Interviewing Tips

Interviewing  Tips

for Graphic Designers 

and Creative Professionals

I Lead in. A) Take 2 minutes to write down your associations with the phrase ‘job interview’. Compare your lists with other students. What similarities and differences do you have? Why do you have certain associations with the job interview?

B) How, in your opinion, is an interview for a designer job or a creative professional interview different from other job interviews?

C) What should people do before a designer job or a creative professional interview? What are the right things to do during the interview?

II Vocabulary focus. Key words. Read the sentences (1-8). The words in bold are used in the video. First guess the meaning of the words. Then match the words with their definitions (a-f).

1.    You have to know just a little bit about their business, their revenue, who their customers are, what they make, what they do, what their specialties in the marketplace are.

2.    You want to gear what you're wearing to the type of company that they are.

3.    So bring a copy of your portfolio on a laptop or an iPad, and before you show the person who's interviewing you ask them how they'd like to go through it.

4.    Make sure to know just a little bit about every project that you're showing in portfolio even if it was a spec project that you did on your own.

5.    Know about what the creative brief was, what the design project was for, and then also have a real clear understanding of what you did for it.

6.    They don't want to see someone who is totally laid-back and very laissez-faire, they want someone who's going to come in and do the work and bring energy to the studio.

7.    Try to match the pace of the interview.

8.    Designers and creative directors who are interviewing people are looking for people who understand the business as well as being great designers.

A.   specialized

B.   to examine something

C.   the money that a company receives regularly

D.   to adjust or adapt

E.    short description of the strategy for a creative project

F.    relaxed and disinterested

G.   to try to find

H.   the speed at which something happens

III Watch the video. Put the tips from the talk in order (1-10).

For example: 1-g

a)    Never forget to bring a printed out version of your resume with you so you can hand it to the interviewer.

b)    When you're showing your book make sure the work that you're showing is the type of work that you want to do or is exactly the type of work that this company does.

c)    Make sure to know just a little bit about every project that you're showing in a portfolio even if it was a spec project that you did on your own.

d)    Act interested. Try to act interested and energized, bring some energy to the conversation.

e)    Make sure that you've spent a little time researching the company or the agency that you're interviewing with.

f)     Try to find out what the dress style for that company is: are they a coat and tie company, are they a t-shirt and jeans company.

g)    Make sure that when you're presenting your portfolio you pause periodically for questions.

h)    Bring a copy of your portfolio on a laptop or an iPad and before you show the person who's interviewing you ask them how they'd like to go through it

i)      You can ask questions about the company.

j)     Try to match that pace of the interview.

 IV Watch the video. Decide if the sentences are true (T) or false (F).

1)    It’s a good idea to research the company or the agency that you're interviewing with.

2)     If designer knows about the company history, it shows that he or she is not very interested in the design job.

3)    You should always wear a suit to the job interview.

4)    Ripped jeans are a bad choice for an interview at IBM.

5)    Sometimes interviewers forget candidate’s resumes, so it’s a good idea to bring a printed copy of your resume.

6)    Designer should always show a printed portfolio.

7)    If people look through the portfolio quickly, it’s not bad. They are professionals and don’t need much  time understand the quality of designer’s work.

8)    It is not necessary to give comments about the projects you show in your portfolio.

9)    Some people get nervous and talk a lot during an interview. So pauses are very important.

10)    It’s a bad idea to ask questions during the interview.

V. Read the sentences. Then watch part of the video and complete the sentences with one word per space.

1)    Who will you be ____ to?

2)    What does a day-to-day look like for this ___?

3)    Is it interacting with ___?

4)    Who are the key business ___?

5)    From their perspective what are the priorities for the ___?

6)    What are the key things that they're really looking to improve in the ___?

7)    How long has the interviewer been at the ___?

8)    What is the growth path for this ___?

VI OVER TO YOU. 

A) Summarize the tips you heard in the interview. Get ready to speak about the things designers or creative professionals a) should do before the interview

b) should do during the interview

c) should not do during the interview

B) Add your own ideas (three ideas) to the list. Are there any tips you disagree with?