In-house designers beware…

A few days ago I stumbled across this passage from “Pulling Your Own Strings” published in 1978 by Wayne Dyer.

(From Wikipedia: Dr. Wayne Walter Dyer is a popular American self-help advocate, author and lecturer. His 1976 book Your Erroneous Zones has sold over 30 million copies and is one of the best-selling books of all time).

I thought it would be useful to publish here, as a call to reality for all in-house designers. All comments are welcome.


"How Institutions Work

Business institutions exist for one reason: to make profits. They seek only to perpetuate themselves so as to return dollars to the people who have taken the risks of financing them and manufacturing the products or delivering the services.

They are not in business for charity, and they don’t pretend to be. Therefore, any victimizing you experience as a result of your connection to an institution has probably come about because you allowed it to happen.

If you believe a business institution owes you some kind of loyalty and ought to reward your long service with a lot of benefits to you as a person, then you are carrying around groundless illusions.

The institution will attempt to deal with you in as utilitarian a fashion as possible. It will pay you for your services until you can no longer deliver the services it needs, and then you will be dismissed in as inexpensive a manner as possible.

This is not a sour view of business in western culture; it is simply the way things are. Whenever you become an employee of an institution, this is the implied agreement. Even if it has such things as pension plans, profit sharing, incentive programs, or any other devices designed to hold on to employees, the fact remains that when it doesn’t need you any more, you will be replaced, and every effort will be made to get rid of you as cheaply as possible.

Institutions simply do what they’re designed to do, and there is no complaining about them being written in these pages. But you are not an institution. You are a human being who breathes and feels and experiences life.

You do not have to be upset about the way businesses operate, nor do you have to commit yourself slavishly to institutions just because you are encouraged to do so by institutional spokesmen who stand to gain by your self-victimizing loyalty.

The man who retires after devoting fifty years of unflagging service to a company, and receives a gold watch and a small pension for his lifetime of devotion, has not been victimized by the institution. It owes him nothing, so he should feel grateful for the watch. He did his job and received his paychecks, and the company received his services. That is the way it’s supposed to be.

But the retiree has been victimized if he has devoted himself beyond normal requirements and sacrificed his own personal goals and his family activities, because institutions do nothing but continue on, whether you kill yourself for them or simply see them as ways for you to make your living."

In my opinion, even though you must bring excellence and commitment to everything you do, it would be foolish to ignore the reality of how companies work and to regret the personal time that you sacrificed for them.

To design or not to design?

That is the question, indeed. As I’ve said in my profile, I graduated as an industrial designer. However, in my career I’ve never worked with product design. What have I been doing all these years, then? Read on to find out.

When I graduated I landed a job as “designer” for a big multinational company. The job entitled working with digital files of packaging and doing prepress processes. I wasn’t too crazy about it, but I enjoyed the work.

A few months later, I was promoted to head of the department, with one person reporting to me. So now I was in charge not only of the technical aspect of the work, but also of the administrative aspect of the work. Budgets, deadlines, processes, procedures, policies, internal communications, suppliers, staff development, you name it.

And I loved it.

Was it stressful? Hell, yeah! But I really enjoyed that part of the business.

After that job I went on to work in several other companies, doing business or design process related things, but never actually designing. And there came a point when I just admitted that I enjoyed the business aspect of design, more than designing itself. Not only that, I didn’t miss industrial design per se, at all. It could be graphic design or branding.

Where am I going with this, you ask? Bear with me a bit more…

A couple of weeks ago Oprah Winfrey did a show on women who hated their jobs. The special guest was Marcus Buckingham, a career expert from England. Marcus designed a workshop to help people determine a plan to make the best of their professional lives, be it figuring out how to make your job match your strengths, or having the guts to quit it once and for all.

The workshop focuses on figuring out what your strengths and weaknesses are, but seeing these two concepts under a different light, which I thought was very interesting.

Strengths are defined as activities that you do, that invigorate you. How do you know? Because when you’re doing them you get really focused, it’s easy for you to concentrate and you look forward to doing them.

Weaknesses are defined as activities that you do, that drain you. How do you know? Because when you do them, it’s hard to concentrate, you’re always coming up with excuses not to do them, you dread going to work to do them and you feel like they take away your energy.

Pretty easy, huh?

Well, I took the workshop and came to realizations that I was reluctant to admit, but that will help me in the decisions I’m going to make about where I want to go with my career. Maybe I will tell you about those conclusions in another article sometime.

But my point is that just because you graduated from college with a certain degree, doesn’t mean that that’s who you are or what you’re supposed to do for a living. And as Wayne Dyer would say: “Who would trust a seventeen year old with career choices?”.

Maybe I don’t want to be a designer… maybe I want to move to other design related areas like management or teaching… Or maybe I want to try a different design discipline like graphic or interior design, who knows? The future is not written!

And only you can figure out what it is that strengthen or weaken you. I suggest you take the workshop . It’s free!

All the best!

Business Skills Every Creative Needs to Know, Now!

Last week’s HOW’s Newsletter was packed with business related articles for all designers! These articles contain basic information about the design business in general. True, some of them apply only in the US, but they’re worth a read nevertheless.

Among the different titles you can find:

• Designers' Hourly Rates See what other designers in the country are charging for their work and how they determine those rates.
• Make The Most of Downtime At Work When work gets slow, here are 6 ways to use that extra time to your advantage.
• Are You Ready To Freelance Full-Time? Look at our checklist to find out!
• Be Your Client's Best Friend 8 ways to keep clients happy.
• How to Motivate Every Type of Creative Get specific ideas for encouraging—and getting the best from—any designer.

There are about 90 articles to choose from, so browse around!

Design Aerobics

Creativity is like a muscle, right? Well, here’s a website I found a couple of years ago, that literally proclaims that very thing and offers designers a series of exercises to stimulate their creative juices.

Designboom is a website dedicated to industrial design. One of their sections is called the Design Aerobics where for a fee, you can enroll in a variety of design exercises.

There are 8 themes a year: Sex, work, spirituality, childhood, glass, paper, ceramics and textiles. Each course takes two months, where you also get to meet other people from all over the world who are also doing the exercises, and get great feedback from expert instructors.

The website actually has a page where they explain what the Design Aerobics are about.

I can’t actually comment further, because I haven’t tried them myself. However, I thought I’d bring them up here as an interesting design resource and allow you to decide for yourselves.

Do drop by later and leave a comment if you’ve got something to share about them.

