4 ms·

First off, great article/read. My only suggestion is that on your "TL;DR", you should add "(pay them)" to your "give a 2-hour challenge" part. You mention that

First off, great article/read. My only suggestion is that on your "TL;DR", you should add "(pay them)" to your "give a 2-hour challenge" part. You mention that in the article, which as a designer, I completely agree with. I would just make sure people don't read only the "TL;DR" and think you meant spec work! :)

foundryhiring 14y ago
Edited! Thanks for the feedback. I'd love your input on another thing. We're passionate about making the hiring process awesome for both employers and jobseekers. I've spoken to a few designers who really dislike things like 99designs, or to a certain extent, what this article advocates because it seems to commoditize designers. On the other hand, the vast majority of designers we've worked with are really happy with the way we met and started working, because it ensures a good fit and doesn't waste anyone's time. As a designer, how do you find work (either full-time or freelance)? And in the ideal world, what would that process look like for you?
- bluetidepro 14y ago
  Well, I actually just recently started (back in June) as the new Senior Ui Designer for Angie's List (http://www.angieslist.com http://www.angieslist.com), so I just went through that whole process. Yes, I agree with the other designer opinions on sites like 99designs. Sites like that, to me, are the devil! (haha) I would say my ideal process for full-time is either finding jobs posted online and applying or having someone contact me about a job opening. Then from there I would like to talk to the company, show them my past work, show them recommendations I have, and learn more about the job and their company. Then if the company and I were still happy, I would take the job. My freelance process is about the same, however I may skip over how much I want to learn about the company, seeing as it wouldn't be as important if I wasn't a full-time employee. I, personally, am a more special use case because I have a well rounded portfolio that I would refuse to do spec-work being as it would be a waste of my time. If they couldn't make a decision from my past work, then I don't think it would be a good fit anyways. However, I realize not all designers have the luxury of being able to show off work in all the ways they may be experienced in. In that case, if it were me, I wouldn't be opposed to doing spec-work if it was only going to take an hour or two. Anything over that time, I would like to get paid for that work (if I wasn't hired). Does that help and/or answer the feedback you were looking for? ...Hopefully... :) Feel free to comment back or contact me further via email (zreed [_at_] bluetideproductions [_dot_] com).
  - foundryhiring 14y ago
    Thanks for the thoughtful answer. That makes a lot of sense. One of the reasons that we started this company is that we know how much applying to jobs can suck. Our business is helping companies hire better, through better process management and analytics. The obvious tension here is that companies need to be efficient, but I personally think the best recruiting is done at the human level - that is, recruiting shouldn't be a cattle call or a stack of resumes. So when we've hired in the past, we want to make sure there's a good fit on both sides, and this is one way we've found that really works. If you have any other suggestions on how companies could do a better job hiring designers, I'd love to hear it. And congrats on the new job :)

foundryhiring 14y ago

Edited! Thanks for the feedback. I'd love your input on another thing. We're passionate about making the hiring process awesome for both employers and jobseekers. I've spoken to a few designers who really dislike things like 99designs, or to a certain extent, what this article advocates because it seems to commoditize designers. On the other hand, the vast majority of designers we've worked with are really happy with the way we met and started working, because it ensures a good fit and doesn't waste anyone's time. As a designer, how do you find work (either full-time or freelance)? And in the ideal world, what would that process look like for you?

bluetidepro 14y ago
Well, I actually just recently started (back in June) as the new Senior Ui Designer for Angie's List (http://www.angieslist.com http://www.angieslist.com), so I just went through that whole process. Yes, I agree with the other designer opinions on sites like 99designs. Sites like that, to me, are the devil! (haha) I would say my ideal process for full-time is either finding jobs posted online and applying or having someone contact me about a job opening. Then from there I would like to talk to the company, show them my past work, show them recommendations I have, and learn more about the job and their company. Then if the company and I were still happy, I would take the job. My freelance process is about the same, however I may skip over how much I want to learn about the company, seeing as it wouldn't be as important if I wasn't a full-time employee. I, personally, am a more special use case because I have a well rounded portfolio that I would refuse to do spec-work being as it would be a waste of my time. If they couldn't make a decision from my past work, then I don't think it would be a good fit anyways. However, I realize not all designers have the luxury of being able to show off work in all the ways they may be experienced in. In that case, if it were me, I wouldn't be opposed to doing spec-work if it was only going to take an hour or two. Anything over that time, I would like to get paid for that work (if I wasn't hired). Does that help and/or answer the feedback you were looking for? ...Hopefully... :) Feel free to comment back or contact me further via email (zreed [_at_] bluetideproductions [_dot_] com).
- foundryhiring 14y ago
  Thanks for the thoughtful answer. That makes a lot of sense. One of the reasons that we started this company is that we know how much applying to jobs can suck. Our business is helping companies hire better, through better process management and analytics. The obvious tension here is that companies need to be efficient, but I personally think the best recruiting is done at the human level - that is, recruiting shouldn't be a cattle call or a stack of resumes. So when we've hired in the past, we want to make sure there's a good fit on both sides, and this is one way we've found that really works. If you have any other suggestions on how companies could do a better job hiring designers, I'd love to hear it. And congrats on the new job :)