PSD to HTML conversion companies receive a lot of resumes from job applicants. But only some of them have good chances to be hired. One of the important reasons to be rejected is a candidate’s insufficient education level and practical experience.

The applicants can be divided into two main categories:

• Self-educated persons – With knowledge and skills derived from the beginners’ (short-term) courses, web design and PSD to HTML tutorials, forums, etc. and
• Those who are professionally educated and trained in the field of design and/or programming – E.g., courses in the colleges / universities + several years of work in web companies + continuous self-education.

In this article we have gathered recommendations on how to improve your chances to be hired by the PSD to HTML companies if you refer yourself to the first category.

Forums, PSD to HTML Tutorials, and Chances to Be Hired

Some experts reckon that “Web design, for example, is now in large part a commodity.” Really, today web design and HTML/CSS coding attract a lot of people of different ages, from various locations and with different basic education. It seems like everyone and their dog tries to be a web designer or web developer these days. Many of them believe that the Do-It-Yourself approach is the fastest, easiest and still reliable way to conquer the web design peaks.

Unfortunately, PSD to HTML companies are not interested in a noticeable deal of such candidates. It is due to their unacceptably low level of knowledge and skills. Such guys and gals are easily recognized in forums by “I’m a newbie here, please help me with…” following with a question, e.g., about something from the very elementary HTML CSS basics. No wonder that phrases like “RTFM, dude!” prevail among the answers.

More chances to be hired have those who study web design and PSD to HTML conversion with the help of tutorials. Photoshop and, e.g., PSD to HTML5 and CSS3 tutorials are extremely popular now so let’s consider them in more detail.

According to Wikipedia

“A tutorial is one method of transferring knowledge and may be used as a part of a learning process. More interactive and specific than a book or a lecture; a tutorial seeks to teach by example and supply the information to complete a certain task.

Depending on the context a tutorial can take one of many forms, ranging from a set of instructions to complete a task to an interactive problem solving session.”

Tutorials can be prepared in various forms and media: as a plain text (in the doc, odt, pdf, etc. formats), as presentations, slideshows, video and audio files. Tutorials are easy to find because there are a lot of websites that collect and systematize them.

Web design tutorials have a number of important Pros:

• Topical information on the latest technology novelties which aren’t available from books yet
• Sharing fresh hands-on experience and problem solutions
• Visualization, simplicity, and concentration on one particular topic – You have a specific question and you get a concrete answer here

But the tutorials have essential Cons too:

• They may convey a particular author’s opinion rather than suggest a generally accepted or recommended solution
• One-side decision can be presented for problems which may have different (and even more effective) approaches to be solved
• Some essential details can be missed by chance
• Tutorials may be not reviewed by an independent expert and contain mistakes or work only in an author’s computer environment (i.e. under a specific type and version of an operating system and browser, monitor settings, etc.)

So, if a job applicant’s education is built completely and only on the tutorials it might be quite shallow and scrappy. As a result, the candidate is able to perform some certain tasks but for others (even those that differ very slightly) he or she needs the next portion of PSD to HTML tutorials or… a more fundamental education.

Don’t get me wrong, the tutorials are not a bad thing. There are quite a lot of really useful and deservedly popular tutorials. But please take one more look at the definition from the Wikipedia site: “A tutorial is… a part of a learning process.” And if you are planning to work in the web design and development field professionally (e.g., as an employee at PSD to HTML companies), adherence to tutorials should not exclude other forms of education.

Some Benefits of and Myths About Fundamental Education

It sounds a little trite or even out-of-date, but it is still true: structured, regular, and comprehensive instruction is a necessary foundation for a productive work and professional career in many occupations. Of course, we know that there are people who have achieved great success without university degrees but if you sift out the media hype from reality then it is often seen that these quite rare exceptions only prove the rule.

Myth 1. The regular education (all those principles, facts, and drilling) kills talent and creativity. Can’t agree with that. Like brilliants versus rough diamonds, talents ‘faceted’ by a master and good school are often more bright, versatile, capable of non-standard decisions, and – last but not least – higher paid. On the other hand, “wild creativity” might result in a project failure, discredited company’s image, and financial loss.

Myth 2. One more myth is that nowadays there is no enough time to master all those subjects. But is there time to stumble over one and the same question over and over again? ‘Fast’ answers found in the search engines may be just a waste of time because a reader without a knowledge background rarely can evaluate their quality and real usefulness. At the same time an advice given by a wise teacher can be much worthier than dozens of forum posts. Also, modern educational web-technologies save a lot of time and open new opportunities for students all over the world.

Myth 3: Books are too expensive now, or Books are difficult to get in some locations, that is why they are replaced by free tutorials. Unfortunately, there are a lot of examples that such a substitution is not sufficient.

Moreover, education means not only solution algorithms for certain tasks and technical best practices. It is also professional ethics, the spirit of profession, new friends, potential business partners and many other immaterial things which in truth differ pros from amateurs.

Regarding the web design and PSD to HTML tutorials, reading them – and writing too – is a proven way to keep abreast of the Web design and development novelties, improve and expand your knowledge and skill set, find out ‘secret’ tips and fresh expert’s recommendations, hit upon new ideas, and exchange experience.

But don’t forget such opportunities for education and your further professional growth as

• Books (they still contain a lot of information that is not available online);
• Trainings, webinars, web courses or even individual master classes;
• Conferences, workshops;
• Open source projects;
• Established coding frameworks and their code patterns;
• Contests;    as well as
• Visiting art exhibitions, nature, etc.

Moreover, these activities will help you to promote yourself and add some points to your resume and, as a result, your salary too.

Overall

The most up-to-date ladder cannot get your up if it stands on quicksand rather than solid ground. So, strive to study web design and development comprehensively – not only with the help of Photoshop or PSD to HTML tutorials but also using all other available resources and ways.

What is your experience in this field? Will be glad to hear your opinion here.

See also articles by other authors:

• Web Designer Education: 59 Web Design Resources Tweeted at @htmlcut
• 20 Most Inspiring Interview Statements (there are good suggestions for beginners from recognized designers)
• 10 ways to improve your programming skills (don’t forget to read comments there)