I interviewed at a place that was looking for juniors and they ended up going with someone more senior instead. I interviewed at another place that was looking for juniors and they ended up going with a senior instead. Then I interviewed at another place that was looking for interns, and I was down for anything, and he said I was too senior.
You know the feeling. We know the feeling. You just spent months putting the finishing touches on your portfolio. You proudly send off your book just as a proud father sends off his son to college. And just as that father will rarely hear from his son, you'll rarely get any feedback on your book.
If you are one of the lucky few to score an interview, you'll be on top of the world. Embrace this. It doesn't last long. You'll walk away from said interview with these key findings: you'd make a perfect intern, you're too junior, or there was never a position in the first place.
We welcome you. Use this forum to share in the misery of others or feel free to add horror stories of your own. Completely anonymous, of course.
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After a few phone interviews I was asked to fly in to meet in person. The interview day finally arrives. I walk into the ECD’s office, shake hands and the first thing he says is “I feel so guilty about this. We recently filled the position.”
I had been exchanging emails with a creative director in New York. He told me if I was ever in town, I should give him a call and he’d set something up.
So when I was in town, I called him, but had terrible reception in the apartment where I was. The conversation kept going in and out through static and I had to keep asking him to repeat what he said.
He finally said, “Look, why don’t you call me back later from a land line or something. We’ll talk later.”
So when I finally called him later, I got the voicemail, which I left a message. He never called back.
I emailed some creative directors my cover letter and resume on Friday. I forgot it was Labor Day weekend and they probably left early and will probably never see it.
I came in for a second interview for a place to do in-house design. The interviewer caught me checking her out.
My phone has a thing where, if I’m put on speaker phone by the other person, the reception becomes horrible and I can barely hear what the other person is saying.
So when I had a phone interview that I was excited for, I was put on speaker phone. I would hear a part of the question and the other part would be static noise, so I had to answer the questions based on what I thought the question would’ve been, judging on the parts of the question I could catch.
They never called back.
I send in my book to an agency I’ve always wanted to work at. I get some good feedback from one of the senior creatives and he asks me to rework some pieces. I was very happy to hear the news and got to work. I spent months tweaking my book. I send it in again and………….don’t get a response. Weeks go by….nothing. Around the same time a friend of mine starts taking a portfolio class at an agency in town. Lo and behold the guy I sent my work to happens to be a guest speaker one week. He tells a very specific story about a kid who sent in his book a few months back and how crappy it was. He continues with this very detailed story to say that the same guy sends in his re-tweaked book months later. He admits the work is solid but he couldn’t get out of his head how crappy the work was before. He told the class not to be that guy. Unfortunately, that guy was me.
My mom saw a psychic at the beginning of the year just for fun and she told my mom that at the end of summer, in August, I’d have a job.
On the last day of August, after getting rejection letter after rejection letter, and sometimes, not even getting the luxury of receiving a rejection letter from creative directors and recruiters, I was finally offered a job. To be make my uncle’s website. And to drive his kids to school on Saturday.
I took them both, of course.
I finally scheduled some time with a creative at an agency in town. We have a pretty good meeting and he vows to have a good talk with his Creative Director about me. The next day I find out the guy I talked to got fired.
I flew to New York for a portfolio review. After the review, I got a job offer. Working at my uncle’s sandwich shop.
