How to use the Top 5 Job Boards for Web Designers Effectively In 2021

Like Everything in life that rewards greatly, excellence is required, and achieving it is never as easy as depicted from the face-off.

This article focuses on the aspect of securing online opportunities through what is commonly known as "Job Boards". Most likely, you are already very familiar with this term, and if not, here's a brief description of the term Job Boards-

Job Boards are online platforms for freelancers to source for jobs by showcasing their skills and applying directly for posted jobs made by companies. Popular Examples include;

,

Fiverr

,

LinkedIn Jobs

My goal for this post is (effectiveness for you), the reader, so you might notice that it has been written very straightforwardly with no clickbait words that excite you unnecessarily. Now that you know what to expect, Let's Begin!

Being a web Designer is an extremely creative, exciting, and diverse work. It's one of the few online internet skills that give you the flexibility and freedom to explore across different subfields of interest. That being said, calling urself a Web Design is almost a poor way of reference, in fact, who am I to be qualified to say this?, BUT Having a specific idea of what your web design work entails is usually the fastest way to achieve excellence in the field. That seems like basic knowledge, you know, common sense, yet we always end up having a rather vague idea of what our goals are which often leads to mediocrity. Speaking from experience, I know only too well how guilty I was of this.

I would get back to the main subject of this article - How to utilize Job Boards as a Web Designer soon, but before that, I want to just mention that it pays(time & efforts) to define your specific goals and areas of specialty.
note: By telling you to define specific goals, I don't mean to advise that you cannot generalize as a web designer - "we come to this in more details later on".

Now, what exactly do I mean by defining your goals?. For instance, I'm gonna use a brief example I have deliberated on for a while, Let's see;

What is a general definition of Web Design?

Web Design is a field of internet technology that involves building interfaces, image artworks, graphics that are suited for a variety of online internet platforms or works

Can we group Web Design into types or "Subfields"?

Well to summarize, I came up with the following groups ;

• Web Design for Social Media - This includes creating Illustrations for Social and Promotional Posts by Brands, Digital Marketers, or Just Content Creators. A basic example of how I create Social Media posts can be seen below:

Social Post 1	Social Post 2

* Web Design for Web Development - Certainly, the most popular for when people reference the concept of web design, this simply means creating wireframes, and User Interfaces for websites and web applications. Again check the example below, `Note` that this is NOT a website but rather a UI for a website.

Web Design User Interface - Music Site

* **Web Design for Graphics Designing - Arguably should be separate from Web Design as a whole, but since I already started grouping others, it's not fair to leave this aside. And well, graphics are a huge part of the web, - without the web, graphics wouldn't exist. Except well, In Prints**. This grouping consists of designings like Flyers, Banners, Brand Logos, etc. Take a look below so you get the idea(and for a visual tea-break):

Flyer Design for Kendra	Logo Design for Kendra

* 3d Web Designers - And finally, 3d Web Design. Creating 3d objects, perspectives that are combined with all other types mentioned above. This subfield is nothing short of - "The most attractive forms of advertising, media, web creations, etc". _At least for me!_ There are countless of these designs right here on [Behance](https://www.behance.net/search/projects?field=3d%20art), feel free to browse through and be wowed!

Now that we've got that out of the way, may I say, sorry for taking up your precious time, since I divulged a bit from what was intended. These explanations of the different 'channels' of web design creative works are just setting the foundation for what I think is very important for succeeding in Job Boards, the Basics for this article. Understanding that, enables you to decide or realize what field you belong to and want to fix your attention on.

Why do I say this?, Well, I would show you why by briefly relating realistic events that transpired:

When I just got introduced to web design and creating UIs for websites, I was fascinated by it, I loved every aspect and went on to download a mass LOAD of tutorials on it (At best, it cost me 15Gb of PC Storage). Do you think I'm kidding? Reach out to me, and I can show you!. Well, I learned new software and the process involved with creating beautiful, attractive UIs. At first, it was pretty easy for me to design shits, yeah shits, because you see, I was a beginner and appreciated whatever I could come up with. But as time passed, I expected way more from myself. Now, this is where most of us meet this roadblock -

You need to dedicate a large amount of time, resources, and efforts to create anything that is valuable, you must also do this consistently

.