All the best!

Top Ten Job Hunting Blunders in Latin America

Nobody is perfect, especially when it comes to job hunting, which is greatly subjective. There are however, practices that should be avoided if you want to up the chances of getting an interview.

In my experience, I’ve had the opportunity to recruit mostly designers though I’ve recruited other positions. And believe me, when you’ve got about 500 resumes to read, you’re just looking for reasons to filter the best out quickly.

Here I present to you the top ten blunders (In no particular order) I see in designers looking for a job in Latin America. Let me tell you, these poor souls weren’t called for an interview.

Blunder 1: “Maybe someone will see how much I need the job and hire me”.
Nobody will hire you for a design position out of pity. Remember, it’s not what the company can do for you, but the other way around. People hire you for two basic reasons: They want you to help increase sales, or cut back costs. Think about how you can play a part in either or both and present yourself that way to the company. You’ll boost your chances of getting called for an interview.

Blunder 2: “Let me go ahead and send just my resume without a portfolio. After all, who cares about the work I’ve done?”
Helloooooo! Aren’t you a designer? When you send your resume for a position as a designer, and don’t send a portfolio, you’re not leveraging the opportunity to make a great first impression, thus losing the battle against people who walk the extra mile and do send samples of their best work. Who would you call for an interview? Don’t place any more work on the recruiter, making them send you an email requesting a portfolio. Send it up front!

Blunder 3: “She’s not going to notice that I sent it to nine different places at the same time”.
You send the resume in an email to several different job offering people in the “To” field, displaying the fact that you don’t care about any particular company or position and that you didn’t even research those companies. Worst of all, displaying your carelessness when it comes to presenting yourself which could lead one to believe that you’re sloppy in your work as well.

Blunder 4: “I know! I’ll just write ‘resume’ in the subject line of the email! That’ll set me apart from everybody!”
Again, a sea of emails and resumes. Think, how can you set yourself apart? The least you can do is write your name and the position you’re applying to in the subject line of the email. This way you make it easier for the recruiter to find you.

Blunder 5: “Wow, my resume is so gorgeous, I’m not going to even bother to check my spelling”.
Wrong! Send a resume with spelling and grammar errors and you’ll be screaming sloppy. You’re a designer, you need to be concerned with kerning and correct punctuation. Who wants to hire a designer that doesn’t pay attention to details?

Blunder 6: “Picture perfect?”
So you went against your better judgment and decided to include your picture on your resume. I suggest you run a poll among your closest friends and acquaintances to decide whether or not the picture does you justice. With all due respect, but the mug shot, or the I-just-got-out-of-bed, or the I’m-so-pitiful-please-hire-me look don’t favor anyone.

Blunder 7: “I’m sure they’ll only receive about three designer resumes, so why bother with a presentation letter? I’ll just send my bare resume”.
Again, 500 resumes at any given time. The key here is to differentiate yourself. Other designers present their case in the email or the presentation letter, telling the company how hiring them would be a good idea, how they can help the business grow sales and how what they have to offer matches the company and the position. You might want to try that sometime.

Blunder 8: “Maybe they won’t notice that I’ve applied to three different positions in the same company”.
When you apply to different positions, it just conveys the message that you don’t know what you want or how your skills can match the diverse jobs. Take the time to research the positions and the company, before applying.

Blunder 9: “So I have to format my portfolio to fit their expectations? If they can’t open it, it’s not my problem”.
The recruiter has requested something from you, and you find it annoying to have to comply. Either they can’t read a .exe or they’d like you to send JPGs instead of PDFs. Hmm, you might as well say that you’re not interested, or better yet, don’t send your resume at all! Why? Because there are other designers who are willing to do whatever it takes to land an interview and you’re… not.

Blunder 10: “I’m sure it’s like all the other design studios. Why bother looking for more information? I know them all”.
You’ve been lucky enough to land the interview, yet you get there and you don’t even remember the position you applied to! You also didn’t research the company and its culture, so you are completely clueless. This screams with conceitedness and lack of vision about how you can help the company first.


For every designer that is not willing to walk the extra mile, there’s another one who will, and who has a far greater chance of landing the job.

All the best!


Related articles:
12 resume writing tips for designers.
Designers beware: Your portfolio.
Designers beware: Being the interviewee (Part 1).
Designers beware: Being the interviewee (Part 2).
Designers beware: Being the interviewer.

Get your boss to send you to How Design Conference

A couple of weeks ago I received my latest issue of How Magazine. Inside there were some postcards promoting the How Design Conference.

The graphic design is pretty cool, as it is to be expected from the How team. However, that’s not what really caught my attention.

The interesting part was that they made each postcard as if it was a designer, sending it to their boss, explaining why it would be good for the boss, to send the designer to the conference.

See these examples:

“Hey, Boss! I’ll get all the tools I need to work more efficiently + effectively at the How Design Conference in Boston (May 18-21). Experts from Adobe will share insider secrets on Photoshop, InDesign and more — while top designers outline their best time-saving processes! Let me save you time (and money) — Send me to HOW! PS: If I learn just one tip that saves 2 minutes off a tedious design project — I’ll save at least 8 hours a year!”.

“Boss: The How Design Conference helps designers work faster, smarter and more creatively — that’s why I want to go! I’ll learn shortcuts and new techniques for the Adobe software I use everyday; get creativity boosters from the experts; and find out how to positively impact your business through design. Find out more at http://www.howconference.com/”.

“Being creative is my job. But on-the-spot creativity is a learned trait. That’s why the How Design Conference is important. I’ll see amazing work from some of the brightest minds in the industry and learn how to develop innovative solutions to business and marketing problems, even under pressure. — I wanna go!”

“Dear Boss— Please send me to Boston May 18-21 for the 2008 How Design Conference! I’ll learn new creative processes that will actually save YOU money — such as how to create my own type and build a stock photo library. Everything I learn, from on-demand creativity to technological shortcuts, will have a positive impact on your bottom line.”


See a pattern?

This is how a designer can sell an idea. Present to the other person what the benefits for them will be. Not only that, but be specific about what those benefits will be. Who could deny a designer who asks this way, the possibility to attend the conference?

HOW knows that, and that’s why they set up a Tips For Convincing Your Boss To Send You To The How Design Conference web page.

My point is that, if this is the way most designers think in the US, perhaps we, the Latin American designers have something to learn from them, like how to present a case or an idea and how to ask for training that will benefit both you and the company. And I think that we are scared to ask sometimes, because we assume that our bosses won’t want to spend money on such things, but like my old boss used to say: “Don’t assume, verify!”.

