This had to have been the strangest, most infuriating interview I have ever done in my career. Looking back now, it was full of red flags, and I was honestly just shocked at the lack of professionalism and care from the team. It was an incredibly lengthy and time-consuming process that I would never repeat if asked to do so now, only to be completely ghosted by the the company. I interviewed for the position of graphic designer, and was so excited as it seemed to be the perfect role for my skills, aesthetic, and career goals. PHASE ONE To start out, I was set up to to submit a series of 10 questions via pre-recorded video interview. The format was unnecessarily stressful, as I wasn't actually talking to a real person, but rather given about 20-30 seconds to record each answer back to back, with no opportunities to re-record. I received a response via email regarding my video interview that said "the team was impressed with your experience and would like to invite you to complete a project as the next stage of the interview process. This exercise is meant to be fun, give you a bit of insight into the day-to-day, and help the team understand how you approach design. There are no right or wrong answers." PHASE TWO Ok, phase two. After being assured that the team was so excited to see what I came up with, I was sent a PDF brief that contained FOUR sample assignments I was to complete to gauge how my skills could apply to the brand, because a portfolio was not enough apparently. I was, of course, not offered compensation to complete these "assignments" (fellow designers, do not work for free!! If you are asked to complete sample work, request payment for this, as it is unethical for a company to ask you to complete free work). Anyway, here is what was requested (quotes are pulled from the email directly): Assignment 1: "Create one email, one direct mail piece, and one bonus execution (get creative)" to support a provided product launch. Assignment 2: "Take a look at the landing page for one of our paid search campaigns and provide an updated, elevated design that blends content and commerce. Provide mockups for both desktop and mobile layouts." Assignment 3: "Provide an idea and mock-up for a packaging tactic that will help us deepen our relationship with repeat customers. The tactic could be tied to a second/third purchase or could be targeted exclusively to top tier VIPS (purchased 5+ times) - up to you! Bonus points if you have ideas for both." Assignment 4: "Provide 1 - 2 examples of eye-catching window displays to help introduce the brand to the city. In addition, provide a few visual merchandising inspiration images to showcase key products (rugs, bedding, pillows, throws) in the space. Pull these images together into a quick brief to inspire our on-the-ground merchandising team to bring your vision to life." As you can see, this was not just quick sample project to assess how you would interpret the brand. First off, requesting four projects that cover all essentially every marketing channel is absolutely excessive of any applicant's time. On top of this, each project had several sub-requests that actually significantly increased the scope of work. Lastly, I can't help but wonder, due to the specificity of each ask, if I was actually being asked to do prep work for upcoming projects and events that are actually on their calendar, which would mean I was truly doing free work for this company. Assignment #4 specifically referenced to their New York City opening. PHASE THREE Despite the red flags that I was too ambitious and naive to fully recognize at the time, I poured hours into crafting the perfect four assignments, "bonus points" and all. After checking in several times with the recruiter that was the liaison between myself and the company, I receive a final message from her, an entire month after submitting these projects that simply says: "Unfortunately due to the length of time, it might mean that they feel that your experience isn't quite right for this role." And that was it, I never heard anything else from them. Never actually talked to anyone from the team. It still shocks me to this day how a company that is rooted in ethical practices, would treat their potential hires (and most likely staff) in such an unethical manner. I probably dodged a bullet, however the experience was still frustrating, time-consuming, and unprofessional, and I felt the need to share as it provides valuable insight into the how to company operates and what it's values actually are.