To cut this story short, after meeting this roadblock, I developed restlessness, got overwhelmed, and decidedly started working on materials that were just "borrowed goals". They weren't mine.

This I think gives you a solid idea of what happens when we fail to outline our specific goals when learning a new skill, or trying to revamp our success rate. Now let's do this;

How can you become Sucessful as a Web Designer in online Job Boards

Before I can say HOW?, I should very well know How? i.e 1.)I should have tested the process, step-by-step, and it was a success for ME at the end of the road. OR 2.)I have studied the process, it follows and aligns perfectly with realistic rules about nature, I'm in the process of testing, and I am guaranteed success if I go through with its completion. Unfortunately, I fall under number 2, LOL.

As humans, we are attracted to patterns and people who can teach us about patterns. Patterns define the future, and if I could have just a single superpower, it would be the ability to foresee the future - Telepathy(A curse and a blessing). But since I stand at number 2, and cannot "brag" of a guaranteed pattern, I can only say this - "DARE TO DREAM" .... .... .... .... Oh sorry, I meant "Dare to take a Risk",,

For this article, I would give you a working process that you can utilize on how to win your way into popular job boards that contain numerous opprtunities to scale as a web designer. The job boards I target here are those I currently use:

These 5 (five) listed online Job Boards and Marketplaces are specifically for Web Designers, and if not specific, they contain a large market for Web Designers. Like for instance, in the case of Creative Market, while a large number of sellers are Web designers, there also exists a variety of other Job skills for selling on this platform.

• Softwares required as a web designer (For all SubFields Listed Above)
• How to start Building/ Creating as a Web designer (Points to Prioritize)
• 99 designs & Coroflot (Special Applications Requirements)
• Dribble & Creative Market (How these 2 Platforms would Complement each other)
• Remote Ok (Regular Job applications Saga - How to Apply without getting Bored)
• Conclusion - (Web Designing and Creatively Pushing your Limits)

Now, we begin. It is important to note that the building process of becoming a successful web designer is like "a quadratic equation", in other words, it happens with cumulative effect. Take this for instance;

A web Developer who starts from scratch, Understands the importance of UI, Learns about the system ruggedly with hundreds of tutorials, starts projecting his freelancing works on-site like Fiverr, Discovers that targeting specific Job Boards is more effective, Starts his creative Journey to showcase on these platforms.

Now, after doing all these, he has most likely achieved the following; A Personal Site, He blogs about his web development journey, he has a solid LinkedIn profile, He honors a few hundred search result for his name, He has met(Online) professionally standout people whose contact he holds, He has built up a following online (LinkedIn, Instagram, ArtStation, etc). It might not be exactly as described, but it's a big start.

1. Softwares required as a Web Designer

Before starting to create creatively, it can be quite overwhelming in choosing a path to take. There's a plethora of information online about what software is best for Web Designers, and if you go by reading and effecting all these One things is guaranteed - It wouldn't get you far. We are all humans, so of course, it's only normal that we make mistakes. What can you do in moments such as these? - What can you do when you're torn between deciding which software can sync with your soul and produce maximum potential and results?.

I'll tell you this - NONE really can. It's as simple as that. You choose THE software and not the other way round. I'm not saying you should dedicate time to testing out different software to find what really works for you, that would produce be a mental sporadic effect. What you can do though is very very simple logic - Start with them basis (The base software that can never go unmentioned when talking about web designing fields). Here now I list just three of them;

Adobe Illustrator

We've all heard about the most popular Illustration application by Adobe Inc. Honestly, it's such great software. And for me, there's nothing like software being so useful and at the same time intuitive(that's just pure bliss). But not to delve too deep, this software should be among your top list as a Web Designer.

Like I said earlier; A Web developer starting from scratch, whatever that means to you, for me it does mean one who doesn't have enough monetary means that can properly kickstart a career in a new field in this techno global world where almost everything is Paid. I seriously cannot expect this post to be complete by not ensuring that everyone who reads it can get the basic essentials they need to begin, therefore, I'm outwardly saying that - If you feel that you cannot afford the cost for this software, please do NOT hesitate to reach out to me privately and I can assist you with that xD. For ease, here is my handle on Discord; Chel_#6315.

Anyway, for all other folks - Learning Adobe Illustrator for whichever Web Designing field is a great Investment that every artist should pursue. How to go about that? is entirely out of this article's scope. It's a different world entirely that I believe everyone can discover by themselves.

