What are the steps in a creative department from junior graphic designer to the creative director?

Here are the basic career steps:

Junior Designer
Senior Designer
Associate Art Director
Art Director
Senior Art Director
Associate Creative Director
Creative Director
Senior Creative Director

However, this largely depends on the web design or marketing agency you work for. Some creative agencies have more, and many have less. It is determined based on the overall structure of the organization. At Sandstorm Design, our titles include (or have included): Creative Director, Senior Designer, Interactive Designer and Graphic Designer.

Job Finding Tip of the Day: Get Off Your Computer

The Internet is probably the fastest and easiest place to search (and apply) for jobs. It is also often the first and only place that people go. The result of this convenience: COMPETITION. And you don't want to be another lost resume buried in a stack. So what's a job seeker to do? Step away from your machine.

Why, you ask? Because most people I know who are finding work aren't finding it there. They are finding work through the people they know, and the people the people they know know, and so on. It's like the six degrees of Kevin Bacon. (I am so proud of myself right now for incorporating this idea into my writing.)

Employers like to hire a face, not a resume. Hiring friends, or even friends of friends, helps them accomplish this. It makes the whole process a little more personable (and makes employers feel good about their decision.)

So how do you become a friend, or even a friend of a friend, of an employer? Chances are, you probably are one already. And if you're not, there's only one way to start: MEET PEOPLE.

Join a book club. Go to a Yelp! event. Take an art class. Volunteer to run a beer tent at a festival. When you're there, make sure to talk to people about your interests and desired career path. You are your greatest salesman/woman, so get out there and start selling!