I am delighted that we have an interview assignment this semester. It is far removed from most of our assignments where we are stuck facing a computer screen. It has taken me two weeks to finally secure an interviewee. Initially I started emailing different web design companies in the vicinity of Limerick, but I soon gave up on this when I did not receive one single response. Eventually after I started calling all of the companies on my list, Ray Boyce of Alphaset Ltd. Graphic Design in Limerick said that he would be more than happy to be interviewed for the project. I was quite surprised by this as the hour long interview did not seem to phase him. I gave Mr. Boyce a brief overview of my course, the module and what was entailed in the project. Mr. Boyce got back to me later the same day with a convenient time and date for the interview.
When I was compiling my list of interview questions I realised that this interview would be like my own private careers seminar and I would be able to find out everything I wanted about the industry and the role of a graphic designer in specific. I treated preparing for the interview as if I was preparing for a job interview myself. Preparation really is the key and I realised that I would need to know as much as possible about the company, its projects and the role of each staff member in order to come across in a professional manner. I think this experience will most certainly benefit me when it comes time for job interviews.
The interview ran smoothly which I think was partly due to my thorough preparation. This also enabled me to ask questions off the cuff as the opportunity arose and provided a more interesting experience for us both. I found that I preferred when the interview questions became more spontaneous as the interview started to feel more like a normal conversation. Mr. Boyce provided me with lots of detailed, focused answers and I feel I was definitely lucky in this respect. The interview felt quite relaxed and afterwards we continued to chat about the course and what type of job I was hoping to have after the summer. I had read a lot of interview guidelines and tips and watched a few videos on YouTube which also contributed to me being sufficiently prepared for the interview.
Here are links to a couple of YouTube videos that I found particularly useful:
An interview with a technical writer:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbphUOvvIFE
Informational Interview http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EB2sA0vXk7E
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