I recently ran across a website called The Secret Handshake, put together by a local studio called Bright Bright Great (who are, incidentally, my neighbors in Avondale). The site is “a resource for student designers and young creatives looking for insider insight, honest answers and solid solutions to go pro.”

On the site, there are words of wisdom from fellow designers, whether those are tips from the working world, things they wish they had learned in design school, or tips on landing that great gig.

A sample of advice that can be found on the site:

Build your portfolio with the work you want to do in the future instead of just using it as a backlog of projects. Your portfolio is not what you did, but what you’re going to do next. Same with calling out what exactly you did on a specific project will make sure that there are no wrong expectations from either side.

And another:

Talent, I believe, is most likely to be found among nonconformists, dissenters, and rebels.

Worth checking out periodically since they update their content pretty regularly.