How to Find a Job as a Newbie Motion Designer

How to Find a Job as a Newbie Motion Designer

Are you looking for a job that will cover everything you need to gradually build a strong career in motion design? Although the industry has become pretty competitive, motion designers are also among the most in-demand professionals nowadays.

Being a creative professional in 2022 is pretty rough, and that can be even more overwhelming if you’ve entered the market as a newbie, yet talented, designer. With more than 400,000 graphic design-related businesses worldwide, you have to stand out from the competition, especially if you consider working as a freelancer.

The good news is that this is doable. All you need to do is be organized and prepare yourself. In this 5-minute read, you’ll learn how to make the motion design job-seeking process much more manageable.

From crafting a top-notch designer resume to utilizing the power of social media and freelance platforms, nothing will be left out. Let’s have a look at the 6 key steps you should follow to find a job as a newbie motion designer.

Finding Job as a Newbie Motion Designer: 6 Essential Steps You Should Follow

Think of the following steps as a list of tricks you can use to find the perfect first motion designer job. Even though utilizing all of the tips below isn’t necessary, combining some (or all) of them usually results in better job opportunities.

1. Creating and Perfecting your Resume

Although this might seem like a no-brainer, creating a top-notch resume is the first step into building a successful career in motion design. Whether you’re applying for a standard job position via a job board or a freelance project, a well-crafted resume will always come in handy.

creative resume

If you don’t know what you should include in your resume, there’s nothing to worry about. All you have to do is download a free creative resume template and adjust it accordingly. Your motion graphic resume should always include the following:

  1. Personal Profile/Bio: Some key information about yourself like your age, interests, and abilities)
  2. Contact Information: Current address, email, phone number, social media accounts
  3. Education and Certificates: Relevant BA, MA, Ph.D. degrees, workshops, etc
  4. Soft Skills: Your strong abilities (e.g. multi-tasking, good team player)
  5. Previous experience: For you as a newbie, this could include personal projects, your portfolio, and so on.
  6. Languages
  7. Achievements, Interests and Hobbies

Once you’ve created your resume, it’s time to do something every designer loves doing: to get creative.

2. Showcasing your Work: The Importance of a Demo Reel and Portfolio

As a newbie motion designer, chances are that your previous work experience isn’t that extended. But, there are other ways to make clients or employers trust you and showcase your talent. The first one is via a Demo Reel. This is nothing but a small demo (30 seconds or so) that demonstrates your talent as a motion designer.

All you have to do is use a demo reel template, put together your best work, collect feedback and adjust. This is a simple, yet a super-effective way to market yourself as a professional on social media, freelance platforms, etc. The same is true for online creative portfolios. Nowadays, you can easily create a portfolio for free and, as a motion designer, you have most of the knowledge needed to do it.

create a portfolio

A portfolio will allow potential customers to see your work and give them the chance to contact you. This is why creating an online creative portfolio is a very smart thing to do if you’d like to experiment with freelancing for the first time.

However, a top-notch portfolio will rarely attract traffic from day 1. So, what alternatives do you have? Let’s have a deeper look into it.

3. Direct to Client: Try Several Freelance Platforms

Freelancing can be scary, at least if you don’t know how to start. Still, with freelancing comes great freedom. This is simply the best way to work from anywhere, at any time. As mentioned above, creating an online portfolio is crucial to showcase your work online.

But, when it comes to finding motion design work quickly online, it simply doesn’t get better than freelance platforms. Websites like Upwork and Freelancer allow you to find, communicate and ultimately work with clients from all around the world.

You can compare the multiple available platforms until you find the one(s) that match your needs and preferences. After undertaking a few motion design projects on such websites, you will have the chance to attract more customers via referrals, and of course your portfolio.

Related: Top 5 Most In-Demand Freelance Skills For 2022

4. Motion Design Studios and Agencies: Trying out Different Job Boards

On the flip side, freelancing isn’t for everyone. In fact, with great freedom comes great responsibility. If you consider yourself a team player and want to find a job that will give you a stable income, you can apply for jobs in motion design studios and agencies.

There are multiple online job boards for motion designers. Some of the best in terms of filtering and variety of job opportunities are Dribbble and Motionographer. Try to narrow down your searches based on your skills and expertise. A smart thing to do is use keywords like motion designer, beginner, novice, and internship and avoid job positions that contain other terms like experienced, manager, etc.

find creative jobs

This will save you valuable time when seeking a job position that fits your skills as a newbie.

5. Utilize the Power of Social Media

Apart from constructing your resume and portfolio, you can start polishing your social media accounts. Platforms that are based on visuals (e.g. Instagram) are very effective when it comes to attracting new customers online.

There are multiple premade Instagram templates you can use to sparkle your motion graphic work and share it with the world. You can either create your top-notch stories and posts on graphic design software like Photoshop or quickly edit the templates on free web-based editors like Canva.

6. Don’t Underestimate Networking

Lastly, it would be a deficiency if we didn’t talk about networking. As a motion designer, you should know that all creative industries are ultimately interactive and collaborative.

networking for creatives

Whether you are about to become a freelancer or part of a motion graphics team, you should always be eager to communicate and learn from more experienced professionals.

Asking for feedback on social media is a very effective tactic to improve your skills. All successful motion designers participate in social media groups and attend bootcamps regularly to stay up to date.

Conclusion

Although creating a top-notch creative resume, demo reel and online portfolio are crucial in the early stages of your motion design career, your success will always come down to your work quality.

So, whether you choose to follow a freelance or in-house career, always try to improve both your soft skills and your motion design skills. If you do that, you have nothing to be afraid of!

View next: The 17 Best Jobs for Digital Nomads And Where To Find One

Leave a Reply