Art Director
(Male, Age 32) from Tampa, FL
This is a REAL-LIFE job profile written by a Male aged 32 who works as a Art Director in Tampa, FL. We have removed all names and personal information in order to protect privacy. This professional kindly spent a bit of their time to complete one of our job profile surveys so that prospective job seekers like you could read their insights. Please excuse any punctuation or grammatical errors in this profile.
At a Glance
Current Job
Basic data on your current job
| Job Title | Art Director |
|---|---|
| Salary | $40,000 |
| Other Compensation | None Set |
| Hours/Week | 40 |
| Company Size | (not answered) |
| Location | Tampa, FL |
| Years Experience | 5 years |
Career Ratings
Opinions on your CAREER overall (i.e. not just your current job)
| Years in Career | 0 |
|---|---|
| Education | (not answered) |
| Income Rating | 0 / 10 |
| Interest Rating | 0 / 10 |
| Work-Life Rating | 0 / 10 |
| Fulfilment Rating | 0 / 10 |
Current job Q&A
Describe the type of organization you work for.
Weekly community newspaper. Less than 20 employees.
Describe your job role and responsibilities.
Editorial layout, Ad design. Production of 3 weekly newspapers as well as various special publications throughout the year.
Please list an additional benefits (beyond compensation) that you receive.
PTO awarded weekly, United Health Insurance/Dental/Vision
Do you feel you are under/over or well/fairly compensated at your current position?
under
Does your job entail you working with others on a daily basis? Is this something you like/dislike about your job? Please explain.
Yes. I work closely with the other graphic artist, the editorial staff and the sales team. I enjoy working with others on a daily basis. I feel it is important to ones health to get a solid dose of human interaction per day.
Do you work collaboratively with supervisors/managers?
Yes
Do you work collaboratively with your co-workers?
Yes
Describe your work location (e.g., office, home, theatre, in the field) and what you like/dislike about working in it.
Our office is located in a storefront shopping center. The location is close enough to home and is a comfortable and convenient place to work.
Please rate each of the following aspects of your current job on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the highest/best):
Income: 8
Benefits: 2
Hours: 5
Co-Workers: 7
Supervisors: 6
Job Title: 1
Level of Responsibility: 3
The Actual Work: 4
A day in the life of…
Please describe a typical workday for you in your current job:
| 5am to 6am | |
| 6am to 7am | |
| 7am to 8am | I wake up at 7:45 on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. 5:45 on Mondays. |
| 8am to 9am | I leave my home at approximately 9:00 am in order to arrive at work by 9:30 am. |
| 9am to 10am | On Wednesday, we have our weekly staff meeting which starts at 9:30 am. Our boss leads a round table discussion which covers every aspect of the company from sales, editorial stories for the upcoming week and any other issues or concerns we might have. Awards are given for a job well done and everyone comments on the the past weeks editions of the paper. |
| 10am to 11am | The staff meeting ends at 10:30 am. I return to my desk and get situated. I check my email and access the current workload. |
| 11am to 12pm | Before lunch I work on ads, doing corrections on existing ones or creating new ones from scratch. We currently use Mac osx and Quark, Adobe Indesign/PhotoShop/Illustartor to design our ads and layout editorial pages. |
| 12pm to 1pm | N/A lunch. |
| 1pm to 2pm | Worked on the ad plan for the paper with the editorial assistant. We collect all the ads for the week and decide where they all go for each edition. Plan is finalized Friday morning. |
| 2pm to 3pm | Thursday and Friday I work mainly on editorial content. Laying out pages using Quark Express. I work closely with the editorial staff to plan where all the content goes. |
| 3pm to 4pm | Worked on several ad changes and a few new ads for the classifieds and directory sections of our papers. |
| 4pm to 5pm | Responded to several emails. Talked to the printer about the upcoming deadlines for the end of the week. Worked on ads. |
| 5pm to 6pm | Designed an ad for a car manufacturer. In this case all of the pieces were provided by the sales rep. There was a large new car section on top of the ad and a used car section on the bottom consisting of 18 cars. |
| 6pm to 7pm | Responded to a few more emails, talked briefly with my boss about a special section due to press next week. Packed up and homeward bound between 7-8pm depending on the work load. |
| 7pm to 8pm | N/A |
| 8pm to 9pm | N/A |
| 9pm to 10pm | N/A |
| 10pm to 11pm | N/A |
| 11pm to 12am | N/A |
Table of Contents
How you got your job
How did you get your current job?
Newspaper
What was the application process?
Submitted resume
Did you have to interview for your current job? If yes, what did the interview process entail?
I submitted my resume through a staffing agency, then I had two interviews. One with one of the owners then another with both of them.
If you can remember, what questions were you asked during the interview?
I don’t remember anything specific, just your standard interview questions.
Do you feel your employer properly prepared you for your job? Explain.
I had very little training. I was more or less thrown into the position.
Was there training for your current position? If yes, what did it entail?
Not really.
Do you feel your educational background prepared you for your job? Explain.
Some. My degree is in more of the traditional sense of art/design. I learned most of what I know on my own.
If applicable, do you feel your internship experience helped you prepare for your job?
If someone wanted to go about getting a job similar to yours, what would you recommend for him or her to do?
Networking. Its generally who you know which will get you that big break.
What skills do you think a person should have if they want to pursue a position like yours?
Proficiency in all the latest design programs and mac osx. Creativity is key, the technical aspect and speed can be taught/learned.
Do you feel that you need a certain level of education or training to be successful in your job?
college or comparable technical degree
What advice would you give to someone who was about to start work in your position/ line of work?
Be the best at what you know, whether it is editorial layout, ad or web page design. Always be willing to learn new things and roll with the times.
Long-term career plans
Is your current employment part of your overall career plan? Why or why not?
Yes. It is an important stepping stone in my career path. I am learning a lot and gaining valuable work experience.
What are your current career goals?
Becoming a full time artist (traditional painting). Having my own design business.
Is there anything else you would like to share about your career?
Prior work history
Please list your most recent jobs prior to this current job:
| Title | Length | Salary | Description | |
| Prior Job 1 | Graphic Artist | 2 years | 25 | Mostly typesetting, some design of seminar invitations. A lot of production work. |
| Prior Job 2 |
Educational background
Please list your educational background:
High School GPA:3.75
| GPA | School | Degree | |
| College (Undergraduate) or Technical/Vocational |
3.25 | USF | Studio Art |
| Graduate or Professional (Masters or Doctorate) |
Ask a Question of this Mentor
This mentor has opted to receive questions from people interested in this career or job position. Please be respectful of their time and willingness to help. Include some basic relevant background so they can intelligently answer your question.