Figma

Figma is a young but popular software among Web Designers, especially for those who work in User Interface. The USP (Unique Selling Point) of this software is its ease of use. It amazes me what can be accomplished in such a small software like Figma(just 80MB currently). It has an equally popular alternative in Adobe XD, here I can't convince you on which you would prefer between them, but for the following reasons; (A) It's very easy to get started with Figma, AND (B) It has a huge community for learning from others works and useful Plugin that improves your effectiveness, I suggest you start by testing Figma and seeing if it's the right blend for you.

Blender

Usually, most people do not consider Blender appropriate for Web Design work, owing to the fact that it's mainly used for 3d work and, 3 Dimension(3D) is more intensive for the web, BUT (there's always a but), this isn't really the case anymore. 3d for Web has seen a steady rise for the past couple of years, and I believe that this trend would continue before finally attaining a mainstream status in the field. Creating 3d models for the web is a creative and satisfying way for anyone in love with 3d Animations and such to integrate with their web design pursuits and, there's a constantly growing opportunity for you to do this. Take for instance, UI8, one of the largest online marketplaces for 3d Designers to sell their beautiful works of creation. Therefore, Blender got Included in this list of three(3).

2. How to start Building/ Creating as a Web designer (Points to Prioritize)

This is perhaps the hardest, greyest, and most fragile subject in mastering any skill in the world, and writing down lists of say, steps, is the dumbest thing I could include in this post right now!. There's no such thing as that - I mean, listing steps for ANYONE to follow. What I do think is that I should go deeper, relating my Ideas to the core of what makes us all tick (and yeah create), which is the mind, soul, whatever you wanna call it. SO here are simply my points;

Creativity was NEVER an Epiphany Moment for even the Greatest of Artists. Before creating, they deliberated on what they wanted to build. Sometimes you have absolutely NO idea what you wanna create, At other times you are guided by special thoughts and dreams that are unique to you. So just Hang in there during the creation process, if it feels like you can't come up with any ideas no matter how you try, TRUST ME and don't think too bad of it, the good ideas would Eventually** start to flow (this has ALWAYS been the case for me).

• I don't know how far you've explored in the Web Design World, but as this post is aimed at Beginners, I direct most of the content and references as such. So hear this; If you're ONLY a Beginner, stick with that notion. For your sake, you can't expect yourself to understand and produce material that only Pros with 5 years of experience+ can produce, DO YOU?. The internet doesn't make this pitfall any easier for web creators, think of how easy it is to see other creators flaunt their skills so easily on various platforms like Youtube. This causes Beginners to meet with self-criticism early even before their ship has begun to sail. There was a quote I wrote to myself a while back(Not for this post), but I think it's gonna be a nice addition right here.

Quality vs Quantity - By Chel_

Learning is Hard, it takes time and effort, coupled with the randomness of life, it's reasonable to say that, learning just one skill to do just one type of creative work should take years(assuming there's a constant daily/weekly time investment). For someone like me, learning multiple skills, it takes a toll on me to produce quickly my creative results, which IS NOT POSSIBLE, unless I'm ready for my creativity to suffer. Abiding by the following ideas above, I would work and produce steadily guaranteed, and that's how it should be.

| LOL, granted there are some phrases that are plain weird, but I hope this helps you to see my deeper meaning.

• Adopting the beginner's Mindset, while that's hard for almost all persons' to do, removes entirely from your Work-Life the habit of condemnation. I believe that if we can calmly see everything we do as a learning process, we can be at ease and function at our highest levels. The moment you start to think you are better than what you are producing, your work efficiency starts to suffer. Of course, it is only sane to realize that there's a grey area here - Because surely, any Designer should be able to spot when their work is at best mediocre. BUT Spot it, AND Change it, NOT Spot it and be alarmed at your own mediocrity!.

• Don't be scared to think deeply (taking inspective steps) Why? We are extremely fickle beings, and sometimes you don't even know why you aren't producing or persisting the way you were just a week ago, Most likely - Something's bothering You. My Man, you gotta Fish it out, reason it fucking out, And stand by the solution you know is best. We've all been there at least once, but what you do once there is ALL that matters. This might be the most Hindering element for those who work in the field of creativity, But I would sum it up to Having second thoughts about your talent, your works, the process, and everything in between, etc.