All the best!

Four Design Influences

As designers we pull from different sources to build our aesthetic awareness, our “visual culture” as a friend of mine used to call it. Here are four sources of design inspiration that I think can influence the way designers create, for the better.


Music:

Saturday night, a concert in Bogotá, the Iceland queen, Björk. She opens up the concert with a costume that made her look something like a mix between a mushroom and a jelly fish.

I was listening to the music and comparing the beats to the movements she made when she danced, how she expressed the music visually, with her body and how that connected with the stage design and the whole production including the other musicians and the different elements that were placed onstage that made for the visual experience of the performance. It was simply amazing.

There was another time in my life when this was very palpable. When I was in high school I had an art teacher. She once played some music for us in a boom box and asked us to draw what we felt. The results were rather interesting and varied, depending on the person. While some people drew in a linear form, others went back and forth with their shapes, up and down, changed colors.

Music has mountains and valleys, punches, speed, tone, it’s big or small, it’s very obvious or subtle, it can be deep, steep or narrow. Music can become something visual, something that has a shape, a size, even a color. And if it’s something visual, then it can be used to create design.


Food:

The other day I was watching Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations on TV and he was visiting this restaurant in Spain, called “El Bulli”, where his chef and owner Ferran Adriá has a very unique proposal to gastronomy.

It turns out that Adriá and his team believe in innovation in both the dishes they make as well as how they present them, that’s why they work on a lab a great portion of the year, as if it was a chemistry project.

His team includes an industrial designer who has two functions: One, to come up with the symbols that identify the internal processes in the lab and two, to come up with the best crockery and the best cutlery to present the different courses.

How cool is that? Can you imagine working as a designer for something that is not obviously design related?

Check out El Bulli’s website and go to the section called “1983-2005 general catalogue” and see the amazing shapes, the innovating dishes, the way it’s all presented, not only as an aesthetic proposal, but as a culinary experiment, using ingredients and combinations that nobody has dared to use.


Art:

This is, of course, an obvious one. How has art impacted design? What a big question! And nowadays you often can’t draw a line between art and product design. Who is to say that an iPod is not artful? And remember the Bauhaus? Where’s the line there?

To me, art is anything, any medium that is used to express human emotion. Would you agree with me if I said that product design (and any kind of design, for that matter) is influenced by emotion?

How does an art piece make you feel? And how do certain design pieces make you feel? Is there a connection? What elements can we take from art, to apply to design?


Other designers:

Here’s another obvious one, but do young designers actually take the time to research other designers in the world?

When I was in college, we reviewed the work of French Philippe Starck. Little did I know that the guy was still alive! I thought that since many of his pieces were modern design icons, maybe he was already dead. Silly me…

Anyway, this is a French designer that has designed some of the most representative pieces of modern industrial design, from culinary objects, to entire hotels! And there are tons of pictures of his designs on his website. This is a great source of inspiration, to see how design problems can be solved with ease and style.

The point here is to research, to find out what who the big designers are right now! What they’re doing, what trends they’re creating! And then ask ourselves, what do I bring to the table?


There are many other sources of influence for designers. As Latin American designers, are we tackling on all of them? Are we researching, acquiring visual culture? What other influences can you suggest? Books, movies, local culture, history?

All the best!

Latin American Design Events

As a second post today, my friend Leonardo Mora told me about three design related events going on in Latin America.

Design Fest, in Guadalajara, México.

XVIII National Summit of National Graphic Design Schools, in Aguascalientes, México.

Latinamerican Design Summit, at University of Palermo in Buenos Aires, Argentina, already gone for this year, but coming up again next year.

Is it be possible for we colombians to organize events like these?
Or maybe our designers will join such events!

All the best!

How can I?

The other day I was listening to a radio show and one of the people cited a question that got me thinking about Colombian designers’ attitude towards design and work in general.

How can I…?

I don’t think I’ve been on the field as much as I would’ve wanted. Still, It’s no secret that I get this impression that many Colombian designers (and some Latin-American designers, maybe?) suffer from “third world” or “small” mentality, where we’re basically living and working by default.

This was especially evident when I went to the 10th Design Showroom at my university a few weeks ago.

So, they call themselves “lucky” if they can land a job. A job, which for the most part, is very poorly rewarded in our country. I think it’s easy for young designers here to get into a self-pitying pattern where external circumstances define their future as people and as professionals.

And so they find themselves waiting for a company to offer them a job, waiting for that lucky break, basically waiting to see if maybe the stars align so that they can get a better quality of life and maybe, just maybe, pursue their dreams.

So… back to the radio show I was listening. How can I…? And fill in the rest yourself!

How can I add value to this company?
How can I make my portfolio all the more attractive?
How can I be different from other designers?
How can I make some money?
How can I make work easier and more effective?
How can I help this customer reach his goals?
How can I make this logo different?
How can I approach this issue from an unexpected angle?
How can I make this project innovative?
How can I do better work?
How can I learn more and grow as a designer?
How can I stimulate my creativity?
How can I change?
How can I become the person I want to be?
How can I land the awesome position at that amazing company?



The list goes on! Did you notice something? This question immediate causes your brain to come up with answers! Notice that it’s a completely different attitude than “Why can’t I get a job?”

Do write some comments and list some more “How can I…?” questions. I’m sure it’ll be fun!

All the best!

Design jobs: 3 great articles

As a second post for today I want to place a link to three articles from How Magazine which I think are very relevant to young designers today:

Creatives Wanted: How to Prepare Yourself for Today's Job Market
Turning Up the Volume: Teleconferencing Etiquette
Five Sure Signs Your Job Is a Dead-End

Enjoy!

10th Design Showroom, Universidad Nacional de Colombia

Last week I visited the Design Showroom at my university (Universidad Nacional de Colombia) and I was surprised by the examples of student work which weren’t what I expected after ten years of cellebrating this event.

Before reading on, I should say that I don't consider myself an authority in design or design trends, but as a mere user, I am entitled to my own opinion.

The Design Showroom is a compilation of the best student work of the year and it’s been organized by my school during the last ten years. I was actually honored to be a winner in the “Graduation Projects” category back in 1998. It’s presented as an exhibition in the Architecture Museum located within the campus.

The Showroom is supposed to present the visitor with the top projects which are selected based on some predetermined criteria.

