How to Fail: A Creative Interview

In almost 7 years as a Creative Director and someone in charge of hiring talent for our team, I've had some amazing interviews and some impressive train-wrecks. I’ve always tried to strip away the cliché interview experience and make the person comfortable, able to talk about who they are and just be themselves.

Despite meeting and talking with mostly great people, every so often, I get the rare encounter with the ultimate interview fail. An experience so bad it would boggle my mind for hours. In reflecting on the rare but memorable examples of interviews gone bad, I've compiled a seemingly obvious list of things to avoid if you actually want to land that design gig. It seems that most of these instances are based on an assumption that being “creative” is a hall pass to break (or ignore) elementary social and professional interview norms.

You only get one chance at a first impression (so they say), so here are three things to avoid:

#3: Showing Up Empty-Handed

I once had a talented designer apply via email for a position we had available. After reviewing her work and resume, I felt like she might be a good fit. So I replied to her email, set-up a time for her to come by, and politely asked her to bring in her work to discuss. After arriving 45 minutes late due to traffic (which, by the way, is not an excuse in Atlanta), we proceeded to make small talk for a while until I realized she was empty-handed. After I inquired about her portfolio, she seemed shocked and surprised I would want to see anything other than her website. Embarrassed and flushed, she fumbled through reasoning and I did my best to avoid the storm of awkwardness with superfluous small talk about her boyfriend’s band.

#2: Appearing as if you are allergic to bathing

For some reason, cleanliness and hygiene seem optional in the creative world. Unfortunately, it isn’t. Interviews are all about perceptions and managing the interviewers perception of you. So, If you smell like stale beer and week old pop tarts, then just know that is the perception you are creating. Likewise, if you have side burns like a runaway freight train connecting to your chest hair, you should know that perception only works at a train depot.

#1: Dropping F-Bombs

This is the ultimate deal-breaker. People want to hire talented, intelligent, and driven creatives who they can put in front of clients, and language is huge. Despite the personal vocabulary someone chooses, dropping F-bombs in a casual, yet job-related conversation is a risky and potentially disrespectful assumption. For me, interviews are a test run of how you might interact with the team and our clients (you know, the ones that would pay your potential salary). Regardless of how you talk in normal life, you’ve got to remember this is an F’ing interview after all.

On the flip side, here are three quicks you can do to help form the right perception.

Be sure to focus on the hellos and the goodbyes. Make good eye contact when meeting the interviewer, give a firm hand shake, say your name with confidence, then repeat when leaving (besides saying your name again, that would be just weird).

Research the company and their culture. Then do your best to dress accordingly. There is nothing worse than be under dressed, but sometimes being over dressed is just as uncomfortable. What you wear is a huge part of the overall message you’re sending.

Be yourself. Several times the interviewer is just as nervous as you are. Relax and be confident in your skill set and your talents. Be honest in responses. In the long run if you lie your way into a job it will be worse than not getting the job in the first place. Authenticity and confidence go along way in the world of personal perceptions and are drop dead gorgeous qualities for most employers.

Blake Howard is Co-founder, Creative Director, and Principal Interrogator for Matchstic as well as regular consigliere for The Atlanta Egotist. We asked him to write an editorial for us and he said yes. Mr. Howard is also a redhead and likes wakeboarding. His next office will have a fire pole in it. Seriously. Blake blogs regularly over at the Matchstic blog.

Originally posted on The Atlanta Egotist.