5y
This interview was conducted nearly 9 months ago so I am trying to recall the details of this interaction. We are sorry you felt like we weren't engaging enough. We do recall in your interview for the Graphic Designer maternity leave position (we hired the other 2 interviewed) that we directed questions around your skillset, prior experience and future career goals. We worked with an HR Advisor that was part of your screening process and also helped draft the questions you received. Not that we need to speak to credibility, but she is actively involved with screening and hiring for positions for a major bank on Vancouver Island and was a great asset during the Graphic Designer interview process in which we received over 100 applications. You are right on the point of design experience. We are a boutique public relations agency and not a design firm. We were looking to hire a candidate that had strong leadership and design experience to take on a senior position on our team and attribute high-level design skills we needed to fill. Being a full-service agency, we hire the best for both strategic and creative services and often times our team members are better than us. There is no such thing as being great at everything, but our leadership excels at seeing how all the pieces fit together and our staff are leaders in their craft. How else can a company expect to be successful? Also, the unpaid design piece was part of the interview process and is common for most positions at agencies and large organizations. We asked for a simple expression of skills based on a straightforward assignment so that we can see how your skills are applied to types of projects we work on for our clients. This is not content we repurpose or use and is purely part of the interview process.
Also, to address the interview question you included, it was "What purchase of $100 or less have you made in the last 6 months that have added value to your life." This question is intended to break up the energy around an interview and give us an idea of your personality and things that spark your excitement. This is a question Tim Ferriss asked leaders in interviews for his book, Tribe of Mentors.
I do also want to add - and mentioned this when I phoned you after the interview - your design piece was beautiful and well done, but we did ultimately hire someone who had more experience and skills we needed to support our team and our clients. Please do feel free to reach out to me personally should have any other questions.