I was there for the very first Design Showroom 10 years ago, back when access to the Internet was limited still and I thought the world was small, and I remember thinking that the projects were really good and in tune with the times. I went to see the exhibition to find that after ten years it seems that Colombian design hasn’t grown much (At least in my university).

I saw the same kinds of projects, the same device for picking fruit, the same transportation vehicle for the handicapped, the same furniture… And what’s even sadder, our aesthetic sense is going downhill… I barely saw anything that I would tag as “beautiful”, let alone, “saleable”.

Now, my concerns are hardly about beauty —though design definitely has to do with it— but more related to our vision as designers. It would seem that Colombian designers have a limited vision of the world today and the world of the future.

I worry that our new designers are still plagued by the “third world” thinking, that they still think we’re small and that we have no impact as a country. Is that it? Is that why they keep designing as we did ten years ago? Globalization is with us today, so this kind of thinking really doesn’t serve us.

How can Colombian designers be top notch when years (even decades) ago movies like Total Recall, The Fifth Element and Minority Report (just to name a few) have presented such futuristic societies, their devices and their weird and innovative usability proposals? How can we compare?

And let’s not talk fiction, let’s talk reality. Watch this video of Jeff Han’s Jeff Han’s 8 foot Multi-touch display wall; this is already shipping! It is commercially available! So where is Colombian design compared to technology like this? To usability trends like the ones we are already seeing commercially? Have any of our young designers even seen an iPhone or iPod Touch presentation video? How can we measure up?

And yes, in a country like ours design has a big social function, but let’s not kid ourselves here: Design is primarily a business tool, a way of making successful products that ultimately, enhance the human experience. So are our designers in touch with the current design and market trends? How about usability trends? And what about the way design is affecting other cultures and societies? Are they not watching TV or going online sometimes?

Can any of that be applied here? Of course! So what’s the gap then? Where are the dreams of the designers and the wild ideas? And let’s face it, if these guys aren’t having wild ideas while at school, the opportunity to implement them is much smaller once they graduate.

I reviewed the teacher’s list at the Showroom and yes, many of my old teachers are still there. Are they encouraging futuristic and trend-conscious thinking in their students? And what about the new teachers? Is anybody in contact with what’s going on in the world in regards to design? In my opinion, our designers are designing the same stuff we did ten years ago, when we didn’t have as many resources as they do today.

And this also brings me to my next point: It is imperative that designers speak English today. In my experience speaking English has opened so many doors for me and has given me access to huge amounts of information from the web. I think it should be mandatory in university curriculums and it should be as important a subject as the creative ones.

What I did see, much to my relief, was the use of 3D software to present the projects. Back in my day we didn’t have access to such technology, but it is good to know that at least our designers are using that resource.

One of the really good proposals is IO, a lighting sculpture.


Another one is wawawasi, an aid for parents with children who are learning to walk. This one I actually think has great commercial potential.

Aside from that, I regret to say that I wasn’t moved. And the graphic design projects don’t offer anything new either.

My friend César Galán, has allowed me to use his photos of the Showroom and share them with you. Click here, to see them.

I would love to receive some comments from people from other universities, telling me how they view design in their respective schools, if they feel I’m off my rocker here… I sure could use some hope!

Anyway, if you’re a young designer, I recommend you check some of my old posts:
Design Resources: Design Management Institute, DMI.
Design magazines
Designers beware: Podcasts

… and come back to my blog because I intend to reveal more resources to check.

If you’d like to see a couple more videos of Jeff Han’s amazing touch screen wall, click here and here.
Also, I recommend you check How Magazine’s August 2007 issue entitled “The Future”.

All the best!

Paradigm shifts and design

I started at my new job this week. I haven’t been exposed to the specific tasks of the position, yet I’ve learned a few lessons…

It is a big company, so there were these introductory activities that are meant to give the newbie an idea of what the company is, where it’s going…

As a designer and professional I look for new challenges, I look to acquire new knowledge. Which may in the beginning be interpreted as challenges related to the technical aspects of design, form, color, sketching, specifications…

And then sometimes you find your challenges somewhere else and related to other things different than design.

This week I met this guy, 25-year-old. At first glance one of those yuppie guys that work in the commercial field, remembers everybody’s name, always smiling… you know the type, right? Your typical sales manager in the making.

In one of the activities we were all asked “what is something that few people know about you?” and his answer was “overcoming a back injury in a taekwondo match”.

I later on asked him about it and he told me about being in bed for two years because he’d broken his back, he wasn’t able to walk and he was told that if he were to walk again, he’d be “walking strange”.

I can tell you something, six years later, he’s not walking strange. Not only that, the guy jogs every day and at 25 he has a clear picture of where he’s going, what he wants; he’s building his life.

So this knowledge took me from seeing him as the yuppie careless kid, to admiring his vision and persistence and even feeling jealous of him because when I was his age I had no idea of where I was going.


Oh, but there was more for me to learn this week…

Another one of the people in the activities was this girl… She got there late, for starters. I immediately made the judgment that a person that would arrive late wasn’t very committed or maybe she just didn’t care.

During the day it became obvious that she was loud, bossy and obnoxious. I was thinking “thank the Lord she’s not in my area, I don’t have to work with her”.

And as luck would have it, at the end of the day I learned that she and I will actually be working really close together.

How ironic, huh?

I also learned that this twenty-something woman has a child and a husband, goes to college and works full time. Her day starts at 4am to study for her finals and then get her son ready for school at 5:30.

How about that? Suddenly my perception turned 180°, I could see her struggles and enthusiasm.

But what does all this have to do with design, you ask?

Not much, I guess.

But I wanted to bring this experience up to illustrate how we can get so immersed in our misconceptions that it takes a shift in our paradigms to understand, to be able to see further.

Would changing our paradigms have anything to do with design?

How about making assumptions about a problem? About people?

Could there be other alternatives? What else could it mean?

How else could we approach the issue?

Be open, be generous, be humble.

All the best.

Design leadership and the constant challenges

Early in my career I was faced with the challenge of being in charge of a section of the company I worked for which included having a person reporting to me. I remember feeling completely scared of becoming a bad boss!

At that time I consulted with a colleague of mine who’d had a lot more experience and he gave me a few pointers. In the end, his best advice was “just be yourself”.

So I became G’s boss.

G happened to be very receptive from the start as we were both learning all the technical aspects of the job.

