Artisan Creative is celebrating 20+ years in staffing and recruitment of creative professionals. Over the years, we’ve learned a thing or two that we’d like to share with you. We hope you enjoy the 428th issue of our weekly a.blog.
Preparing for an interview is a two-way street that requires both parties to be present and engaged in the conversation.
In previous blogs, we highlighted general best practices for interviewers such as active listening techniques. As interviewers, we must set the stage and tone of the interview to reflect our company culture and team dynamic.
Interviewing and hiring creatives adds an additional layer of intricacy since the portfolio plays a key role in the dialog. Here are some important skills that interviewers can practice when looking to interview and hire creative candidates.
●Smile A welcoming smile is worth more than 1000 words.
●Prepare As interviewers, it’s our responsibility to be prepared for the meeting by reviewing the candidate’s resume and portfolio in advance and crafting targeted questions to learn more about them, the projects they’ve worked on, and build better rapport. Take notes beforehand to keep things on track and stay upbeat and positive.
●Listen Active listening is essential to getting the information you need. Make eye contact with the candidate and listen to their tone – as well as their words. The best creative work is often a result of successful communication – make sure you get the most out of your conversations with candidates.
●Ask open-ended questions Questions that start with “How”, “What” or “Can you explain” are generally more useful than “yes or no” questions when interviewing for creative roles. Open-ended questions allow candidates to tell stories about their experience, and ideas. Ask about the candidate’s design thinking and creative problem-solving process to get a better sense of their conceptual skills.
●Keep track of time Always leave time in an interview to address any questions the candidate might have about your company and the role. This will give you some insight about what’s important to them. You can often learn more from the questions candidates ask than from any other aspect of the interview.
●Arrange next steps If an interview goes well and you think you have the right person on the other side of the desk, say so. Enlighten them on the state of your interview process and set up a second interview with other hiring authorities or team members, as needed.
If the interview did not go well – or it’s too early in the process to determine a fit – let the candidate know when a decision will be made. Transparency around your hiring process helps keep candidates engaged. If a candidate isn’t a good fit, letting them down gently gives an opening to pursue other opportunities that they might be better suited for.
Hiring a new team member makes a huge difference to the future of your business. If you have questions around these high performing priorities, you can always ask an expert. At Artisan Creative, we are experts in interviewing creatives. Happy to help you with your next hire.