Pre-Press Graphics Designer

This is not your own personal forum for airing out all of the grievances you had with your last employer, and doing so is not going to help you get the job. Instead, you want to remain professional and honest without coming across as someone who makes a lot of unnecessary problems. Put a positive spin on your reasoning as much as you can.

For example, money is a common reason why people leave their jobs, and it’s not unreasonable to seek out new employment opportunities in order to increase your income level. However, telling a potential employer that you left over money is going to signal to them that you might do the same thing to them one day, or that it’ll be expensive to keep you. Instead, you can say that you felt there was no longer any room to grow at your last company, or that you were looking for new opportunities to advance your career.

In some cases, you’ll be interviewing for a job without having actually left the last one. That’s okay, but expect to answer a lot of questions about what you do at your current job, why you’re thinking of leaving it and how long it’ll take you to be able to start your new job.

Employers want to work with designers who are already good at what they do, but they also want designers who will continue to improve with time instead of stagnating. You didn’t get to where you are by doing nothing, so talk about your experiences getting here.

You didn't get to where you are by doing nothing, so talk about your experiences getting here.

You’ll want to provide your educational background, but also talk about some of the classes you took and why that made you a better graphic designer. Have you learned new software over the past few years? Have you tried your hand at designing a different type of media than you’re used to? Do you spend time reading design books, blogs and forums? These are all great things to mention.

Time is money, and the more time you take on a project, the more money it will cost your employers in the long run. However, this can be a problematic question to answer, because you also need to look out for your own interests. Many designers make the mistake of underselling how long it actually takes them to finish a project, which can create a whole heap of problems down the road.

After all, if you say it takes you one hour to do a project that actually takes three, your employer is going to hold you to that statement and you’ll find yourself overwhelmed with deadlines you just can’t meet. It’s almost better in this instance to overestimate how much time you take, just to give yourself a buffer in case you’re hit with a particularly difficult assignment. However, that can also be a dangerous game to play, because it may make you look less attractive than other candidates who can work faster than you.

...if you say it takes you one hour to do a project that actually takes three, your employer is going to hold you to that statement and you'll find yourself overwhelmed with deadlines you just can't meet.

What’s important here is to give the interviewer a sense of how you manage your time. If it takes you longer than others to get a job done, then you need to be able to show why that extra time makes for a better final product. Break down your workflow into blocks of time so they know exactly how you work and what you use your time for.

When interviewers ask this question, they’re trying to find out if you’re able to use their in-house software, or how quickly you’d be able to learn if you’re unfamiliar with it. Obviously, your best-case scenario is to know ahead of time what kind of software they use. If you already know how to use their preferred software, this will be a pretty straightforward answer.

If you don’t know their software or you have no idea what they use, this can be a tricky question to answer. Tell them what you do know, and try to include any program you think they might use. If you use something that’s similar to another program, that can also be a big help and the interviewer might not always be able to make that connection, so be sure to do it for them. For example, if you use one of the many Photoshop alternatives out there, you probably understand the basics of Photoshop too.

Let’s be honest—artists and designers sometimes have a tendency to turn into divas when faced with criticism or editorial guidelines. It can be frustrating to work in a creative field and have outside factors hinder your creative expressions. But for a professional graphic designer, criticism is a part of the job; employers want to know that you’ll be able to suck it up and make changes to your design when necessary.

Let's be honest—artists and designers sometimes have a tendency to turn into divas when faced with criticism or editorial guidelines.

What’s important here is to impart upon the interviewer that you can take direction, that you’re open to the ideas of others, and that you understand how to work within a hierarchy. However, the interviewer might try to throw in different follow-up questions or add modifiers to test how you work when treated unfairly or when given bad criticism.

Employers are looking for designers who can not only deliver results, but do so in a timely manner. Failing to meet your deadlines can cost your employer money or make them lose face to their customers, clients and business associates. If you are good about keeping up on your deadlines, you’ll be good to go when it comes time to answer this question.

If sticking to your deadlines is something that you have a hard time with, then you need to at least show the interviewer that you respect deadlines and that you do whatever it takes to get your job done. Give examples of times when you weren’t able to complete a task on deadline, and explain why you fell behind and how you rectified the situation. Did you ask for an extension ahead of time? Did you bring in another designer to help you with the work?

Keep in mind, there’s no reason to punish yourself if you’ve missed the odd deadline here or there in the past. Potential employers want to know how you’re going to handle their deadlines, so you can always turn a negative experience into something positive.