?
• What do you need to do meet your goals what do you need to have completed Six Months after graduation?
• To meet your goals, what do you need to have completed 2 years after graduation?
• To meet your goals, what do you need to have completed 5 Years after graduation?
What is your brand? You are a product that you need to market to a company.
Colors:
Look and feel of blog and marketing collateral including resume and cover letters:
Typography:
Who can act as a mentor in the market? (Someone that can review your portfolio and help direct it to meet the needs of the market.)
Financials
What is your target salary?
What are the benefits that you will need?
What could you charge per hour if you were working as a freelancer?
What is a typical large job you can perform for your company?
Describe client and Project Details
What is a typical medium job you can perform for your company?
Describe client and Project Details
What is a typical small job you can perform for your company?
Describe client and Project Details
Other notes that help to explain your career plan:
Consider filling out the Business Plan if part of your career you will be operating freelance.
If you are going to be going into freelance,"about 62 percent of artists and related workers are self-employed." United States Department of Labor create a business plan.
