[ID Discuss] Guidance for someone interested in your field

[Joshua Seiden]

For what it's worth, I rarely look at portfolios when
hiring interaction designers. I find portfolios next to
useless, because they don't demonstrate the skills I'm
looking for. 

1. If the portfolio consists of interactive demos, it
is difficult to tell which part the candidate worked
on. (Interactive products are rarely solo efforts, and
even if they are, how can I tell that as an evaluator?)

2. If it consists of shipping products, the same
problem exists, but is compounded.

3. If the portfolio consists of static screen shots, it
does not represent the behavior of the system, which is
what interests me.

4. If the portfolio consists of static specification
documents (rare, as these are mostly confidential) then
it is likely too detailed for my needs as a hiring
manager.

I much prefer to evaluate a series of tests. By looking
at tests, (both at take-home and in-interview) I can
get a better sense of the candidate's skills and
approach. This isn't my strategy, I learned it at
Cooper, but I have yet to see one that better predicts
the ability of a candidate to do the job for which
he/she is being considered.

This strategy has advantages for the candidate as
well--it's difficult to build a portfolio of
interaction design. Tests give candidates the ability
to demonstrate what they can do in a much more direct
manner.

JS

> Dave, you hire people for these sorts of jobs. Would
you ever 
> consider 
> someone without a portfolio now?
> 
> I've yet to go on a job interview for a design job
where they don't 
> want to see one.
> 
> Dan