45 Ways to Not Blow Your Interview, Part 3: Showing Off – The Book

(Have you read Part 1: Introduction to the Introductions and Part 2: Introducing You? If not, then take a look at them to get caught up with the first 14 of 45 ways to not blow your interview. If you have read those –?then please proceed.)?

It’s the time in the interview for me to say: “Well, why don’t you show us a few things you’ve worked on and what you’ve been up to?” Even now, I still get asked if I prefer a physical book or a digital one. My answer is: I don’t care. Which leads me to my first tip.

#15 Whatever works for you, works for me.

Well, sorta. If we’re meeting in person, I do not care if we’re flipping actual paper pages or if we’re flipping through pages of a PDF or scrolling through a website. If we’re meeting online, then yeah, it better be digital. The important thing is this: It has to be easy for you. It has to be easy for you to be able to lead me through it, whatever the format. You have to know your way around it with minimal fumbling.

If it’s a printed book, don’t make it so big that you physically have trouble flipping pages and lugging it around.

If it’s a website or PDF, know your navigation and how to jump from one page or section to another with ease and speed. Speaking of websites…

#16 Get the password.

If we’re meeting in person and your work is on a website or “in the cloud,” then let’s turn back the clock for a moment, because you’ll need to arrive here at my office 10-15 minutes early. You’ll need enough time for you to ask for the password to our office’s guest WIFI, get logged on and check the connection. DO NOT do this in the interview. That is not being prepared. It’s going to waste valuable time for you in the interview. And even though I want to be understanding about it – it’s also annoying.?

#17 Have a backup.

We all have days when our laptop seems extra sluggish. Is it the laptop? Is it the internet? Is it the WIFI? Who knows. And during an interview, who cares? We can all empathize with this sort of thing, but you can eliminate two of those possible culprits if you keep some form of your portfolio on your laptop – something you can easily show and share without a strong WIFI connection. That’s going to make it easier on you, and that's going to help minimize distracting yourself from being the best version of yourself in the interview.??

#18 PROOF IT.

OK. Here’s a big pet peeve of mine. I’ve seen some really good work in books labeled with the project title and a synopsis of the assignment laid out handsomely on a page or screen. And then my delight in the work is suddenly spoiled as my eye will invariably go right to some sort of stupid typo. A misspelled word. A missing word. The wrong their/they’re.

Please, please, please read over every bit of text you include in your book. Have a friend look it over. Have one of your parents look it over. Anyone you trust to help you spot any typos or errors and any inconsistencies or slip ups.

These are needless distractions. And it can’t help but make me question how much care and thought you’ve put into the work. I want to see great ideas and great thinking. But I also want someone who pays attention to details and understands how all the little things can contribute to a bigger picture.?

#19 Let me see it.

Make sure the images you select to represent your projects are actually cropped thoughtfully and are large enough for me to actually SEE the work. Remember, I’ve never seen your creations before, and I won’t know them like you do.

Make sure the selections of images help step me through the work like your intended audience would experience it. Use the images to highlight the best components and details while still giving me an overall sense of it.

And if there’s type involved (and why wouldn’t there be, I suppose), make sure the images are large enough so that I can read the important stuff. I’ve seen oversized posters shrunken down into postcard-size images. I can’t judge the work if I can’t make it out.

#20 Have some backup.

Be sure to bring along some of the actual work – particularly if it’s something with multiple pages or is rather complex. Even the best photography won’t give me a true sense of all the work and detail you’ve put into a multi-page brand book. Bring it – along with any additional supportive pieces or sketch books.

Allowing me to interact with at least one of your pieces will force me to become more physically and mentally engaged. And that’s going to help me remember you. (Spoiler alert – that will be a tip later on!)?

#21 Have backup to the backup.

Because of course you’ve edited your portfolio down to the exact number of critical pieces to show off your talents, there may be some work that was pretty good – stuff you enjoyed making – but it just didn’t make the final cut. Bring it along. Tuck it – and the stuff from #20 – into a backpack, messenger bag, in a pocket at the back of your physical portfolio, in a separate folder on your hard drive –?whatever is easiest for you to transport and bring along with you.

Bring any freelance work or other things that might not show off your finest concepting and creative skills, but are evidence of that summer internship or part-time job where you actually got something produced.

Here’s why you want to do this. You NEVER know where the conversation with me might go. This is your backup stash in case I show some interest in a particular piece of yours or our conversation turns in such a way that one of these things could demonstrate and prove something about your abilities or experiences. Remember #14? Be prepared. And be flexible.?

(SIDE NOTE: What goes into your portfolio is such a big topic and one so specific to each individual that I’m going to skip that here. Again, with this list, I’m really trying to focus on the mechanics of an interview. Mostly.)????

#22 Don’t make me do handstands.

It’s tempting to create interesting patterns and arrangements when photographing or laying out your work for your portfolio. But when showing a collage of items, don’t turn more than half of them upside down. Particularly if that’s the only image of these things. I’ve seen this happen. Often enough for me to mention it here.

And you know what? I’m lazy. And maybe I’ve been in several back-to-back meetings. And I might be a little tired. This is not the same sort of physical interaction I mentioned in #20. This is the wrong kind, because it didn’t make your portfolio any more interesting and it’s just going to annoy me.

#23 Please don’t annoy me.

See #16, 18, 19, 22. And there’ll be more to follow.

#24 Did I mention proofread your work?

I can’t emphasize this one enough. But do it. PLEASE.

Damn, I’m persnickety.?

We’re over halfway there now. Next time, we’ll pick up with #25 and tackle the even more personal and second part of Showing Off – Part 4: Showing Off – You.