Interview Questions

[juxtaflo]

You should be able to talk about your work. I find this very important. Dont just show me a site and say "here it is".

As Dlowe already said, if you are sitting in front of me I have already seen your work. So when you show up in person, give background on each portfolio piece. The client interaction is key. Tell me the issues and how you fixed them or adapted. What you did technically and what that meant to the end user or client....Stuff like that. You should be able to present your whole portfolio like that (and it should take more than 5 minutes).

Also be very clear about what part you played in each piece. I have talked to people before that are very vague about what skills they actually have and take credit for the whole website or print piece, when they actually only played a partial role. It is OK not to know something. Nobody knows everything.....It is not OK to act like you do and botch a project later. That might get you shot. lol.

Good luck.

[Owen wp]

The most important question for me as an employer is 'do I want to work with you?'. Are you the type of person I want to spend 50% of my waking day with? I will have already determined your ability via your CV and Portfolio (I also run a couple of quick practical tests to test candidates can do what they say they can).

So, in my opinion, don't stress too much about 'interview questions'. If you're a tit, the interviewer will see through your well thought-out answer and show you the door. Just be yourself, and be friendly.

It also helps if you have large breasts, unless you're a man. in which case, normal-sized mammaries are prefered.

[Owen wp]

Reading through the other posts, I've noticed that there's a bit of a divide over whether you should wear a suit or more casual clothing to the interview. The answer is do some research. You should obviously research the company before applying for the job in the first place and research it in more detail if you get invited for an interview. Part of that research should be to find out what your new team wear day to day in the office. If you know someone who works there, ask. If not, pay them a visit - just stepping into reception should be enough to gauge the dress code.

Wearing the right kinda clothing to an interview is important as it comes back to the 'Do I want to work with you' question in that the employer will be asking himself, 'Is he our type of guy?' If he's in Jeans and T-Shirt and you're in a suit there's obviously a difference your approaches to situations.

But if you do cock it up, don't stress. Just be honest. If he's casual and you're suited and booted, just say "bollocks..it was a 50/50 call" take your jacket and tie off, unbutton your collar and relax. It's in the bag.

[nordberg]

just posting in here to add this good resource:
http://managementcraft.typepad.com/m..._intervie.html
it's about what YOU should ask the EMPLOYER during an interview.
when someone doesn't have good questions prepared, i always red flag them...be ready.

also, about the clothing issue, you guys really need to dress up. even if you know they are casual in the office, you should always dress nicer. a good rule of thumb - if the place of business has more than 50 employees, a front desk, and/or security, wear a suit (or at least a nice shirt and tie). if you are interviewing at a hip ass design studio, you still want to dress really, really nice - go buy something styling and new, and look cool. but if the employees wear t-shirts and jeans, do not show up in t-shirts or jeans. it shows a lack of respect, as those employees have earned the right to dress like that by being hired. no hiring manager will NOT hire you because you dressed nice. true, we are looking for fit on the team, but clothing is not a good indicator of that, know what i mean?

[tonytryout]

Originally posted by nordberg
just posting in here to add this good resource:
http://managementcraft.typepad.com/m..._intervie.html
it's about what YOU should ask the EMPLOYER during an interview.
when someone doesn't have good questions prepared, i always red flag them...be ready.

also, about the clothing issue, you guys really need to dress up. even if you know they are casual in the office, you should always dress nicer. a good rule of thumb - if the place of business has more than 50 employees, a front desk, and/or security, wear a suit (or at least a nice shirt and tie). if you are interviewing at a hip ass design studio, you still want to dress really, really nice - go buy something styling and new, and look cool. but if the employees wear t-shirts and jeans, do not show up in t-shirts or jeans. it shows a lack of respect, as those employees have earned the right to dress like that by being hired. no hiring manager will NOT hire you because you dressed nice. true, we are looking for fit on the team, but clothing is not a good indicator of that, know what i mean?

nords, the link you provided looked good (I read the whole thing as I got two interviews coming up) but as an interviewer is it not a "dangerous" thing to ask an interviewer a question like "so what's it like working for this company?"?

IMO, I thought the question is a bit too personal.

Unless I am wrong?

[dlowe93]

Originally posted by tonytryout
nords, the link you provided looked good (I read the whole thing as I got two interviews coming up) but as an interviewer is it not a "dangerous" thing to ask an interviewer a question like "so what's it like working for this company?"?

IMO, I thought the question is a bit too personal.

Unless I am wrong?

No way. I think that's a great question to ask the person interviewing you. I think Owen hit the nail on the head with what he said about wanting to know if this is a person you want to spend 40+ hours a week with. I think it shows that you are also interested in finding out if we are the kind of people you want to be around.

Our studio environment is all about culture. I'd be impressed by anyone who put me on the spot like that. Plus, if they answered "yeah, it pretty much sucks to work here," at least you will have been warned.

d.

[dhchin]

I interview a lot of people, and the ones that stick in my mind the most are the ones who are most passionate about their work - no matter how good or crapy it is.

Passion is key

[dlowe93]

Originally posted by dhchin
I interview a lot of people, and the ones that stick in my mind the most are the ones who are most passionate about their work - no matter how good or crapy it is.

Passion is key

So would you hire somebody who had crappy work, even if they were passionate about it?

I wouldn't.

d.

[dhchin]

no, but I will walk away from the interview remembering the ones who showed passion for their work. It is a given that if you are aplying for a design job that you must have good work to even flirt with the idea of being considered for the job.

[nordberg]

sorry to bring back this thread, but i found this post over at 'slacker manager' to be very insightful. it involves creating a stategic plan for your first 100 days on a job, and handing it out to everyone who interviews you at a particular company. it WILL distinguish you from others (assuming we don't all start doing this). i'll definitely be doing this if/when i ever leave my current job...

http://www.slackermanager.com/slacke...rst_100_d.html

hope that helps...

[Planet]

Wow Nords, killer plan. I'll need to look into using this idea when JM kicks me out on my batoonyas. (just made that word up)

[nordberg]

batoonyas - nice! better get that trademarked quick!

yeah, this plan might not work for everyone. and it could certainly come off as 'cocky' if done wrong. there is also the risk of delivering a plan that makes no sense - this is why brenden suggests doing your homework thoroughly before implementing this. on the flipside, i've interviewed countless souls, and i get tired of hearing, "what are the benefits like?" when i get to the part about whether or not they have any questions. some people come prepared for that portion of the interview, but asking about benefits is about as common as someone saying, "i'm a perfectionist" when asked about their weaknesses. it's all about standing out from the crowd, and a plan like this will accomplish that!

[nordberg]

here's a follow-up from slacker manager about the 100-day plan.
he got the job, and describes the possible reasons why...

http://www.slackermanager.com/slacke...rontal_pe.html