An Interview with a Creative Director About Resumes, Portfolios, Attitude and Dress Code
Q. Any tips on building a Graphic Design Resume?
A. Go nuts, but keep it professional. There is nothing that Creative Directors hate more than a resume that looks like a comic book. Your portfolio is where you show off your work, not your resume. I would suggest subtle borders and some form of contemporary design.
Good Examples. But these could definitely use a little more flare.
As a Creative Director i have seen some really bad ones, and some very, very good ones. Stick to eye-catching, but not distracting.
Q. What about a well-made CD? Do you dig those at all? Or those cute mini-Cd’s?
A. Mini CDs are great. Keep them “Mini” though. Three words for you: Test, test, Test! Another tip, do not launch full-screen (if using FLASH), it comprimises the integrity of the images and makes the application run choppy. Design to 800X600 or smaller and let the viewer decide if he/she would like to maximize the window.
Q. When an applicant gets chosen and comes in for the interview what convinces you to hire them?
A. Professionalism, ability to listen and execute and the ability to work independently.
Q. Do you prefer digital (web, CD) resumes or paper ones.
A. Paper is good for a quick reference and to pass in front of other peeps, but I primarily use the web-based version, if available.
Q. Do you like to see a diverse resume including Traditional, Digital, Photography, etc or something customized to your company (showing t-shirt designs to a t-shirt company).
A. Diverse? Yes. everything from Illustration to rich-media. this says a lot about the artist’s abilities to visualize and their ability to translate from preliminary mock-ups through production. But yes, you want to include slightly more work geared to the company you are interviewing with.
Q. Does the way they’re dressed matter at all to you? Or do you simply accept their artistic “difference”? (assuming they’re not in shorts and a t-shirt obviously)
A. Yes. remember this in anything that you do: Always look a little nicer than the client - not over-dressed, but just enough to show you have the ability to look presentable in front of a client. No tie, button-down and a dark blue sport coat works very well.
Thanks for the quick interview Tweezer (aka JMSahr from www.jmsahr.com). I’ve immortalized my annoying questions…;)