In the beginning it was hard to get him to see the bigger picture, to plan ahead, he couldn’t imagine how he could predict the events and therefore, the actions to be taken for the upcoming weeks.

But during the five plus years that G and I worked together we both grew professionally to a point where we achieved autonomy in ourselves but presented results as a team.

This was an amazing growing experience and led me to want to continue to grow as a leader.

I recently was faced again with another “being the boss” challenge. Two girls reported to me. One fresh-out-of-college designer and another one with a bit more experience.

This posed a bigger test because I had to use different languages to speak to each of them.

Since my experience with G had been so good and we’d grown together at the same pace, I thought I could just use the same method with anybody.

Not!

Miss F, the fresh-out-of-college designer needed me to hold her hand a bit more, to walk her through the steps of the different activities, to guide her. And she would usually come back to me with “What do I do now, Carolina?”

And I found myself resisting the urge to give her a straight answer. I had to get her to think, to come up with solutions by herself, to be more independent every day, to ask me less.

In the eight months that we worked together she came a long way and could do most of her work all by herself. I was very proud of myself and her.

The other girl, Miss Q, she had a bit more experience and wasn’t afraid to speak her mind. Also, she was strong-willed and assertive. This demanded a different approach from me, one where the ideas would mostly come from her, with a little guidance from me.

This also resulted in a great growing experience; the more I demanded from her, the more she would give and the more she came up with new ideas and solutions.

I have a point, I promise…

Sometimes designers end up becoming creative directors or managing a small group of creative people, which may not be something they ever saw themselves doing.

So here are a few tips to be more effective in that arena:

Be yourself, really. As I’ve said in a previous post, it’s not about barking orders or being in a position of power. It’s about getting the best of people and people will give you their best when you are authentic, honest and real.
Be clear about goals and expectations. Communicate them frequently.

Spend some time trying to figure out what the other person is about, what their mental process is, how they handle information, so that you can figure out the best way to get through to them.

It’s not about them adapting to you or following your lead, but quite the opposite. It’s about you stretching yourself to find the most effective way to get the best out of your team and have some fun while doing it!

I am so looking forward to more leadership challenges in the future, as they are the most interesting part of my work!

Mi idea with this post is that designers think outside of the box and start reflecting on the direction their career can go in the future and if they want to be in a leadership position. If so, start preparing.

Read some books about personal leadership, building teams, managing people and resources… Become aware. There’s a lot of information on the web, podcasts and books.

Epilogue: G went on to take my position and is now the design leader there. Miss F and Miss Q continue to work in my previous company, where they are faced with bigger challenges everyday. The both insist that I was a great boss ;-)

All the best!

12 resume writing tips for designers

Looking for a job? Finding a new design position can be a very daunting and stressful experience, especially if you're a fresh-out-of-college designer applying for your first creative job.

In my recruiting experience I've found that most young designers in South America and Colombia would benefit from some guidance with regards to self-promotion.

So if you're fresh out of college, or a senior designer straight out of a long career, here are twelve top tips for designers' resumes that can help you land that all-important interview:

1. Do some research
   Even if you think you know everything there is to know about designing a document, use your design know-how to effectively present your resume.
   
   There are tons of websites with information about designing a CV (Curriculum Vitae) like Rita Sue Siegel Resources, for example.
   
   Now, being a designer, most likely you're expected to show your creative side in your resume (At least I expect that.)
   
   Nevertheless, this is a document for you to show that you're a professional and therefore, all the right information must be included, even if it means sacrificing that beautiful symbol you want displayed throughout the whole document.
   
   So your flair for design is there only to enforce the information in your resume. Always remember: style over substance is a big no-no!
   
   


2. Customize your resume to match the position
   Designers can work in different areas of design. I've seen this especially with graphic designers.
   
   If the position calls for an illustrator, make your resume reflect that in the jobs or projects you want to show.
   
   If the position calls for a web designer, then include all web work you've done with links (making sure those websites are still active!) If you think something else will add to your value proposition, include it.
   
   However, don't try to squeeze all your work experience in just one page if some of it has no relevance to the position.
   
   


3. Make it a one-page resume
   Yes, all necessary information can fit in one page, as weird as it sounds.
   
   You have to think that the person receiving your resume is receiving a lot more and she probably is printing them out to read at her leisure (i.e.: when she has the time.)
   
   Make her job easier by including all pertinent information in a single page; you will earn some extra points for that.
   
   Now, you're a designer, play with typography, space, color… it's also very important to make sure the information is presented in an organized, clear, easy-to-read way and have some fun! Make your personality and style show through.
   
   


4. Proofread your resume
   Don't forget to double – better yet, make that triple – check your document for typos and grammar errors. Nothing says “unprofessional” like a sloppy resume.
   
   Set time side and get someone else to read your resume through for you. Maybe your mom, your dad, a friend maybe – anyone, so long as your resume is proofread.
   
   


5. Highlight your name and contact information
   Your name and your contact details are the most important part of your resume!
   
   Make them stand out by placing them where they will be easier to read for the recruiter: most likely the right top corner of the page, or top centered.
   
   Do include all your contact information, telephone numbers (cell included) where you can be reached for sure.
   
   If your email is something like “big_stud@hotmail.com” it's better to get a new one, just your name and last name, something that identifies who you are.
   
   I personally think that it's not necessary to include your photo, though I've seen some pretty cool ways to add a picture of yourself as an illustration or an unusual treatment in Adobe Photoshop.
   
   If you're applying for a job as an illustrator, this could be a good way to highlight your resume and maybe stand out from the rest.
   
   


6. State your profile
   Include a brief paragraph expressing what your profile as a designer is, or what your major, or preferred areas of expertise are and what short-term goals you have.
   
   This helps the recruiter see quickly if your profile matches what they're looking for.
   
   Additionally, try not to talk about the long-term in a way that sounds like you're just using your prospective employer as a stepping-stone in your design career.
   
   


7. Add the professional experience information
   Include your work experience, listing jobs in reverse chronological order. For each job include:
   
   
   
   • The time period (the date when you started and when you finished) for that job, including year and month.
   
   
   • The responsibilities of your design position.
   
   
   • The achievements of the position, and how they translated into either an increase in sales or the reduction of costs for the firm. Add some numeric information, when possible.
   
   
   
   If you've worked as a web designer, or have links to your work on the Internet, make sure they work properly and contain all updated information.
   
   


8. Add the academic information
   Include the qualifications you have and filter them to be pertinent to the position you're applying to.
   