Concerning Hard work, Persistence, Desire. It's also a Grey area In my opinion. I can't tell you ANYTHING that's gonna guarantee or lead you to success in this part. None at all. But Remember this Order; You are never gonna make success without Hardwork, Persistence, Desire except you get extremely lucky(say 1 in 1000000 persons) without efforts, But You are more likely** to Attain Success when You are Hardworking, Persistent, and with Desire for your chosen path. Pft I say Likely, But That's the cruel 'chance' about Success. But ONE thing I learned just very recently that was an eye-opener is a simple truth; Hard work + Persistence + Desire, + Ultimately Creating Value for People with your Work Can lead to success faster than Anything I know!.

3. 99 designs & Coroflot (Special Applications Requirements)

In this section, I would talk about the special requirements for getting into 99 Designs Web Design Community and Coroflot Job Board Platform.

| 99 Designs is a creative platform that helps to connect artists with clients. They are like the middlemen bringing together artists and clients for a transaction to happen. One of the hurdles faced by a beginner Artist/ Designer is a shortage of clients. No matter how good you are, there are limited clients at your service when you are just starting your career. Now, 99 Designs is the exact kind of platform a creative artist with little to no connections would look out for. They hold competitions and design bidding challenges where designers showcase their artworks and customer makes their pick. It can be a competitive way of working, but I believe it to be a very fair one in which everyone has an equal chance at visibility and literally the best Design Wins. Unlike in the regular world, where just getting your work out there with a small online presence has proved to be like the great wall of a china stumbling block.

You can visit these two platforms here; 99 Design & Coroflot

Applications Requirements for 99 Design and Coroflot

• You start the application process by submitting some of your previous Web Design works
• Coroflot and 99 designs have a slightly different yet similar application process
• In coroflot, the process is slightly easier and you only need to submit your works guided by tags under a variety of sections such as (Prints, Media, CopyWriting, etc) In our case, this should be any form of Design you are creating for.

  • You are required to submit just three of your best works in order to meet the requirement, it goes under review for a few weeks, before the results are sent to you by email

  • After being accepted, you can now employ the inner community perks and sign up for job offers and showcase your creative works easily.

• In 99designs, you are required to submit 5 of your best works, the process is a little bit more intensive because well, it's 5 Designs rather than 3, and you also need to provide insights or any info regarding your submissions.

Arriving at this process of Applications and being confident about it, is certainly NOT an easy task. I believe that you need to be settled on the path you have chosen and you must have been creating a couple of designs previously for a few months. I mean, as much as you are marking your way into a world of better opportunities and visibility, you are also actually standing against other web designs(So Send your Best Works).

4. Dribble & Creative Market (How these 2 Platforms would Complement each other)

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Dribble, a place for web designers to showcase their beautiful creations. A place that I always tend to lose myself when browsing through. A great many designs for whatever purpose, (Graphics, Web, 3d) can be found here, and it is one of the best platforms for artists to gain targeted visibility and promote their work. I say targeted because, literally anyone browsing on Dribble, is either one of the following personas, (A beginner designer looking to get inspiration from the works of other creators in his/her niche field, A prospective client looking for designs and artists that meet his project requirements, or a Pro designer looking for the similar or varying skillset of artists to onboard into their team).

Creative Market has a more business stroke to it, rather than for weighing in for more visibility purposes, designers use it to actually sell their designs to customers. Now the way I see it, Any Designer can Use Dribble for Gaining more Visibility and Eyes to his/her works, AND Creative market as a means of selling their works to clients.

There are countless sellers out there on online markets that DON'T actually sells anything. The field is certainly an Extremistan one (One in which, only a few of the players gain reputation or influence if I may say). It goes without a doubt that, visibility is the most important aspect of a Designer's career, and NOT the quality of your work. Not to say that Quality is Unimportant LOL, But hear this;
Putting extreme quality into your work without a proportional reward or utility for it kills motivation faster As opposed to when you are Putting an adequate amount of effort, receive appreciation for this which would go a long way to intensify your efforts for your clients. SO please, let's get this right.

Dribble and Creative Market are platforms that can work concurrently in a cycle for any designer when used correctly. In fact, you first need to have a reasonable collection of works before you can think of selling your works because Creative Market literally Requires you to show previous threads of your work. It's part of the application process.

