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by Andrew Lam-Po-Tang
A long, long time ago in a far distant suburb, I used to have a design studio. One of the more important aspects of running that business was my decision to only hire design graduates rather than more experienced people.
There were pros and cons to this business policy, but in my view, it was worth it:
Plus: I could train them up to our way of working
Plus: They were cheap
Plus: They were very enthusiastic & committed
Con: They had to be trained almost from scratch
Con: If they made a mistake, it could potentially be more costly to the studio than a mistake made by a more experienced designer
Con: In interviews, it was harder to judge their real potential to the studio
Neutral: I was probably no worse off, staff retention-wise, than the alternative because most junior & mid-level designers don't seem to stay in one studio for more than 2-3 years anyway.
To deal with that last "con", I had a trick question. Anyone who didn't have an answer was automatically out. The question was, "Who are you going to work for next?" The answer, or lack of one, told me a lot about whether or not this was a designer who was mature enough to accept responsibility for their own professional development, and who had done enough industry investigation to understand that they needed to take control of their own careers rather than wait for some studio boss to manage it for them. I kinda figured that I needed people that were more driven by their own sense of destiny rather than out of blind obedience to any studio objective -- these are the kind of people that you can trust with clients and with your business, because their objectives and yours are aligned naturally.
The best answer I ever got was, "Me." Now that was a real cocky answer, but if you wonder whatever happens to people with that kind of attitude, just ask Andrew Ashton [aashton@precinct.com.au], Melbourne creative director of Precinct (the design team formerly known as Nelmes Smith Ashton, prior to its merger into Panopera).
Cheers!
| Feedback by Woodrow Taylor | Monday, 7 February 2005 |
"I'd imagine that most people would not have answered me or you because, I highly doubt Andrew got many answers other than me and you and out of the posts I've read they were the only answer given."
| Feedback by David Jones | Monday, 5 May 2003 |
"An interesting article which includes the integral workings of
design today... i'd answer "ME" but thinking it in a somewhat selfish way."
| Feedback by Mike Healy | Friday, 1 March 2002 |
"actually I would probably have answered "you", to show some
level of commitment to the prospective employer."
| Feedback by Zos Collaga | Tuesday, 10 October 2000 |
"Are companies really still retaining staff over 2-3yrs nowadays?
For that matter, are companies lasting that long? I think that the number
of people answering "ME" will continue to increase as smaller more agile
companies are NOW surfacing in great numbers."
"Fast to read. Very informative and interesting for keen designers both
experienced and not! More designers sharing their thoughts/opinions would be
better for the industry overall I believe."
| Feedback by DANNY CHAMPION | Thursday, 7 September 2000 |
"Yes, I agreed with most of the pros
and cons, in fact, if I were asked to answer the last question, I'd answer
the same, "ME"
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The views expressed this article are not necessarily those of AGDA. Please note that the information in this article is the opinion of the author only. I can therefore accept no responsibility for actions taken on the basis of this information. Copyright Andrew Lam-Po-Tang (andrew@lam-po-tang com), 1998-2008. Permission is granted to freely copy this document in electronic form, or to print, for personal use. Reprinting for non-personal use will require the express permission of the author (which I will generally be very happy to give).
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