   Also list your qualifications in reverse chronological order, too.
   
   Be sure to include the year in which you graduated and the title you received.
   
   


9. Make sure you send the right file
   When sending your resume file through email, take into consideration:
   
   
   
   • Check that your file is complete. Yes, I've received resumes that only list the jobs, with no name or contact info, because the person forgot to include the previous pages!
   
   
   • Here's another chance to stand out by naming your file with your name, e.g.: “carolina_ayerbe_CV.pdf”; make the work of the recruiter simpler and make your design resume easy to find among all the files she's downloaded that are called “CV.doc”, “resume.pdf” and every other file name that doesn't provide any information as to what it contains.
   
   
   • Include your name, title and the position you're applying for in the subject line of the email.
     
     It makes it easier to find you in the long list of emails the recruiter receives every day.
   
   
   • Write a short, warm and assertive email message to go with your attachment. This will effectively act as your covering letter.
   
   
   
   Don't just send the attachment alone; some people might take this gesture to be rude. Say hello, at least. Be polite!
   
   Don't underestimate the value of a well-crafted message selling the benefits the company will get by hiring you.
   
   If necessary, go back to the Tip 1 and do some research on how to write a proper resume covering letter.
   
   


10. Don't lie
    Most recruiters can see through a liar. Show your work in a dignified way, talk about your accomplishments, but don't try to sell things as more than they really are.
    
    I once received a CV from a designer who'd presented himself as a “brand creator”. Hmm, interesting, I thought.
    
    When I interviewed him and asked him how he went about creating a brand, it became obvious the guy had no idea what he was talking about. We both wasted our time.
    
    Be honest about what you've achieved as a designer. It's much more effective.
    
    


11. Combine your resume with your portfolio
    I really like it when the resume includes some examples of the work the designer has done.
    
    All contact, work and academic information should be in the first page.
    
    From the second page on, it's a good idea to include three or four examples of your best work. This will be the entrée for the recruiter to ask for a more complete portfolio from the designer.
    
    Don't send twelve pages, though. Still keep it short, two or three pages maximum.
    
    


12. Be professional
    Most young designers aspire to rise to the level of a professional. Design is a business; it's not just about the perfect decoration in the pretty resume. I'll say it again: style over substance is a big no-no!
    
    It has to convey a message of professionalism, that you can actually do the job and that you know how to speak the design language inside a business setting.

I hope these tips help out a few designers out there.

For more resources visit:

• Rita Sue Siegel Resources


• Manager Tools (Resumes)


• Manager Tools (Resumes and interviews)


• Search2u


• Or subscribe to The Career News, a newsletter with tons of tips to boost your job search.

I look forward to receiving some comments.

All the best!

This article is a revision on a first version I posted a while ago. Thanks to Wayne Smallman, technology blogger and fellow designer for revising the english version of the original article.

Design magazines

As I’ve discussed before, I think young designers in Latin America would benefit from expanding their scope and trying to find new and wider sources of information. One of those sources are design magazines. Though the web has opened up many doors for designers, there may be some that will read this information for the first time.

Remember how I said that I used to think that my world was really small? Well, when I was at the university I used to think that design magazines were beyond my reach. In those days there was a really beautiful one called Abitare, italian, awesome… we used to see them at the design building’s library.

As years went by, I started working and got a credit card and what do you know…? Using credit cards, you can buy things abroad! I don’t know about you, but this never occurred to me when I was in college (I know, I know… I was either too innocent, or didn’t have good friends!).

So I wanted to let you know about two magazines I’ve been subscribed to for years.

How Magazine: This magazine focuses on graphic design, which being a designer, I love. And it shows some great examples of graphic design, they have contests and then they feature the winners and the contestants, so it’s a great source of visual culture.

Furthermore, what I really love about this magazine is its business edge. You will find design business related articles, from hiring an accountant for your design studio, to how to boost creativity and be a great design leader.

They also do a “Business Annual” every year (no kidding, huh?) that covers even more business related topics like salaries and legal stuff. To me, this magazine is a must read for every designer. It’s American, but I think it conveys the global design business trends of today.

ID Magazine: Sister of How Magazine, ID focuses more on my field, industrial and product design. It doesn’t have the same depth in business issues, but it’s a great showcase of the best of current design. I suggest you get this one too.






So my message for this short post is…

1. Get a credit card! I don’t care if you’re a student, banks always have special promotions for you.
2. Research and subscribe to design magazines. If there aren’t any good ones in your region, subscribe to a couple abroad!
3. Even if you can’t afford it, research local publications. It also doesn’t have to be on your design discipline, you can check some decoration magazines, or architecture… it’ll all become what I call “visual culture”, feeding and stimulating your brain with more design!

I mean, that’s why we became designers, isn’t it?
Hey, do leave a comment if you want to suggest more magazines!
All the best!

Designers beware: Podcasts

Last year I went to New York and bought an iPod, 60GB, black. Even though I was a bit disappointed in the beginning, I caved in to it, I love it and now I can’t live without it.
Anyway, this post is not about iPods. It’s about me missing out on a wonderful source of knowledge and inspiration for years!

As you probably know by now, I am a huge Harry Potter fan and after J.K. Rowling appointed Mugglenet as the best HP site, I was addicted to it. Some time in 2005 Mugglenet started podcasting with Mugglecast, and I discovered the wonderful world of podcasts, radio-like shows you can download to your iPod!

For those of you who, like me, have (had) been living under a rock for the last few years, keep reading! But of course, most of you will find this information redundant, I bet.

I use iTunes as my podcast aggregator, though there are several others out there. I don’t want to get too technical here, especially because I don’t fully understand how they work. What I can tell you is that using iTunes and clicking on iTunes Store>Podcasts, you can find podcasts about almost every subject imaginable, including, yes, you guessed it, design.


If you go to Categories at the left, and click on Arts and then go down a bit to More Arts, the first category is Design! And now it is your turn to explore. There are podcasts about many aspects of design, the different design disciplines…

Here are a few comments about some I’ve listened to:

The Accidental Creative
Host Todd Henry talks about being creative in an “on-demand” environment. Great ways to boost your creativity!

The Creative Venture
Host Tony Clark brings together the worlds of design and business. Though Tony stopped podcasting a few months ago, you can still download the 14 episodes which are full of great insight into the design business.


Other podcasts I listen to are related to business. My favorite one is Manager Tools, where hosts Michael Auzenne and Mark Hortsman discuss about management issues. I’ve found that most of their advice applies to the design business as well.

