Good Timing !

[mastera]

First job interview...just had and everything was cool. Now they have invited me to a trial thingy to see what i can do with the computer and was just thinking about time factors etc ... thought that would be an important factor when deciding whether they give me the job or not!

I have absolutely hehaw experience with graphic work fr a company.... working at home on a few bits and pieces here and there and for uni...that's all.

But could anyone give me a rough guideline as to how long I sould be thinking about spending time and whens realistic to have for example a gig poster or a logo from scratch to finish..ehh finished??!!

Would be really cool. I wana seem like im up-to-scratch with everything they throw at me.

cheers in advance

[CkretAjint]

Congrats!!! Honestly, depends on how fast you work and how detailed you get with it... Could take an hour, could take 3 days. *shrugs* Also depends if you have to find images and copy, or if they are supplied to you. To many factors, but if I HAD to guess, I'd say 1 hour 13 minutes and 47 seconds....

[Satchel]

Is it for an agency or in-house?

If it's in house, rush rush rush... get it out the door.

If it's an agency, be creative on taking your time - get those billable hours ;)

I'm just messing around, it's hard to give something a drop dead timeline without knowing more about it... is the logo just a shape? Is there custom type? I think each project has it's own set of variables to deal with - sorry I cant help more.

[DesignVHL]

yes, congrats....

but here is the thing...would you consider a trial thing = to spec work? Would this be the case ONLY if they are having you work on actual projects..if they are having you come in for a test run...well while that can happen, it seems sort of a weird thing for a company to do...and not a best practice....this is just based on MY experience, so I could be wrong - maybe it IS something many companies are doing more these days?

www.no-spec.com not sure if you would consider this as part of this situation or not, but only you know your capabilities and whether they would fit in w/ this company (based on your interview and time with them)...so only you can gage if YOUR TIME is worth "trying out" for a job...usually your folio and experience would give them this information to go on and allow that to be enough to either hire you or not hire you...so again i ask is this normal to other designers out there?

Hope that made sense...

[cornfed]

I'd say 1 hour 13 minutes and 42 seconds....

I'm a little faster than Ckret.

[Two-Toe Tom]

do you know what programs they'll be testing you on?

[PrintDriver]

It's not uncommon at all to be tested on-site. It's when they ask you to design something and send it in that I'd be wary. Spec work or not, it all boils down to how much you want the job. If 2 hours of your time is worth it to you, go for it.

Most on-sites give you a time limit to see what you get done, not how long it takes you to finish. I'm not staying all night... :D

[budafist]

I think onsite testing is a fantastic idea. I only wish that we had tested my current co-worker. He would not have been hired had he been tested.

Find out what programmes they will be testing you on. Make sure you have a practice at something the night before.

Before you go in, have a flick through some current design magazines so you go in to the test all inspired with beautiful positive imagery in your head.

I once did a test (recreate an existing job) in a second interview and did it in the fastest time, but I didn't realise we were supposed to use their style sheets! So my fonts were all slightly off because I'd just guessed the fonts of the headers, body etc. God, if I had used the style sheets I would have been even faster. The tester asked me what font I'd used and when I told her, she said that I should have used the style sheets....damn...Can I do that again Miss?

[mastera]

woow, thanks for all the replies. I love this forum. Just phoned them earlier to ask when to come along. They were very impressed with my cv. Especially the layout and so and then my portfolio was cool also. However they mentioned how there was a problem with the german grammer but nevertheless to come along to the 2day trial thingy (two half days they tell me). Damn. Im still learning german- it's a very hard language -especially loaded with grammer.

Anyway, when im there and they are considering me, I must stress how this job should be judged more on my creativity than obviously speaking perfect german. Of course I realise this job is all about communication but i must somehow get that point across about creativity and that should come first. I had a good feeling with these guys and hopefully will see that it shall be all good in the end.

I also have a girlfriend who is a highschool german and arts teacher so in the long run ....hopefully 3-6months the language won't be so .... annoyingly hard. My conversation is not so bad either- im guessing they're looking for a receptionist-designer and the lot cos the receptionist mentioned that there will be times when im alone here. So if that's the case, then i guess jobs over the phone and daily office stuff would be a lil more ....ehh complicated. Mibi that's the sticky point.

But I actually like the sound of the trail....two days though is a bit too much. I was thinking a couple of hours would have been suffice to gauge if I can work well enough for the design firm (not in house) and if I get on with the guys well enough. My personality will shine through any day of course ;-)

Ohh and I thought that as I finish I will make sure the final image has my name scrolled across it (just visible enough) like it's a stock image! If they don't like it then they can just employ me. Simple

ha

[budafist]

I have a friend who is an animator who has a German girlfriend who taught him enough German to work in Germany. Having a girlfriend that can teach German is definately a plus. He did mention to me that all her German friends would speak to him in English because they learn English in school and all wanted to practice their English on him. It's not good when you are trying to learn German though.

Do Germans speak to you in English to practice? Maybe you should look at them blankly and tell them (in German) that you don't speak English. That should improve your German quickly! :)

[mastera]

Ne, wir sprechen nur Deutsch mit einander!! :-)

No the german is coming on just fine. Not many ppl actually want to speak to me in english cos they all know it's important for me to get the language. Plus they find it interesting to try and hear a scots accent behind my german. It seems to interst them. So they really push the language my way. When it's a struggle to explain something, then and only then would I ask very nicely if I can use some english.

Apart from that ...at home we speak german together. Only if something needs to be discussed in detail, will we try a lil english but when it's possible.... i'll revert straight back to german.

im very strict with myself and the more I think about this job I think they want more than just a designer...they are looking for an all round receptionist and designer.

But I guess that's part and parcel of the graphic design business when it comes to smaller companies.