Pre-Press Graphics Designer

While the first question assessed your motivation for the industry in general, this question is designed to test your motivations and reasons for applying for this particular role. The employer wants to see how much you know about the role and company on offer and they’re really asking why you think you’re a good fit for this particular graphic design job. When answering this question – again, it’s good to be honest – but you need to avoid citing purely selfish reasons eg. amazing salary or 40 days holiday a year. Instead of citing the aforementioned reasons, a better answer might be to say you’re looking for a new challenge and you’d love the chance to work for an established brand that has a great reputation within the industry. You could also mention how your skills and experience align perfectly with the role on offer – and how your values also match those of the brands.

Sometimes, unforeseen circumstances can bring additional pressure to the job and employers want to make sure that the designers they work with aren’t going to fall apart the minute the going gets tough. Questions like this tell the employer two things—not only how you handle pressure, but what constitutes a stressful situation in your book.

Questions like this tell the employer two things—not only how you handle pressure, but what constitutes a stressful situation in your book.

Be ready to answer this with an anecdote or example from your life that shows you know how to keep cool under pressure. Stories about deadlines, editorial mandates or last-minute changes are good to include, because these are the kind of stresses that will naturally occur in the design field. Showing that you’ve already dealt with these kinds of stresses makes you a stronger, more experienced candidate.

No matter if you’re an in-house designer or working freelance from home, you are a part of something greater and you belong to a team of people all working towards the same goal. When employers ask this question, they’re not looking for a simple “yes” or “no.” They’re looking for some sort of indication as to where you fit in the team.

Are you the type of person who naturally ends up leading the team? Are you happy to just play whatever role is necessary on the team to get the job done? Are you the type of person who can always be counted on to put in the extra work to do last-minute tasks that pop up? These are the type of things that employers want to know.

If you’re a bit of a lone wolf, it’s okay to run without a pack, but you’re going to have to make some sort of concessions to your future employers. If you work best alone, find some other way that you can contribute to the team. Suggest that you’re happy to participate in planning and development meetings, or that you’ll check in on a regular basis with your team through e-mail.

If you're a bit of a lone wolf, it's okay to run without a pack, but you're going to have to make some sort of concessions to your future employers.

Employers just want to make sure that everything will keep running smoothly if they hire you, and that you’ll be able to get along and work effectively beside the people who already work there.

The graphic designer you're considering should be able to articulate a clear path to achieving your desired results. An inability to do so could mean they don’t have enough experience to suit your needs.

For example, here's how veteran graphic designer Ian Paget of Logo Geek kicks off a project with a new client: "I start my design process by creating a list of goals that can be used as a tick-list to refer to during the design phase and when selecting the best solution. We cover areas such as the brand's story, values, competition and target audience."

Having a well-defined, agreed upon design process like this is key to the success of the designer-client relationship.

An employer will ask this question because they’re looking for your opinion on what makes a great graphic designer in terms of qualities and skills – something which should be easy to name if you’re a great designer yourself. When trying to prepare an answer for this question, think about the skills and traits you have which help you in your day-to-day work – examples could include things like patience, strong communication skills and a great eye for detail, as well as more technical things such as familiarity with the whole Adobe Creative Suite. With this type of question, there are no real right or wrong answers – an employer is looking for your opinion and the reasons behind your opinion.