I also listen to podcasts related to leadership, finance and other topics in general.

So now that I’ve given you a few pointers, it’s time that you go into iTunes and explore for yourself! Or better yet, find other podcast aggregators and try some! Explore different topics and subscribe to those that you decide you want to listen to on a regular basis. You’ll find that some podcasts are not worth subscribing to because they’re just not very good (like Design Matters with Debbie Millman) or that they just don’t relate to you.

The best part of all this knowledge being shared through podcasts is that it’s free, you can carry it around with you in your iPod or mp3 player, you can save it for later use… did I mention it’s free?!

If some of you can add to this article, let us know more information about podcasts aggregators or other interesting podcasts you listen to, please comment! I’d love to receive your feedback!

All the best!

Designers beware: 5 steps to productivity, the 5S.

How would you like to be more productive and have a better workplace? Would you believe me if I said that you can achieve that easily with little or no investment at all?

Would you be able to work here? Do you actually work in a place like this?


Would you like to live like this? Do you currently?


A few years ago, when I was part of the continuous improvement team of the company I worked for, I was entrusted with the task of implementing a certain methodology that promised to improve our productivity. So of course, I had to be the first to test it.

It changed me. I’ll never go back to the way I was before, immersed in clutter, with a feeling of not having any control over my stuff, my activities, my life! Being tired before even starting to work, just by glancing at my desk.

5S (Five eses, if you will) is a methodology that was developed by Japanese companies, mainly Toyota, to improve organization, order and cleanliness in work stations. It can be as extensive as you wish it to be, with thorough measurements of improvement in machinery performance in factory conditions, but as I’ll present in the upcoming posts, it can be applied to almost every aspect of life, yes, the design business included.


What can 5S do for you? Keep reading…

The name 5S responds to five Japanese words that describe each of the five steps:

1. Seiri (Select)
Identify and separate the necessary from the unnecessary items.

2. Seiton (Organize)
Everything has its place.

3. Seiso (Clean)
Identify and eliminate sources of dirt and clutter.

4. Seiketsu (Standardize)
Maintain the status of order and cleanliness achieved.

5. Shitsuke (Improve)
Make it a habit and reach new standards of order and cleanliness.


5S can be defined as an ideal state in which:

- Unnecessary materials or utensils have been eliminated.
- Everything has been identified and been assigned a place.
- Clutter has been eliminated.
- There are visual references to control the status of processes.
- All this is maintained and continuously improved.


By implementing 5S you will:

- Reduce errors.
- Reduce supplies inventory.
- Reduce unnecessary movement.
- Gain more space.
- Be proud of your work place.
- Easily recognize the status of things.
- Quickly find the utensils you need.
- Improve the image your customers have of you.
- Improve your team work and cooperation.
- Improve responsibility and commitment.


There are many resources on the web about this subject, covering all kinds of businesses and situations, big and small, where this methodology can be applied. I’ll be covering each of the steps in a design studio environment and how to implement them and measure the results.

Meet me here next time to cover step 1, Seiri, and learn how to get rid of most of your clutter and not feel guilty about it! :-)

All the best!

Designers beware: Travels.

I come from what is called a “third world country”, from a middle class family always struggling to make ends meet and I used to think that my world was so small…

And then I decided I wanted to become a designer, a non-profitable profession in the eyes not only of my parents, but of many people. During my years in college I saw how design had changed history, how it impacted our culture and our reality. Still, I couldn’t fit in my head the idea of being able to see more, to expand my own space. It seemed like something unreachable.

It was when I started working for a multinational company that my world slowly began to grow, my vision expanded and I wanted to see more. I was being exposed to people from every corner of the Earth. I became ever more curious and I suddenly realized that I had been limiting myself for all those years, always thinking that money or background were an issue.

The company started sending me on trips to Perú, Mexico and the US and I jumped at the opportunity to stay a few days longer on each trip, to experience the culture and see the art and history of the places I visited.


My world was becoming larger and larger…

In one of my trips to Perú I visited Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley of the Incas. It was amazing. As a designer I was very interested in seeing the architecture, art, the aesthetics, the formal solutions.




Did you know that the Incas built their houses without any substance holding the bricks (if you can call them that) together? The “bricks” were designed to fit together… mere geometrics and mathematical calculations, and guess what, those walls are still standing today, hundreds of years after they were built.

Plus, the energy of the place, the history, the culture, it will wash all over you. If you can, go. It’s rather cheap and it’ll be a wonderful experience.

I also visited Mexico which I found so interesting. Mexicans have such a rich and ancient culture. It was incredible to see the Aztec ruins visible through the modern buildings. To understand how this culture has mixed their native influences with the modern currents to create something unique.



I was particularly amazed to see the works of Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo and many other Mexican artists that paved the way to today’s Latin American art. You can see their influence in many art manifestations like architecture and fashion.



Last year I was fortunate enough to go to New York. I mean, it doesn’t get any more global than that, right? Visiting places like the Met and the Brooklyn Museum of Art, all the different cultures of the world gathered in one place. All their aesthetic solutions to the same problems, their vision of the world, of their past and their future.



By now you must be wondering where I’m going with all this…

Well, here are some points I think young designers need to ponder:

1. If you think money is an issue, it’s not. I got loans, I saved, I found a way. Now I don’t see any destination as impossible.

2. Wherever you are, there’s still so much for you to see. Whatever you’ve been told, or you’ve believed, there’s a whole big giganting world out there for you to experience. Go seek knowledge!

3. Creativity is like a well… in order to draw from it, you need to fill it first. Find things that move you, that touch all your senses, experience, feed your own visual culture, taste new flavors, listen to new languages, live like other people do. It’s only going to make your work that much better and your life much more fulfilled.


You’re young, do it now. Don’t wait any longer, today is your chance! Such beauty waiting for you to discover it! And if you’re not so young, it’s never too late. I’ve now made it a priority to travel at least once a year. I’ve visited Ecuador, Perú, Brazil, Mexico and several cities in the US. What’s next? Who knows? Europe, the Far East… I haven’t decided what my destination will be this year, but I’m sure it’s going to blow my mind!

All the best!

Designers beware: Setting clear goals and expectations.

Lately I’ve found myself having differences of opinion with people about my ideas on how to lead a design team. I want to present a situation to the community and get some feedback on whether or not I am completely off my rocker.

