Interviews can be pretty stressful. Especially when you are being interviewed by someone you think is way more talented, knowledgeable, and experienced than you. How could you ever hope to get this job. What were you thinking when you applied? They’ll never hire you.
Nah, would you believe your interviewer is probably a little stressed as well? Will I make the right hiring choice? How can I pick the right person in such a short time? What if my first choice wants more money than we can offer?
An important thing about interviews is it’s the chance to ask a lot of questions you might not otherwise ever get the answers to. Shake off your stress and fear by making a list of all the things you want to know about the workplace. Here’s what I would want to know if I were interviewing for a design job:
- What are your processes like?
Processes or lack of processes will have a huge impact on everything you do at an advertising or marketing agency, or within an in-house design team. - Who would I be working with most frequently here?
Find out who you’d be working with and then check out their LinkedIn profile or online portfolios to learn a little more about your potential new team. - What’s the chain of command?
You should know who’s in charge of what you will be doing and who gives final approval. - What are the clients like?
No client is perfect but listen to how your interviewer describes clients. Does it sound like the agency has a good relationship with clients or an antagonistic relationship. - How many clients are there?
Are all the eggs in one basket or is there room for the agency to lose a client or two and still be ok? Is the agency spread too thin with too many clients to properly service without going crazy? - What clients would I be working on here?
It’s good to have an accurate expectation going in on which clients you are being hired to work on. - How long do you keep clients on average?
If the place you’re interviewing at is a job shop that only does one thing (websites or branding for example), I wouldn’t be concerned if clients leave after the project is complete. For an advertising or marketing agency, two to four years is a decent tenure for clients due to the average tenure of marketing people and executive leadership on the client side. A longer relationship is a sign of stability both on the client side and the agency side. - What’s your turnover like?
Is this a job where people stay and grow? Or is it a stepping stone to something better? - What’s the interviewer’s favorite and least favorite aspects of the company?
No workplace is perfect so it’s good to know what the people who work there like and don’t like. - What’s it like when shit hits the fan?
This question gives you insight into how many long nights you could be signing up for and how exciting or awful those long nights could be. - Would I be working directly with clients or through an account manager?
Every agency is different and sometimes this answer may vary by client. - Can I work from home?
In our new normal with Covid, this one seems like a no-brainer. Ask what happens when the pandemic is over. What will be the expectation for employees? - What’s the vacation policy?
Not just how much time off do you get… what happens when you are on vacation? Will you be expected to answer emails or calls? How is workload managed among the rest of the team while someone is out? - Can I freelance?
It’s important to maintain your freedom to work on the side as you see fit. Make sure your potential employer feels the same way. - What would stop you from hiring me?
This is a great way to get instant feedback on your portfolio and interviewing skills. Even more importantly though, it’s a way for you to see how your potential employer is at providing feedback. Are they brutally honest? Do they offer advice for improvement? Do they say what they think you want to hear to not risk hurting your feelings? Are they confident in their response or passive-aggressive?
