Stuff You Should Know

[Lyte]

Ohh... freelance sounds GREAT to me! I like the idea of having greater control over who I'm working for or with.

I friggin' hated the STAR method at my last job! They had us asking over a dozen questions so most interviews were a friggin' grind!! We were not allowed move things along if the interviewee was a bit of a dud. However, I have to admit that the STAR method is a very good way of ensuring you get answers to your questions. Some people are very good at interviews and very good at seeming to answer your question without actually answering it. They provide you with tons of information, do so confidently, do so amiably, and yet the question went unanswered. The STAR method reminds you (the interviewer) that you want ... that you need ... specifics.

Anyone with a fair amount of social skill and bit of interviewing experience can BS their way through a 20 - 30 - 60 minute interview. Meaning, they can answer the questions just right and display the proper demeanor that you'll think they're perfect for the job and fit right into your team. The STAR method can help you ID these posers ... but not always.

Feel free to hit me up should you have any questions. I've done a fair bit of interviewing in my life and for a wide variety of jobs and skill sets. Sometimes the answer to your question is not actually in the words they chose but in their body language, eye contact, hesitation in answering, rush to answer... etc... etc... these things you have to keep an eye on too. You might pose certain questions more to gauge their reaction than their answer.

Originally Posted by CherylNYC

Thank you! This is a fascinating thread for me. I've never worked for a company as a permanent employee, so I've never even interviewed for a full time job. I've always been a freelancer, so the ways of corporations and other types of full time employers are something of a mystery to me. I occasionally find myself wondering what it would be like, and how would I even navigate the hiring process? I'm successful in my career, so this is a purely hypothetical excersize, but I'm certainly enjoying learning something about how it's done.

When I'm hired for a project too large for me to execute by myself I sometimes am in a position to directly hire helpers. At other times I may be working for a boss who is open to letting me request specific artists. The closest thing I ever get to a formal hiring process is looking over other artist's portfolios. I haven't ever thought of asking a set of questions structured like the above, (STAR), but I may start doing it now. What I look for while I'm checking out other artists' technical prowess is any hint that they, (particularly the men), will be resistant to following directions. I'm also trying to assess whether they'll be lazy or indifferent. It's all so intuitive compared to the above!