Let’s say you own a small design studio or you lead an in-house team. Let’s say you hire a new designer. A young bright designer. Let’s say that this new designer is assigned a group of tasks that involve learning a new software or mastering a technology which he hasn’t been exposed to before. He’s expressed this openly to you during the selection process.

The standards or final goals are clear in your head. You know exactly what you expect from the designer.

The question is: How do you get this new designer from not knowing quite how to do the work to getting the job done as you want it?

Some might argue that if this designer is as bright as he seems, he should figure it all out on his own. Now, from my point of view, there are three things/issues he should figure out:

- One, how to work the software/new technology.
- Two, the standards the job needs to meet.
- Three, how much time he’s allowed to take to get to the expected level of performance.

Do you agree with me so far?

New set of questions: What would happen if you (the manager) fail to give information to this young designer on one of the three issues. In fact, what would happen if you refuse to provide information on all of them? What would be the odds of this designer meeting your criteria? Would you still expect him to?

Believe it or not, I’ve encountered such a situation recently.

So here’s what I think:

Issue one, yes, software and new technology usually come with manuals, and yes, there are forums on the web where a person can post his questions and get some guidance. Would this be enough?

Would it be reasonable to ask one of the designers on the team (one that knows how to work the technology) to help the young bright designer? Would it be reasonable for you to spend some time with the designer, explaining the basics of the technology? Would this help him reach the performance level quicker? I would say so, wouldn’t you?

Issue two, could the new designer guess what you expect? Let’s say he’s so brave, he went straight to you and asked about it and you ignored him because you thought explaining that would just take too much time. Would you still expect him to know how the job needs to be presented?

Again, would it be reasonable to enlist the help of another designer on the team or to perhaps spend some of your time explaining the standards that need to be met? Would this help the designer present the job according to the expectations? I would say so, wouldn’t you?

Issue three, would the designer be able to guess how long would be a reasonable time to reach the expected level of performance? Would anybody in this situation be? Would it help to inform him clearly when you expect to see results? Would it help him if you gave him a schedule of steps or small goals he needs to reach and their timeframe? I would say so, wouldn’t you?

So by now I’m guessing you’ve gotten my point. You cannot expect someone who’s new on a job to guess how things need to be done. Especially if this young bright designer is also fresh-out-of-college.

You need to give this person the tools, all the tools available, for him to learn as soon as possible. You need to inform the standards that the job has to meet and you need to be clear on deadlines, schedules and expectations. Period.

Let’s avoid the “quick-fix” mentality and let’s start building a real design team. Let’s spend time training our people so that they can be more productive now and in the long run and so that we can deliver better work.

If our schedule is so tight, let’s delegate! Other designers would be more than willing to guide the new guy! Don’t you agree? Wouldn’t you go as far as calling the attitude of the manager I’ve described as “negligent”?

I’d love to receive some comments and know what other people think. Are there people out there who can “guess” how a job needs to be done? Would they be successful if they put more “effort” into it? Am I missing something here?

All the best!

Designers beware: Being the interviewer.

As a design manager you’re sometimes faced with the task of interviewing new designers for your organization; this can make some designers a bit nervous. Here are a few tips to be effective when interviewing other creative professionals.


Before the interview


Define the position: Before you even make the process public, you need to be clear on the responsibilities of the position. Ask yourself questions like:

- What will this person do?
- If a followed him around all day, what would I catch this person doing or saying?
- Who do you want this person to be like, on the team and why?
- Who do you want this person not to be like, on the team and why?
- What are the deliverables of the position?
- What are the behaviors the new person has to exhibit to be successful in this position?


Reply to candidates: If you can manage it, take a few seconds to let each candidate know you received their information. I do. I receive most resumes by email, so I reply immediately. I have a template response email, so I just change the name of the person. If you can’t manage it, you can do it in bulk, when you have some resumes stacked up. Not many people do this and I think it speaks well of you and your company.


Review each resume in advance: Decide the key points you’re looking for beforehand, so that you can pick those up quickly. Circle a couple of accomplishments or projects in the portfolio that catch your eye, so that you can ask the candidate about them during the interview.


Device a tracking table: Unless you’re in a big company where HR is directing the search, I’d recommend creating an Excel tracking chart for your candidates. Especially is there’s a lot of them. I don’t enter every single candidate in it, but I do keep track of those candidates that I will be interviewing based on their resume and portfolio. I include relevant information, like age, academic degree, email, date of the interview. I also color code them and leave a field open to write my impression of the interview.



During the interview


General interview tips:
- Don’t read the resume in front of the candidate.
- Ask about parts of the resume, not all of it.
- Have the questions written down.
- I like to ask them to tell me briefly about their portfolio. I actually picked this from another designer I was doing a selection process with.


Ask the right questions: As I pointed out in an earlier post, I like to ask questions that will help me to decide if the person is a good match for the position and for my team. Here are some sample questions I ask:

- How did you hear about us?
- Why did you become a designer?
- What did you expect to achieve as a designer then?
- What do you expect to achieve as a designer now?
- In what type of atmosphere/environment do
you feel most comfortable working in and do you do best working in groups or by yourself?
- What are your skills?
- What are your flaws?
- What’s your creative process?
- How does your expertise relate to our company?
- How do you think you’ll help us increase sales?
- What are your salary expectations?

You can also ask about the couple of accomplishments you circled in their resume.
Ask about a time when they did x. How did they do it and what were the results? This may be extracted from a situation that happened to you recently so that you can compare the two instances.


Evaluate the answers in a structured way: According to Manager Tools, here’s a good way of structuring your perceptions: Divide them in four categories, interpersonal, cultural, skills and technical, and for each of them write down the behaviors that led you to draw your conclusion.


Evaluate body language: I'd covered this before, but my friend Fernando Pacheco from www.saturnattacks.com reminded me that it was important to cover this here again and I agree! I look for confidence, candidness, energy and professionalism. Signs of excessive nervousness, clues on lack of confidence or inappropriate/unprofessional behavior also show through.



After the interview


Decide, right then and there: I like to make quick decisions. In this case it’s either yes, no or maybe. Decide immediately after the interview and record it in the Excel table. Avoid deciding on “maybe” too much, otherwise you’ll be stuck having to decide yes or no, later.

Inform the outcome: Again, take the time to inform the outcome of the selection process to each candidate. It can be a personalized email or a phone call if the candidate made it to the final steps.

I look forward to receiving some comments or additional tips!

All the best!