So you want to work in a web design company in Brisbane? This article gives you useful tips and advice for all would-be web developers in Australia’s most livable city.
The web development job market is very crowded in Australia, as it is in most countries. Not only do you have fully qualified people looking for jobs, but you also have self taught enthusiasts and those who think being able to edit a Facebook page means they can be called web designers. Fortunately there is also a high demand for web development so new job opportunities are springing up all the time.
One of the important choices that you have to make when looking for a job in web design is do you want to work in a small or large firm. In Brisbane we have a good mixture of these two types, so there is plenty of scope.
Let’s look at the relative advantages and disadvantages of working for small or large firm.
Small Firms
Small firms offer the advantage of a high level of variation in projects. One day you may be making simple edits to a web site the next you might be designing a site from scratch. Another advantage that you might find is that you are able to effect the strategy and direction of the design firm. If it’s a small team your views will be heard and your decisions will make a difference. Of course this can lead to higher levels of responsibility and therefore stress, but at least you’ll feel in control of your own future. You will have to be prepared to use a wide range of skills in a small firm, if you only know Dreamweaver then a small firm is probably not the place for you, but if you are happy to jump into Photoshop, think nothing of setting up an FTP connection and know your way around the most popular content management systems, you might feel right at home.
Disadvantages of working for a small firm include the amount of relatively menial tasks that may have to be performed. For example you might be hoping to test your design skills to the full and feel disappointed to be doing simple page updates or admin tasks. The lack of a structure at work may also be frustrating; an ‘all hands on deck’ approach is often used in small firms.
From a monetary point of view working in a small firm can be good and bad. Many small firms are cash poor and can’t match the salaries of the big firms, but they can experience far higher growth. Your input could result in a small firm’s output increasing substantial and potentially upping your salary. My advice would be to negotiate some kind of profit sharing or commission incentive; it’ll help you get more dollars in your pocket and keep you focused and interested in your work.
Large Firms
It can often appear quite glamorous; flash offices, big clients, impressive colleagues. And it is true that you will probably be exposed to the higher end of the market, but that doesn’t mean you’ll be wining and dining clients and working on the glitziest projects all the time. Starting out in a large firm often means starting low and working your way up, so be prepared to do the hard yards. The ability for you to make decisions and to affect the company’s direction will almost certainly be limited compared to working in a small firm.
The large firms can often afford to pay web designers very well and in the right place your skills and talents should be noticed and rewarded, but perhaps not as quickly as in a small firm. Larger firms can also allow for a greater degree of specialisation, you may have responsibility for just one discrete element of web design. Whether this is seen as an advantage or not will be an indicator as to your suitability for life with the big boys.
Brisbane’s Choice
In Brisbane we have a wide range of web development firms that can be seen as potential employers. The larger firms tend to be in the city and you will have to make appointments either with the human resources department or via a recruitment firm. Sending a resume in will not do any harm especially if you include examples of your work.
I would recommend avoiding the very smallest of firms as these are often home office type setups and may not be run very professionally. The next step up are the small firms with offices or shops, of these I would chose the most visibly and active, after all you don’t want to work in dingy back office with no new clients.
Look in the areas of Brisbane known for creative industries; these include Woolloongabba, West End and the Valley. Have a walk around and get a feel for the how the firms look and how busy they seem. Don’t be afraid to pop in and have chat.
BA Creative is a small Brisbane web development firm with a lovely shop in Woolloongabba. Pop in to talk about great web design.