5. Remote Ok (Regular Job applications Saga - How to Apply without getting Bored)

It's one thing to have clients reaching out directly to you for your products, and it's totally another thing when you are instead making that move. Remote Ok is a Top-Notch Job Platforms, where agencies, companies, and institutions post thousands of remote jobs available for all Members so their platform. Their job categories cover a wide area ranging from Journalism, Editors, Web Developers, and Designers.

In the Remote Ok Job Boards Platform, this is exactly the case, and the issue with this approach is that it can be heavily strenuous and boring. I get it, you are trying to apply to companies for job positions that you sincerely love to work in, but no matter how much enthusiasm you have, when applying for multiple jobs, it becomes seriously hectic. Most jobs, if not all, require some form of certification or qualification from candidates, usually in the form of a Resume and A Cover letter. Why a resume is pretty sharable for as many times as possible, a cover letter is NOT. And if online guidelines are anything to go by, Cover Letters should always be written specifically for each job role you apply for, But for how long can one keep that up till. **

Enters Generic Cover Letter

**

I've had my fair share of frustration during my time, and after a good amount of thought, I decided that I would follow specific detailed steps to save myself a whole lot of trouble during applications. I decided that I would create a generic cover letter and would use this for specific job categories I'm applying to. There would be filters for the Company Name and perhaps the Hiring Manager Name too, which will be filled accordingly. I was applying for the position of Web Developer and Web Designer, so I created two of such Generic Cover Letters, devoting all my time and efforts into making it superb and it turned out as so.
The advantage of opting for such a method is that you are ultimately showing a lot more enthusiasm, confidence to all Jobs you apply for because in creating Just One Cover letter, you pour down a lot of personalities into it and you are more likely to please and meet all positive cutmarks employers are looking for, as compared to when you write one for every other job including on a gloomy day when you're just NOT feeling it.

To provide you with more insights, I would provide examples of a Generic Cover Letter I found on Indeed. Feel free to edit this according to your personal use case and job role. Also keep in mind that when posting a Generic Cover Letter to companies, if you feel connected to any specific company, make sure to go ahead and add additional details.

Use the template below to create your own all-purpose cover letter:

Generic Cover Letter Sample
Your Name, Your Address, Your City, State, and Zip Code
Your Phone Number, Your Email
Date
Hiring Manager’s or Recruiter’s Name
Hiring Manager’s or Recruiter’s Title
Company or Organization Name
Address
City, State, and Zip Code
Dear Mr./Ms. [Hiring Manager’s/Recruiter’s Last Name],
[In the first paragraph of your cover letter, introduce yourself to the hiring manager and talk about why you are interested in the job. You may discuss an achievement in detail and include results to explain how your current or most recent position makes you the right choice for the role.]
[Your second paragraph should state further detail about your experience to highlight the reasons you match the job description. A general cover letter might contain a bulleted list of specific results and achievements within your position:
*List management or leadership experience.
*Discuss a specific improvement or goal met.
*State innovations or ideas that moved the business forward.
*List technical skills or abilities.
*State one or two key strengths.
[The third paragraph is a summary of your accomplishments and should reiterate why you are right for the job. Add a call-to-action to prompt the hiring manager to take the next step in the hiring process. Follow this paragraph with your closing and contact information.]
Sincerely/Best regards/Thank you,
Your Signature
Your Full Name

You can read more about this technique on Indeed here AND to download the template file

Conclusions

Indeed I very well hope that this guide has helped you (information, insights, motivation, deep thoughts) in more than one way because that has been my intent.

I would like to mention here that in the few creativity sections explained above, most of my insights were founded upon some of the Books that I have read. Especially, Creativity Inc; Overcoming the Unseen Forces that stand in the way of True Inspiration by Edwin Catmull, Former Pixar, and Disney Animations President.
This book has a focus on the wonderful world of Animation Characters and Movies, but it was a great eye-opener for me to the notion of Creativity in the different fields of study that exist; whether in Web Design or Blogging. I do suggest (if you haven't already) you take a look at this book, to gain further insights than I was able to intertwine here. Either way, I hope this post has been of great value to you, and feel free to text me for further details you might need along the way.

Thanks for Reading,
Chel_