Week 3 Exploration: Interview Questions

The following questions are ones that are typically asked in job interviews. It’s important to familiarize ourselves with them before a job interview so that we are more prepared to have an organic, concise, and proactive conversation with potential employers.

1. Can you tell me a little about yourself?

Interviewers might ask this question to break the ice and get a feel of an interviewee’s personality. When asked this question, we should give them a “pitch” rather than giving a complete employment/personal history.

“I was born and raised in Sao Paulo, Brazil, moved to New York with my family in 1998 and have lived in Miami, Orlando, Sao Paulo since then.  I am passionate about all things design including interior design, fashion, and of course, digital (graphic and web). I volunteer at Hands on Orlando in their project at Orlando Health and Rehab Center. In addition to my interests and passions, my professional life is a huge part of who I am. I have worked as a project manager for 5 years at different advertising agencies where I managed web-related projects. I just recently graduated from Full Sail University with a Media Communications degree where I was immersed into the world of media. I believe that my education experience has helped me blossom into the media strategist and designer that I am today.”

2. What are your greatest strengths?

My greatest strength are my ability to collaborate and work with people, creative problem solving skills, and creativity. My favorite phase of a project is design, where things come to life but my second favorite is planning and strategizing, where where we get to ask questions and brainstorm the most creative, effective solution to that problem.

3. What is your greatest weakness?

The employer is trying to figure out if his weakness will make it hard for us to do a good job or fit into the organization. They are also interested in how you handle a tough questions.

“My greatest weakness is that I am very critical of my work. While this is beneficial to my job performance, it is possible to go to extremes. I find that I can easily waste time on pre-production just thinking about all of the infinite possibilities of getting something done. However, I’ve learned to activate my inner project manager that puts me back on track.”

4. Why should we hire you?

This is a critical question because it will show our success, self-confidence, and preparation.

“You should hire me because I bring different sets of skills that will benefit your creative team. Working in ad agencies has taught me “business” side of the industry and my design background along with my recent media communications degree has exposed me to the latest trends, tools, and technologies in the media industry.  ”

5. Do you have any questions?

Asking questions about the company shows interest, determination, but most importantly it helps us decide if the company is the right candidate for us. Here are some possible questions:

What is the work culture like at Purple, Rock, Scissors?

What can you tell me about this job that isn’t in the description?

What is the key thing someone does to be a success at this job?

6. Tell me about your work history.

The hiring manager doesn’t need to be walked through out resume chronologically—they can read what’s on the page. It’s far more valuable for us to highlight the key strengths of our background.

“If you look at my resume you’ll see that I began working in the industry back in 2006

7. How do you define success?

Success in my career means that I am creating work that is relevant, that represents what I stand for as a designer, and most importantly one that represents the projects I am creating for.  Personally, it means that I am making value out of my skills, my experience, and my talent by creating stunning, inviting, and powerful media strategies and user-friendly web and graphic designs.

8. What Can You Do Better for Us Than the Other Candidates for the Job?

“I am not aware of the strengths of the other candidates, I am sure there are some impressive individuals applying for such an awesome agency. However, given my unique background and experiences, I think I would be a strong candidate for this position. I have experience in both the business side of the industry as well as the know-how, technology, and tools needed to create. In the past 20 months at Full Sail I was able to fully unleash my inner creative, got my Adobe certification for Photoshop, received 2 course director awards and was actively involved in outside projects as well.”

Sources: http://www.job-hunt.org

http://jobsearch.about.com/od/interviewquestionsanswers/qt/success.htm

http://lifehacker.com/5888646/how-to-answer-what-is-your-greatest-weakness

Week 3 Practice: Teamwork Examples

  • Tell a story about a time you were a member of a group?

I have worked in groups in all of my past work experiences, more recently at Lightmaker. As a project manager, I led a team of creatives and developers in order to get web and app projects done. I participated in every step of the project from client kickoff, to creative brainstorming, to launch. I also worked closely with the other digital producers and participated in morning SCRUMS, status meetings, allocation of resources.

  • Tell a story about a time you led a group?

I have been working in teams for the past 20 months at Full Sail. The school focuses on providing students with real world experience in different media aspects and we were very much encouraged to brainstorm and create together. I believe that this allowed me to develop both my leadership and teamwork skills. In my professional career, I lead a team of creatives and developers while a project manager. One of my biggest days at Lightmaker was when we were developing a timeline for The Jockey Club the day before the Kentucky Derby in 2012. We had last minute requests from client and my team and I worked long hours of the night to get all of the required features completed, tested, and pushed before the big day. I believe that my leadership and guidance helped the team stay motivated.

Week 2 Project: Elevator Pitch

Hi! My name is Juliana, I am a media strategist and designer. I am passionate about design, technology and storytelling and how they create powerful digital experiences. I help companies establish their digital footprint, brand and market their products and services. I develop brand identity, user-friendly websites, graphic design, social media strategies, and content marketing. I have 5 years of experience in digital agencies and am a recent graduate of the Media Communications program at Full Sail. I would love the opportunity to get to know more about Purple Rock Scissors and the projects you are currently working on. Would you have some time to meet? I would love to get some feedback form you on my portfolio. It’s been a pleasure meeting you!

Week 2 Practice: Network Email

Below is an example of an email I could send to a past co-worker or employer as I start my job search.

Hello John,

I hope this email finds you well! I have recently graduated from Full Sail University with a Bachelor’s degree in Media Communications. The past 20 months have taught me more than I hoped and imagined. It was an intense immersion into all aspects of media such as graphic design, new media journalism, web design, media psychology, and public relations . I have learned several aspects of media strategy and design such as social media, content marketing, design aesthetics and visual storytelling.

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Week 2 Analysis: Elevator Pitch Examples

In this post I will analyze three different elevator pitches and categorize them into what I find “Good/Bad/Ugly”.

The “Good”

I thought this was a great pitch because he asks questions and immediately tells the audience how his product solves a problem. He then proceeds to explaining how this is done and includes how the company is going to generate profit. His pitch is well thought and organized and answers several potential questions that listeners may have, which optimizes his time and the attention of the potential investor/employer. I learned that pitching is like telling a story (or should be told as so), and should be told in a way that is simple, clear, and concise. If I was to give this guy any advice, it would be to speak a bit slower, although I do understand the need to say as much as possible in such a small amount of time. Overall, if I was in a position to invest, I would want to know more about his cup advertising idea.

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Week 2 Practice: Networking

Success in our careers are directly related to our networking and professional relationship building skills. Here are a few conferences, groups of like-minded individuals and associations that fit my career goals:

EVENTS:

CPSI – Creative Problem Solving Institute

CPSI is the longest running conference on creativity and innovation. I actually attended the 2013 conference and promised myself I would go every year. It was a great way kick off my journey at Full Sail.

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