Campfire #34: Three tips for presenting design work during an interview
The difference between getting the job or not, has everything to do with how you present your work to potential clients.
It’s much more important how you present your work rather than the actual work itself. Even talented designers with strong backgrounds can miss an opportunity if they don't take care of a few basic steps.
It’s the best communicator who gets the job. Not the best practitioner.
So, if you're not getting the jobs you want but believe your work is good, the problem could be how you present your design work.
How to keep the hiring manager interested during portfolio presentations?
When it comes to presenting your work, not all organizations require a formal presentation. However, it has become a norm for many folks in the industry.
In the past few years, I’ve interviewed dozens of designers, and here are a few tips to keep the hiring manager engaged when presenting your work.
Don’t over-contextualize
Most industries are complicated or nuanced, and you may believe that you must create the setting for your presentation. Generally, provide business context on no more than one slide. Make the most of your limited time to provide the hiring manager with the information they require to move forward with you.
Take advantage of this opportunity to practice brevity (a great design skill). Most designers overestimate the context required to convey their message (and hiring managers take note when you cannot communicate concisely).
Talk about YOU
Hiring managers are not trying to hire from your previous employer. We're looking for YOU, so talk about YOU. Yes, acknowledging that this is a team sport is a good quality.
However, begin your presentations by saying, "There were many people involved in making this a success, but for the sake of efficiency, I'm going to focus on my contributions." Tell them about your challenges, decisions, opinions, successes, and failures.
Find the big story in little projects
Don't undervalue the big stories you can tell with minor design work. You can use small design projects to delve deeper into your thinking, research methods, and decision-making processes.
You can help set the tone by saying something like, "Designing a login page shouldn't be that difficult, but little did I know..." before launching into the micro-drama.
I’ve seen people talking about changing a few fields in the form during a 30-minute presentation, expanding on their research and history of patterns.
Further reading/watching
✳︎ ✳︎ ✳︎
I always love hearing from people, and if you enjoyed this or have questions about the design interview process, feel free to reach out to me on Twitter @dovhyi.
If you found this article useful, please consider sharing it with a friend (you can use the icons below).