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.

Designers beware: 5S Phase 2, Seiton (Organize)

Welcome back to my series on 5S, the methodology to improve organization, order and cleanliness. In this article I cover the second phase, Organize.

But first, if you want to go back to the two previous articles:
Introduction to the methodology
Phase one, Select

Let’s pick up where we left off. Last week I talked about Seiri, to select. At the end of the exercise we had two piles of stuff:

Pile C: The stuff that needs to be in the work space.
Pile D: The stuff that is needed, but not in the immediate work area.


Phase two, Organize

The purpose of this phase is to assign the correct place for each item.

- This will eliminate unnecessary movement because the needed elements are nearby.
- You’ll find elements quicker.
- Error is reduced.
- There are visible clues of where the elements are placed and their quantity.
- The basis for standardization is laid out.


Now for the exercise:

Step 1: Classify
Think about how often you use each item according to the following criteria:

- Infrequent: Things that are used monthly. These can be placed further from the working area.
- Frequent: Things that are used weekly. These can be placed inside the nearby area.
- Very frequent: Things that are used daily. These should be placed in the working area.


Step 2: Quantify
Determine how much of each item is needed in the place where they will be stored. For instance, you may need one black marker on your desk, not five, so the other four can go to the supplies room. Now how many should there be in the supplies room?


Step 3: Place
Determine the exact place where each item goes according to the task they’re used for. Elements needed for the task performed in the specific work area should be inside it.

Group elements according to:
- Process, if they’re used during a specific task, keep them together.
- Function, things that are used for the same purpose, should be kept together.
- Order, things that are used in a certain order, should be placed in a way that will reflect it.


Step 4: Evaluate
Ask yourself:
- Is it obvious when something is missing from its spot?
- Is it obvious when something is there, that shouldn’t be there?
- Do the objects that can be moved, return to their spot?
- Is it visible when you’re running out of supplies?

This step could even include visual clues like contour lines around the spot where things are stored, tags, or quantity indicators to show the maximum amount and the minimum amount so that a new order can be placed.


* This image from the eBook “Estrategia de las 5S” produced by Advanced Productive Solutions, S.L. www.ceroaverias.com


Step 5: Audit
Once everybody has decided the place where everything goes, allow for some extra time, perhaps half an hour, so that everybody can question each other using red labels again. All items marked with red labels need to be relocated within the next few days.


Some additional thoughts:

It is likely that by now you’ve realized that you don’t actually need some of the things you thought you needed. In that case, you can do any of the following actions:

- Store it somewhere else.
- Move it inside the area.
- Sell it.
- Rent it.
- Return it.
- Trash it.

If it’s not needed for the task, it shouldn’t be there. Ideally the only things that should be on a desk is the computer, the immediate supplies like a pen and paper, and the stuff that you’re currently working on. Extra supplies can go in drawers.
Also, don’t forget to document the process with your digital camera.

I want to point out that in the cases of personal offices and desks, 5S is a process that every person needs to assimilate in their own way. Some people are attached to objects that for others have no significant value and this needs to be respected. Each person should take 5S as far as they feel is comfortable for them. For instance, I don’t need to have pictures of every member of my family on my desk; some people do. So beware that everybody has their own pace and nobody is allowed to decide for somebody else in this methodology.

So that’s all for today. Join me here next time to cover Phase 3, Seiso (Clean).

In the meantime let me leave you with this thought: Do you think this can be applied to, say, email, your computer desktop, the closet, the pantry?

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!

Designers beware: 10 tips on writing emails.

If there’s one thing a designer cannot afford to be is sloppy. Ever. And we designers tend to be a bit sloppy about communication and we tend to believe that whoever doesn’t speak “design tongue” is kind of dumb.

But think again, as I’ve exposed before, it is we, the designers, that need to start expressing in the language of the people we serve.

One of the most used tools of communication for designers is of course, email. Numerous versions of blueprints and projects are sent every day, iterations, discussions about budgets, deadlines, look and feel, corrections, revisions…

It is crucial that we manage email effectively in order to not drown in our own sea of email and communicate a clear message that will help design processes run smoothly. So here are ten tips to effectively handle email:


Tip 1: Be smart about subject lines.
The subject line should provide as much information as possible about the content of the email. Be descriptive and avoid laziness. Include if applicable, the name of the customer, the project, the specific part of the project, the version, if any action needs to be taken. For example:
Nike Running Shoes Ad blueprint, version 04. Comments are expected by tomorrow noon.

I’ve literally received emails with “design” or “strawberry” in the subject line.
Another thing is to update the subject line every time you reply. As the message evolves, so should the subject line.

If there are emails that you constantly send, that have the same structure, come up with a nomenclature for them. For instance, if you send a budget update every two weeks, your subject line could be: "Nike Campaign, Budget Update for February 20th, 2007", where you would only change the date every time you send it. This makes it easier for you and your readers to archive.

You could even come up with some abbreviations to add at the end of the subject line, inside the organization. For example: AR=action required; EOM=end of message; CE=comments expected. This will help other people know up front if there’s something they need to do about it.


Tip 2: Be brief and to the point.
Bottom line up front, state the purpose of the email and the actions required in the first paragraph. This will allow the reader to decide whether they need to continue reading or not. If the emails is more than three paragraphs long, it’s better to call and follow up with a summary email.


Tip 3: Be clear on what the next step is.
And include this information in the subject line or first paragraph if possible. Tell the reader if an action is required of them and state a deadline for that action to be taken. If no action is required, inform that also. You could start the message with “fyi” which means that the email is sent only as information.


Tip 4: There are no urgent emails.
If something is urgent and needs immediate attention, call, and then follow up with an email.


Tip 5: Present ideas in a simple, easy to understand way.
As I said in a previous post:

“This is particularly important when sending emails and explaining design issues in writing. It is very easy for a customer to get confused when he receives an email and it’s not well written. Revise how much detail you want to go into when discussing matters with your clients. Little detail and you won’t be able to convey your message, too much detail and it’s likely that your counterpart will get confused.”

Also help the reader with visual aids whenever needed. Highlight issues with different colors if you need to draw attention to them. Use bullets to list things. Another thing I like to do is take a picture (JPG or PDF) of a given design and use Photoshop to circle the areas I want to discuss. I assign a number to each area and then I explain each of the numbers in writing.

Make sure your emails comply with IP Standards (Idiot Proof Standards, that is, meaning that anything that needs a manual to be understood, is not well designed).


Tip 6: Mind your spelling and grammar.
As I said in a previous post:

“Grammar and spelling do speak about your professionalism, so be aware of the image you’re presenting. Check emails for errors or typos before sending them and make sure your staff does the same.”

Tip 7: Never forward junk or chain emails.
It’s plain unprofessional and goes against the trust customers and people in general, have in you.


Tip 8: Use a signature.
One that includes your name, position and contact details. If you’re part of a design organization, standardize it and make sure everybody uses the same. This reinforces your brand and it looks professional.


Tip 9: Be professional about email.
Do not use email to solve disputes. It is always better to use personal communication first.
Don’t use email to tell on other people.
Don’t use it as a mechanism to track actions.


Tip 10: Archive your email.
In a business where there are so many subjective issues, it’s a good idea to follow up discussions and agreements with something in writing. Come up with a good archiving system to file your email and make sure you can locate it easily afterwards. Use email client rules to help you file more quickly. I’ve talked about filing systems before. Some of this principles apply to archiving email.

I look forward to receiving some comments!
All the best.