HINTS FROM THE PROFESSIONALS ON HOW TO GET THAT FIRST JOB
Markus Hanzer
DMC, Vienna (AUT)
W: www.dmc.at
1. What does the ideal job application look like from a young designer?
All
the relevant details should be fast and easy for the recipient to find.
I should see immediately what it is the applicant is interested in
(branding, corporate design, interface design, content design,
editorial design etc.), details of skills (concept, typography,
illustration, animation, etc.), what role s/he would like to play in my
company (designer, art director, project manager, customer contacter,
etc.) and what his or her interests are outside design (psychology,
philosophy, history, art, etc.)
2. Which portfolio will
hold your attention (how should a portfolio be structured, what should
be included, what should it look like)?
Design for me
is about solving problems. In order to assess a piece of work, I always
have to know what problem the design was seeking to solve. Simple
picture collections don t interest me. But when I come across a
collection of new and exciting ideas for solutions, then I will happily
take my time over it.
3. Do's and don'ts of a job interview (clothes, attitude, what documents should the applicant bring)?
In
my view a designer is someone who provides a service. If the designer
places him- or herself at the centre of the work, then that person
would be better working as an artist. In an interview I should be able
to see the applicant s ability to tackle the problems of others. An
approach like that is also expressed in clothing, behaviour, and style
of presentation.
4. Your advice to young designers?
Design
is a wonderful job, nd it can bring endless joy, if you come along
ready to learn, to keep your curiosity and to keep questioning yourself
with the intention of creating structures that help make life more
worth living.
Uli Mayer-Johanssen
META-DESIGN, Berlin (GER)
W: www.metadesign.de
1. What does the ideal job application look like from a young designer?
It
s just like in real life! Our day-to-day work serves to translate the
identity of a company via the visual. We have to give the companies
tools so that they can manage their image on the market consistently
and strategically. The same is true of an application for a design job.
How does the applicant see him- or herself (young and wild, radical
strategist, a lover of typographical detail )? And do we get that
message? What does this applicant have that others don t? Anyone
applying as a designer has the opportunity to shape their presentation
very sharply. Of course, social competence and motivation are best
assessed actually on the job, but you can get clues in the interview
and from the portfolio of work. And I would always take on a person who
really does enjoy design and who is also capable of learning, than
someone with a thousand qualifications.
2. Which
portfolio will hold your attention (how should a portfolio be
structured, what should be included, what should it look like)?
The
portfolio has to be credible. Anyone who thinks that they can cause a
furore with things like bombastic dimensions, heavyweight folders,
'witty' packaging etc., is severely mistaken. Even though the first
impression does count, it is the overall effort, the content and the
applicant s skills that form the basis for a decision to employ or
reject, not the format.
3. Do s and don'ts of a job interview (clothes, attitude, what documents should the applicant bring)?
An
interview is not an interrogation, but a lively exchange about
attitudes, points of view, design and experience. I think there are few
professional groups where content is discussed as fast, and at the same
time so many aspects of the applicants themselves play a central role.
There are three factors which play a key role in the effectiveness of a
piece of work: first motivation, second skill, and third, social
competence. In this case, too, the smallest denominator limits the
biggest without social competence, i.e. the ability to communicate and
work in a team, for example, a person simply cannot make the most of
his or her high motivation or skills.
4. Your advice to young designers?
Designers
have to understand that design is a strategic tool, and then get to
grips with the requirements of their future clients. If a young
designer wants to work in the long term in corporate identity, then he
or she should be learning about the basics of business, strategic
planning and integrated communication. Design has to transport trust,
credibility and the future-orientation of the brand and the company.
Designers have to grasp this dimension, too, so that they don t just
design nice, trivial logos whose expression derives from nothing more
than the designer s own personal creativity.
Andreas Uebele
B ro Uebele, Stuttgart (GER)
W: www.uebele.com
What does the ideal job application look like from a young designer?
A
neatly organised application, legible, clear and easy to find your way
around. No packaging or layout gimmicks, practical, and with a photo
and CV attached. And a legible typeface.
Which portfolio
will hold your attention (how should a portfolio be structured, what
should be included, what should it look like)?
See above.
Your advice to young designers?
