Inspired by fellow contributor Chris Costello’s post Paying Your Dues

My career also started humbly and I still think about those experiences every time I interview a young designer. I went to Phoenix for interviews near the end of my senior year. I had researched the top firms I hoped to meet and had sent them all hand-made promo pieces, well-written letters and a great resumé. To my surprise, I got interviews at all but two of my top 15 choices. Not too bad for a guy who didn’t go to a school exactly known for design - nope, not bad at all…or so I thought.

Sure that an amazing job was in the bag, I strolled in to each firm with all the confidence of an Olympic champion. I left each one without a job and wondering what had just happened. The pre-portfolio opening conversations went fantastic, but things would take a bad turn when my portfolio was opened and with each page it would continue to go downhill. Finally, after no offers and no constructive criticism from anyone, the owner of the firm at my second to last interview said something like, “I have never been so interested in seeing a book and been so disappointed page after page.”

Well, that day was a horribly great day. I was humbled by the fact that my portfolio - which I was so proud of - was not good. But, it was great that someone had finally told me the truth. After the owner’s comment, we talked about each piece, what was lacking from it and what I needed to add to improve my portfolio. I still remember that day vividly and I told myself that if I ever had the chance to review a designer’s book I was going to be honest and helpful.

So I went home and threw away my entire portfolio. I redid it in two months - four years of college in 60 days! After graduation, I went back to Arizona with a new spring in my step and expectations high. I ended up getting only one interview instead of the 10 I was hoping for. The result: no real feedback and no job. As I was leaving my only interview, the art director gave me a number to call to inquire about a job. I called a few days later. No interview.

I went back to Illinois and tried to figure out what to do while taking work as a cement laborer. After a few weeks of hating everything, I decided to move and try again to make my design dream happen.

Moving into my apartment, I called that number one more time and to my surprise the owner answered. He gave me a job offer over the phone - without seeing my book. I jumped at the chance.

Now the job was not great, but it sure was great to take that first step…and I’ve been going ever since.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 9th, 2008 at 8:10 am and is filed under Design Careers, RESOURCES. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.