How to Hire an Graphic Designer. Written by a Copywriter.

I once had to hire an art director.*

After narrowing it down to 6 candidates, I gave each of them an assignment.

A print ad.

All I gave them was a brief and some copy.

The first applicant’s ad was stunning.

Seriously, it was incredible.

But I didn’t hire him.

The second one also created a great ad.

But I didn’t hire her either.

The same thing happened with candidates 3, 4 and 5.

Why?

You see, I purposely put two typos in the copy.

One obvious. The other, not so obvious.

None of them corrected the obvious typo. Or asked about the other one.

They simply cut and pasted it into their design.

The sixth applicant was different.

She sent an email asking about the not-so-obvious typo.

Somehow, I missed her email.

But when it came time to submit her work, she submitted two versions.

One with the not-so-obvious typo, and one without (along with a note explaining why and which one she thought was right).

The obvious typo was fixed in both of them.

When I asked her why she did that she responded: ”it’s a team effort.”

Candidates 1-5 all pretty much responded down the party line.

“That’s not my job.”**

Well, at least they were right about one more thing.

*Before you ask, this is not my story. But I do have permission to post it like it was.

** This not to excuse typos. The irony of judging a candidate based on an employee's mistakes is not list in me.