Anyone
applying to us should first have found out about the work we do. S/he
should be able to listen and should know what they want. And to be able
to express it. S/he should be well read and well informed. But the most
important thing is that the applicant should be nice. After all they
have to fit into the atmosphere at the office. You have to want to work
with that person, and that s more important than having outstanding
work. What do I mean by nice? Friendly, someone who looks the part, has
a presence, a personality. The applicant has to be an appealing person,
it s like a client who chooses to work with our office.
Your advice to young designers?
Be hard-working. Be reliable. Be dedicated.
Nicolas Guirriec
Linoleum, Arcueil (FRA)
W: www.linoleum.fr
1. How should a young designer apply and what does the ideal job application look like?
Certainly
the best way would be to present your work and skills around a
mealtime, ideally, actually during the course of a meal. You could
introduce yourself during the ap ritif, display your chef d oeuvres at
the hors d oeuvre, outline your skills at the plat de r sistance and
show your CV over dessert A kind of digestive corruption.
2.
Which portfolio will hold your attention (how should a portfolio be
structured, what should be included, what should it look like)?
A portfolio has to be representative of the person.
Avoid being perfect or pretentious.
Do not avoid weaknesses, but counterbalance them with strengths instead.
Admit influences.
Shout out desires.
3. Do s and don'ts of a job interview (clothes, attitude, what documents should the applicant bring)?
You
have to approach an interview as if you were meeting your lover. Your
intention must be to bring some pleasure to the interview partner. If
the intention is good, the demand will be satisfied, knowing that
fidelity comes from duration . You have to learn how to be patient
before imposing yourself.
4. Your advice to young designers?
Obviously prefer certain quality to mediocre quality.
To be profoundly human, not to be material.
Talent is not technical, it is creative, it is in our head.
We find what we look for.
Ben Stott,
nb:Studio, London (GBR)
W: www.nbstudio.co.uk
1. How should a young designer apply and what does the ideal job application look like?
You
should try and do a little research about the studios you are applying
too, I know it seems easy to apply the scatter-gun approach and email
as many as possible, but a well thought through and targeted piece of
mail (not email) can work wonders, after-all your portfolio is no good
if you can't get into an agency to show it.
2. Which
portfolio will hold you attention (how should a portfolio be
structured, what should be included, what should it look like)?
The
most important thing is to be confident about the work you are showing,
don't show work you don't actually like yourself, trust me it does not
look good if you criticise your own work. Keep it simple and hone it
down to your best pieces of work, most people who are going to look at
your work won't necessarily have much time.
3. Dos and Don'ts of a job interview (clothes, attitude, what documents should one bring with)?
As
above self confidence is important, but don't get too cocky. Think
about your appearance, but don't wear your Sunday best, as you will
probably look smarter than the people you are going to see. I
personally don't look at too much documentation, but do leave behind
your details and examples of your best work if possible.
4. Your advice to young designers?
There
are lots of you out there looking for a job, to be brutally honest it's
a buyers market. So be patient, be positive and don't give up.
David Hillman
Pentagram, London (GBR)
W: www.pentagram.com
1. How should a young designer apply and what does the ideal job application look like?
Pentagram
doesn't advertise jobs for designers, the people that we choose are
generally people who, using their own initiative, manage to navigate
their way past the Pentagram 'firewall'. Personally - and I think my
fellow Pentagram partners would agree - "Dear Pentagram" letters don't
really work. We are far more interested in designers who know which
partner they would like to work for and have a clear idea about the
kind of work that partner does.
2. Which portfolio
will hold you attention (how should a portfolio be structured, what
should be included, what should it look like)?
A
portfolio should ideally comprise no more than ten projects, preferably
less. It should include the work that best represents the designer's
talents. The ideas behind the work should be strong enough not to
require a running commentary from the designer. The work should speak
for itself. After all, that's what good design does.
3. Dos and Don'ts of a job interview (clothes, attitude, what documents should one bring with)?
It
isn't just the quality of a designers work that will get them a job.
Pentagram aren't interested in egos. New members of staff need to be
team players, so it is important that a new designer fits in with an
existing team or group.
I very much doubt that I'll ever
hire somebody with a wild hairstyle, or somebody covered head-to-toe in
piercings and/or tattoos, not from any kind of personal prejudice - I'd
just rather avoid scaring my clients.
4. your advice to young designers?
Other
than "take up gardening"... Find out as much as you can about the
person you want to work for before you meet them. It doesn't go down at
all well if you turn up and and ask "so what do you do?"
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