CV’s and Portfolios – when applying for a design job at Bobo

FIRSTLY – make sure you DONT read this page on your phone.. you may miss some of the text…

Now – if you are applying for the currently advertised job with Bobo then as the first line of your application email please tell me the colour of your shoes. We know it’s odd, but if you do it then we know you have read this page, and anyone not doing it will not have their application considered in the first round.

This is Harsh – we know – but it weeds out the people who don’t read applications properly, and therefore the people who don’t pay attention to detail. It will also tell us what colour your shoes are.

keep reading ↓ ↓ ↓ …And don’t forget to send your CV and a MAX 6MB pdf of your work. Good luck.

The dos and do nots of design job interviews

Firstly, all design agencies are different – what works for Bobo may not work for others agencies, so all hints, tips, and advice given here are not fixed, but should be used as a general guide for designers when applying for a job.

Applying for a job
When an advertised job asks you to answer specific questions, then answer the questions. At the very least, reference the fact that you saw the questions.
If the job says “send us a pdf of your work” then send a pdf of your work. Sending a link for your Behance website, Linked In page, tumbler account, or very well designed website was not what was asked for, and shows the prospective employer that you either didn’t properly read the job description, or can’t fulfill a brief correctly, and therefore they may be less receptive to giving you an interview.

Your C.V.

Your name and contact details should be on the C.V.
This may seem obvious but we have received C.V.’s with one or both of these bits of information missing. Keep your C.V. A4 and on a white background. Interviewers may print C.V.’s out to hand round for others to look at, and a black background C.V. with fine small print may fill in and not be very legible on some printers.

Always bring a printed copy of your C.V. at an interview.

You may have emailed this across already in your application, but the person interviewing you will have seen dozens if not hundreds of C.V.’s, and you handing it to them at the interview will mean they don’t leave empty handed, so have another reminder of you.

Your C.V. should be designed – but not over designed. As much as the content is important, the layout is a graphic portrayal of how you position information visually, and also how you represent yourself graphically to potential employers.

A designers C.V. should be a pdf – not a word file. You should probably have a word version of the C.V. as well, as many website applications only accept word documents – but when applying direct to a design company you should always send a pdf.

Work experience outside of design work is important and should be included. It tells us about you as a person, and some of your life experiences.

Your work

Always bring a printed portfolio with you to an interview. Don’t rely on the interviewer having the pdf samples you emailed in to hand, or even a usable wifi link to view your website

The work you show shouldn’t just be a repeat of the samples you originally sent in – but should show more designs that you can take the interviewer through.
Where possible, show the full range of what you can do in your portfolio – including alternate designs that didn’t make the final cut, or stage by stage designs to show development.

Printed or on laptop / iPad?

Either – BUT, don’t rely on the people you are seeing to supply the equipment to view your work – bring your own laptop!
Similarly don’t just have it as an Internet link – it needs to be local to the machine you are on, as you may be somewhere without a viable internet connection.
Finally – impress us with what you can do – or have the potential to do. If applying for a junior role, then no one expects you to be fully rounded and have all the skills yet, but we do want to see the desire and drive that will make you a good potential employee.

Good Luck!