Job Interviewing Tips for Recent Grads

Job Interviewing Tips for Recent GradsJob Interviewing Tips for Recent GradsWith so many recent graduates vying for jobs in the creative industry, its integral that you bring your A-game to the job interview. Here, leaders from three prominent creative agencies offer interviewing tips and weigh in on what they look for in entry-level talent.Brian Collins (founder of COLLINS), Amy Marshall (talent director at Hornall Anderson) and Michael Osborne (principal of Michael Osborne Design) are always on the lookout for strong creative job candidates to join their respective - and highly respected - firms. We spoke to them about what newly minted graduates need to know when they walk through an employers door. Gain an edge in todays competitive job market by considering their interviewing tipsWhat advice do you have for recent graduates going on their first interview? What materials should they prepare?Collins Its simple Bring the kind of work you long to do.Marshall They really need to be prepared to talk through their work. Not just what the assignment or project was, but why they made the decisions they did regarding the design or strategy. What was the concept or idea behind the creative decision? Even if they think it may be obvious, they need to be able to articulate the idea.Osborne Good candidates know how to articulate their ideas and solutions for the projects in their portfolio. In the presentation, you can pretty much tell who loves what theyre doing. Id rather get someone whos passionate and has great potential. I can teach the person to be a great designer, but I can never teach them to be passionate or professional.What do you need to learn about job candidates by the end of an interview?Collins There are three qualities we look for Curiosity (Are you fascinated by the unknown?), ambition (Do you know how to think big?) and discipline (Can you produce consistently good work?).Marshall Beyond having strong work visually (thats pretty much table stakes), for us, its all about the thinking. So whether were hiring a designer, a strategist, or someone for our client tafelgeschirr team, we really need to understand how a person thinks and how he or she approaches creative problems.Osborne Ill ask something off the wall, something they werent expecting, to landsee them think on their feet. I also ask them something about typography. If youre right out of design school, and you dont know which typefaces youve put in your portfolio, then youre in trouble in my book.Because they often dont have a lot of real-world experience, what is the most important thing recent grads need to bring to the table?Collins Bring your sketches. Show how you think.Marshall Id take a step back from your question and say that they should get as much real-world experience as they can before they graduate, in the form of internships and/or freelance work. No one is expecting them to have held a full-time job for years, but having an internship (or two or three) d uring college is a great way to apply all their learning to real-world problems.Is a print portfolio necessary any longer or is a website just as effective?Collins I still love them, but an analog book isnt necessary unless your work has some dimension or craft thats a key part of its conceptualization.A website is enough. A simple one is best.Marshall Its always nice to see how someone puts a printed portfolio together. But its absolutely leid a requirement. A website is the most effective tool to show your work. But make sure you pay just as much attention to the design and quality of your site as you do to the pieces in it.Osborne Im old school. I like seeing a real portfolio. If someone brings physical examples with them, thats always a plus. I want to hold it. If you have 15 things in your portfolio and only 10 of them are really good, take out the bad ones because youll only be remembered for the mediocre stuff.What is the worst offense an interviewee can commit?Collins In mos t places, youll be judged by your manners. This includes not smiling when you enter the office, not turning off your phone, not listening when someone else is speaking, not thanking someone for his or her time, and not sending a thank-you letter within 24 hours.Marshall Not understanding the type of work the agency or company you are interviewing with does and not having any questions of your own to ask. This makes us wonder how interested you really are in working for us.Osborne Showing up late or being cocky.Download our free guide to getting hired now