{"id":8420,"date":"2020-09-09T09:53:38","date_gmt":"2020-09-09T13:53:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ceros.com\/inspire\/?p=8420"},"modified":"2021-04-21T11:42:13","modified_gmt":"2021-04-21T15:42:13","slug":"lessons-hiring-searching-for-creative-job","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ceros.com\/inspire\/originals\/lessons-hiring-searching-for-creative-job\/","title":{"rendered":"Lessons in Job Searching, from Someone Who’s Done a Lot of Hiring"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading Time: <\/span> 5<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>\n

I\u2019m Amber, the director and a partner at Anchor & Alpine, a design agency<\/a> based in Salt Lake City, Utah. Before that, I was on the executive leadership team at a machine learning startup in the Bay Area. Over the years, I\u2019ve seen a lot of portfolios, cover letters, and interviews. I\u2019ve seen applications<\/a> ranging in quality from exceptional to exceptionally bad. Some candidates have blown me away because they took a chance, but once or twice it\u2019s gone so badly I\u2019ve walked someone straight out the door.\u00a0Lately, we\u2019ve had so many lousy cover letters and form emails\u2014I understand that most people apply to dozens of jobs for every one interview they receive, but that doesn\u2019t excuse some of the basic, blatant mistakes I see people making. Let me help you fix those mistakes and put your best job-searching foot forward, featuring some lessons from my hiring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take the Chance<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve been lucky to hire some truly amazing people over the years. Three of them stand out because they took a chance\u2014they went out on a limb to do something risky and it paid off in a big way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One applicant read our website and made us a brochure after<\/em> we had already rejected her. But once we received this project from her, my team convinced me to take another look. So I took her brochure, put it in InVision, and threw comments all over it. She sent me a revision and beat out every other candidate*. Her work was impressive, yes, but we were more impressed by her initiative, her determination, and her ability to receive feedback. To this day, she is someone that I have loved working with, and I will always be on the lookout for good opportunities for her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In another instance, I interviewed an applicant who had just switched careers to development. Wary of her inexperience in the field, I said to her, \u201cI\u2019ll be honest, I think you are too junior in your skillset to hit the ground running here. We\u2019re all pretty senior, and we\u2019re all stretched thin and don\u2019t have time to help someone come up to speed. I don\u2019t want you to drown here with no help.\u201d She responded nonchalantly, \u201cI figured it out this far, I\u2019ll figure it out here, too.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That was the moment I decided to hire her. I love a surefire, can-do attitude. Months later, when she was negotiating a raise, we talked about our interview conversation. She thought that was the moment she blew the interview\u2014turns out it was the moment I decided to take a chance on her. And yes, of course, she got the raise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, we interviewed an applicant earlier this year, right before COVID sent us all into lockdown. After the interview, I felt that she didn\u2019t have enough experience in the niche we needed, so I told her that. She said she understood and thanked me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That was on a Friday. First thing Monday morning, I walked into our office, and my partners said I had to check my email. The applicant sent an impassioned plea imploring us to take a chance on her. She\u2019d been doing research and homework on our company and the role all weekend, and she was sure she could do it. Ultimately, my partners and I agreed. We called her later that morning and offered her the job on the spot. She came in the next day\u2014unfortunately, that was the last day all of us were in the office before we became a remote company due to the pandemic. But she\u2019s been absolutely delightful and amazing, and we\u2019re so glad she\u2019s here. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So take the chance. Do a little extra work, push yourself farther than you\u2019re used to. I\u2019ve learned over my career that if someone says to you, \u201cGive me a chance, I\u2019ve got this,\u201d they almost always do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n