How much "fake it till I make it" can do?

#1

First, to clarify: I have 25 years of experience in digital graphic design. I’m not talking about faking my experience or pretending I know what I’m doing. I’ve worked for major agencies and brands, and I believe I have a strong portfolio. So, the “fake it” I mean refers to specific tools.

The problem is that my expertise is in digital graphic design. I started with web design and multimedia and progressed to digital advertising, which has been my focus for years. My portfolio in that area is really strong.

But now that I’m searching for jobs again, it seems like specialists aren’t in demand. At all. Every job posting I see requires at least digital, print, UX, and video experience. My print experience is minimal, my UX experience is outdated, and my video editing is pretty basic.

So how much can I “fake it till I make” it on these? InDesign, Premier Pro, Figma etc are programs you can learn in a week if you already have a handle on design software, but I wouldn’t say I “know” them without a couple years of professional project work with each.

How much skill level are these companies expecting when asking for this range of skills? Sometimes I wonder what level of skill they can even recognize. I wouldn’t feel comfortable taking an Art Director level position requiring video editing unless I could produce a high quality broadcast commercial, but I have a suspicion that a lot of companies are never going to need more than a couple video’s mashed up in Canva with text smacked over it to post to Instagram.

So, how much can I get away with putting under “skills” on my resume and assume I can make it through just on design experience?

Likewise, can I get away with creating “theoretical” projects to put in my portfolio to demonstrate these skills? Usually, I avoid putting anything in my portfolio unless it’s awesome, but I feel like I need to show something for Figma, Premiere Pro, InDesign, and so on. Sometimes I’m getting the feeling that my portfolio is being reviewed by someone checking off a list, not checking for quality.

Any input would be helpful.

Thanks

#2

I have seen my fair share of nightmare job postings. My advice would be to always apply if you feel like the company would be a good fit regardless of how outrageous their ask is. You never know what they need until you ask. Do they need one man for a high quality broadcast commercial? Or do they have a team that needs an addition? These questions can be asked at the interview.

“Theoretical” projects can be tricky. They’re usually very obvious “passion projects”. The prompt needs to be really strong and the result needs to be realistic.

Another thing—software and skillset are two different things. Software changes constantly, but your skillset should be able to transfer to those different tools.

Best of luck. And don’t stress. Just keep putting yourself out there.

#3

Graphic design, UX design and video editing are three different fields of expertise. Stay away from companies that want to fill several positions with just one employee.

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