Top 9 designer stereotypes
I encounter most in job interviews.
Introduction
We, humans, are animals of habit, routine, and order.
We like things organized, equidistant, and in their place.
Also in professional relationships, this tendency to organize people and their personalities occur and I am no exception.
I wouldn’t say putting a label on people, because I’m not much of that.
I was a model for 10 years, traveled the world and met hundreds of people from different races and creeds, and from an early age learned not to label and to see beyond the contextual boxes into which I naturally put people.
Prejudice is a survival instinct. It helps us to recognize threats and danger.
“Reddish berries are suspected to be poisonous.”
Prejudice can also lead us to make mistakes.
“People who don’t look you in the eye are not to be trusted”.
If I, who have never been afraid of dogs, am bitten by a dog, it is expected that the day a dog shows me its teeth again, I will recoil.
In job interviews, the containers we interviewers often create, albeit with many deviations and misinterpretations, serve us to generate secondary data from extrapolation.
Google can guess your approximate age by extrapolating similar search and navigation patterns of users who have registered their age.
“Casting errors” can be very costly for certain candidates, notably those who leave their countries or reject competing offers in favor of ours.
So I am responsible in my processes, gathering as much information as possible from a range of available variables.
“I always thought you were arrogant but I see now that you’re a cool guy after all.” Who never?
Designers come to me with a variety of personalities, expectations, and ambitions.
In this exercise, I will go through some of the common stereotyped profiles I encountered the most in +10 years of leading and interviewing designers.
Note: This should be taken lightly and with good humor.
That said and my disclaimer made, here we go to the top 9 designer stereotypes.
9 designer stereotypes
The Slob
The slob left his bath towel hanging on his chair and some clothes were scattered on the floor during the job interview.
He called me Albertino and has no idea what the company I work for does. In fact, he even confesses that he didn’t read the job ad all the way through and was just "firing" applications.
Joined the call a few minutes late and didn’t justify it.
The portfolio is outdated, with bugs and grammatical errors.
The Energetic
The Energetic is all over the place. He wakes up at 5, goes to the gym, is doing a master’s degree at night, is a firefighter when needed, opened two startups with a friend, owns an online shop for dropshipping, and does charity on Saturdays morning at the childcare center in his town. He just discovered some room for a fulltime job.
Rock Star
The rock star is at such a high level of quality that asking him to perform a design exercise or test is an affront. He will let you interview him if you answer some screening questions correctly. According to him, all the best companies in the world have contacted him, but he prefers to work in small companies where he can be closer to the peasants. He finds them cute. His job titles are long and fancy.
The Ambitious
The ambitious wants to take my position in the company even not having been hired yet. He wants to know about career perspectives and what are the conditions for giving the next step. When asked for doing a Design test exercise, he asks for a raise.
The Handyman
The handyman started in graphic design. For years he did logos and brochures and then started doing websites for small companies with Joomla, Drupal, and WordPress. He has no diploma but he does HTML, CSS, and a bit of Javascript. He used to be a freelancer selling WordPress websites, but his business is now slowing down. Equipped with tape glue and a hammer and this guy can do anything. I took 3 days off just to finish reading his CV.
The King of Justification
Justification is a land far away, controlled by a king who is never to blame for anything. This king is very quick with his answers and always has one in his pocket, ready to throw at anyone who dares to challenge him. “Why is your portfolio outdated? — Because my dog ate it”. “Did you go to our website to see what our company is about? — No, sorry, my internet ran out of battery”.
The Binary
Binary likes to play with your mind and only the strongest can endure an interview with him. In a constant mystery mind game, Binary leads you to despair with just two words: Yes and No. “So tell me how you started your Designer career. Is it an old passion? — Yes.” “Do you feel better working alone or in a team? — No.”
The Diva
The Diva walks into my living room and my lamp automatically turns to him. With a very sensitive personality, Diva doesn’t like to be criticized and loves to endlessly talk about himself and tell us how much everyone tells him he is the best. You should never praise the work of another designer in front of the Diva. Ever. If you ever spot an error in Diva’s work, apologize and say it's your fault.
The Best
The best is humble but confident. Confident, but not arrogant. He is open to learning and discussing other points of view. He is communicative, with a good sense of humor. He is polite, and flexible, but knows where he is going and where he wants to go. He is available, polite, and proactive.
The Best is on time or apologizes for being late. He is interested, does more than what is requested, and seeks to know a little about the company before meeting me. You can tell it's easy to work with The Best.
It’s not hard to be the Best.
