Why I Might Design Stalk You
Jordan Wollman's talk at this year's National Student Showcase and Conference 11 has inspired a fleet of millenials to go 007 on their dream employers. His breakout session "How to Break Into the Creative World Outside of College," gave a room full of design students answers to The Big Questions centering around THE Biggest Question, "How do I get a great job fresh out of school?"
Wollman says, "In my decade-plus of hiring, firing, and managing creative talent, it has always stood out to me how little of what we in advertising do for our clients, we do for ourselves."
The ingredients to Wollman's secret sauce? Just 5 main ideas and questions.
1. If you're going to be any good for me and my clients, SHOW ME! Show me you're creative, show me you can solve problems. This show should take off the moment someone hears about you. Think about this in all your future projects: what problems need solving and what is a dynamite way to solve them? This should show in your branding, your portfolio, your website, your interviews... show me you can solve problems.
2. "What makes you better than all our other applicants?" It's not that you're better or worse than the kid next to you, it's about whether or not you're the right fit for them, and vice versa. What do want in a workplace? Find a place that aligns with your values, your mood, and the things you want to accomplish. Look at what they care about, how they motivate their employees, and take a good look at yourself.
3. Don't look for agencies that are currently hiring! The odds are not stacked in your favor when someone is looking for employees. Your best bet to get them to notice you is in the off season, when their inbox isn't stuffed with resumes. Start your search for your ideal job far ahead of time, long before they say they're hiring. Sending your resume when they dangle a job says you're interested in a job for yourself, but they're looking for someone who's interested in them and their company.
4. "How do I get them to notice me?" Show them you're creative, and show off your brain power. Everyone sends in a resume, everyone has a website, everyone has a portfolio with awesome stuff, show them something more than that. Find someone in the company you think you want to work for or with, then go 007 on them. Find out who they are, what they like, and hook into that. Do they like sweets? Send them a box of cupcakes with your website written on them. Be creative! Wow them with your brain.
5. Contrary to your fear, interviews are your chance to shine! Plenty of people are great on paper but then they shrink in the interview. Get psyched before talking to them, stand in front of a bathroom mirror for a minute and get confident! If you're afraid, you'll shrink up, your personality will huddle in the corner, and you probably won't leave a very good impression. Wollman says that the best thing you can do in an interview is ask dynamite questions. If you're not asking questions, it shows that you're not interested and you're not very creative. Good questions to ask sound like, "Why did you get into this industry," "Why do you get out of bed in the morning," "What's it like being a creative director," or "What's it like 15 years down the road as a graphic designer?" Great questions, Wollman says, are pulled from what you talked about in the interview; it shows you can think on your feet and that you were truly listening.
While wrapping up his talk, Wollman gave a few extra wisdom nuggets to college design students:
1. DON'T EVER SETTLE FOR AN EASY JOB.
2. Don't give an objective in your resume or list Microsoft Office as a key skill if you want to keep it out of the trash.
3. Watch the Top 20 TED Talks.
4. Try to figure out your creative process.
5. If you want a life outside of work, don't work in advertising.
6. When you're telling a story, start with the truth. It's interesting, honest, and people have "high bullshit meters."
7. If someone wanted to get his attention for a position at Aria, a bottle whiskey might be a good start.
This blog post was created from Meg Stessman's notes attending National Student Showcase and Conference 11's Breakout Session 1A with Jordan Wollman, Chief Creative Officer & Partner at Aria.
