I've always believed that a design team within a corporate structure should act as a creative agency, regardless of the industry. Viewing departments such as human resources, finance, and sales as clients, meanwhile ourselves as lead experts within the field.
What's crucial about maintaining a creative agency, are the individuals it consists of. A diverse team with varied backgrounds, life experiences, education, and talent to foster an inclusive environment. As part of design leadership, I have been placed to seek and recruit talent that will not only support daily initiatives but also join and become a part of a growing creative community.
A few students from Delaware College of Art and Design inspired me to write this post as they inquired about traits that I look out for when hiring. The answer is relatively simple, as fundamentally what I look for in candidates, I also must possess within myself. A "dime seeking a dime," as some may say. Outside of job requirements and expectations, here are five basic qualities that I look out for when interviewing a designer:
1. They should have a genuine love of design. When interviewing, it's taught for designers to showcase their best professional work. To prepare case studies to explain the challenges of each task, as well as how they went about strategizing solutions for that challenge. The fact of the matter is–this is expected. In all of my years, I almost anticipate that a candidate will show me exactly what I need to see. However, one thing that I gravitate to is personal works, ones without the influence of budget, politics, and timeframes. General work they've produced just for the genuine interest of their craft.
2. They should pay attention to detail. This might seem obvious, but this too–can be overlooked. A great designer should be able to notice when the kerning within a paragraph is not consistent. Now, this may not be something I will notice during the interview, but I do take note of the candidate's cover letter and resume. As a keen observer myself, I especially notice when banding principles have been applied, or recognize layouts/grids, and decent quality resolution. All of which should be apparent within a glance.
3. They should be organized. I can tell from the very beginning if a designer is organized just by looking at their website/portfolio. How it is displayed online usually gives a clue as to how organized they are themselves. Can I pinpoint this artist's main interest? Do they have an apparent style through their work? What is the story they are trying to tell?
This should all be simple, clean, and blatantly obvious. A great designer should also have files stored via the cloud and have ways around a presentation if technical difficulties should arise. So always make sure to have a backup PDF, printout, or even a folder with JPEGS in advance.
"...WHAT WE LOOK FOR IN CANDIDATES WE SHOULD ALSO HAVE INSTILLED WITHIN OURSELVES..."
4. They should be collaboratively independent. A great designer should possess the ability to take initiative, meanwhile work with a team towards a similar goal. It is truly important to know that you're able to work on social media marketing, while another teammate works on email marketing for the same client. This indicates your ability to follow directions, utilize your skillsets, and work with varying timeframes.
5. They should be flexible and adaptive. Lastly, and perhaps the most important quality I look for in a designer is their ability to adapt. They should be aware of new technologies, even if they hadn't had the necessary exposure (I completely understand times are difficult, and finances are a struggle for some of the available platforms). Your curiosity alone is a great indication of maintaining an open mind–ket to being adaptive. So please feel free to make references to workshops, webinars, and campaigns at some point throughout the interview.
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Although this was broken down in terms of design, many of these traits can be applied to any profession. Are there any other qualities you look for in a candidate in your field? Curious to know your thoughts!