The Surprise Interview

HS: Here’s something that happened to me, and perhaps has happened to you. I applied recently for a job posting online. (that’s nothing novel, of course). And within a day, I get a call from the folks in charge of the search. They want to meet me. Great. The only thing is that they want to meet me like right this minute.

“Can you come in this afternoon?”

I had a dentist appointment, but I turned up without further ado at the end of the day. Met the dude who placed the ad, later met the President, and eventually the marketing and events people, with whom I’d be doing the majority of my day-to-day work. The whole thing was very strangely rushed. They didn’t really inspect my portfolio or have me talk through the projects I’ve worked on. We didn’t talk about my past jobs or my education. The conversation focused mainly on the duties of the job and whether or not I can do them. (Um, yes, in case you’re wondering).

All in all I think it went quite well. I’m supposed to hear by the end of the week but I’m optimistic.

This is a small art school who grants MFA degrees in a small number of disciplines. The really don’t have someone looking after internal branding, or operating at a professional level for graphics and communications. The job also involves maintaining the website, and hopefully adding some new features and tools as things go forward. Honestly, it seems like a cool role because it’s ripe with chaos, ready for some order to be implemented.

My concern at this point — aside from getting the offer, of course — is whether they realise how big the role is. They advertised it as a graphic designer/webmaster, but in my eyes it’s more of a design director, responsible for organising assets, overseeing projects, working with vendors, creating original art director and campaign ideas, maintaining/supporting the website, managing the visual brand identity of the school, and making sure everyone plays nice on their internal and external communication design pieces. It’s a lot to do. Currently, they have a graduate (and MFA, not exactly a designer) handling the duties part-time. And they want to offer $40,000 as a “starting” salary.

We didn’t talk about money in this first go, but it is on my mind. I wonder if they can afford the type of person they need. A big role requires a big talent, and the appropriate compensation. The institution boasts that they are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. That’s never what a job-seeker wants to hear because it implies they are broke as shit. I’m expecting the worst. Low wages, no budget for projects, fighting to facilities and gear, no reimbursements for lectures/conferences, no magazines. That may sound little, but it adds up.

I don’t really have a point with this post, just reporting on a very quick interview which may prove to be nothing at all. Or it could become a thing. But what I really hope to avoid is some kind of half-thing that I’ll either have to walk away from, or ends up being crappy.

Interview Review

HS: Before I nod off to sleep, I should recap bits of the interview on Friday. This is usually the part where I say “it went well” but in truth, I have no idea.

First, here’s the empirical data — the true “what happened”: I turned up on time, wearing a sharp suit, looking fresh, confident, etc. I was polite to everyone and graciously accepted some water from the receptionist. The Creative Director was actually a bit late in greeting me, but arrived and ushered me into a meeting room where we were soon joined by his two deputies. I remarked a bit on how I’m overdressed — especially for a Friday — but it wasn’t really a problem. (some people are clearly more comfortable in suits than others, and look better in them too).

We talked first about my portfolio, and I had to present my work to three people seated in not the best viewing position. In truth, there really isn’t a great way to show my book to an entire table, it’s much better suited for one person, and me commented from across the table, upside down, as they browse. We then switched to chatting about the job itself and what it’s like to work at this design group within a large corporation. We discussed the size of the team, the nature of the workflow, the committedness to design, and the overall culture I’d be jumping into. All good points, methinks.

The Start

HS: Four years ago today, I returned from Grad School. Having failed to find a job immediately following my studies, I was forced to decamp to the home of my parents, and embark on that oddball transition from education to “real life” that so many twentysomethings have struggled with previously. I still haven’t exactly mastered it.

Welcome to Non-Employed. This is a blog chronicling my search for gainful employment in what is still a rather rugged and dismal economy. With any luck, I will be joined as author by a friend of mine, who was just laid off earlier today. Together we hope to generate a bit of solidarity, and perhaps send some useful tips and warnings to fellow job seekers. Here, I plan to remark on networking, applying to jobs, writing cover letters, working with recruiters, going on interviews, etc.

A bit about me. I am Harold Seymour. I am an unemployed design professional in a major American city. I’m keeping things vague, and writing from behind a psuedonym because I hope to be brutally honest in exposing the strangeness of job searching. Things I don’t exactly want associated with my real-life Google results.

The ultimate goal, as you might expect, is a full-time role. While I have been able to hold steady with freelance projects and on-site consulting gigs, I am ultimately searching for a real job, with benefits, and salaries, and co-workers, and an office, and daily demands. Whether or not I’m an old-fashioned fool remains a debate for another arena.

The name Non-Employed stems from the fact that creative professionals are often hard to categorise within the language of 20th century business. Many design professionals will never admit to being fully “unemployed”, because they are de facto freelancers. Paying the bills with odd projects, or even casual work (at a restaurant, for example) will further blur the lines between those who are gainfully employed, and those standing in the proverbial bread line.

And so here we go — onwards and upwards. Since I don’t plan on posting too many images or links, I hope that I (and perhaps we) will be able to contribute frequently.