T*ts Out for Profit – Selling Yourself as a Designer

Although people are making some serious dollar bills on OnlyFans and the likes. Our parents aren't spending over €3000 a year on college fees for us to explore the potential ehm.. side hustle opportunities.. They do it so we can get a nice graduate job and they can brag about you to the neighbors. Sorry to disappoint any aspiring prostitutes but this blog is not a tutorial on how to get rich quick on the street corner. I’m here to discuss how to sell ourselves in an interview for a design job, one with a salary and hopefully not paid in singles.

In our class this week, we spoke about making an impression in an interview and we were all separated into groups of two and had an hour to make a presentation. If I’m honest, it should have been in groups of four the topics were already divided by four and it would have taken half the time to get through them and there wouldn’t have been as many overlaps. In saying that it was interesting to see what exactly we do need to know in preparation for an interview. We know the obvious ones, don’t have pink hair and a mullet, don’t go on the lash the night before and turn up hungover, avoid mentioning your mother, if possible, etc. Some decent advice however, make eye contact (not in an intense snake charming way) subtly, give a firm handshake, do not break their finger but show that you’re alive. Also, if you’re left-handed like me, well, don’t be. Since the majority of people are right-handed it makes handshakes very awkward. I learned that the hard way in my CV review when my interviewer ended up shaking my wrist.

Make sure the job is a good fit for you. Don’t turn up telling them how passionate you are about fashion design if it’s a job with JCB. Make sure to apply for jobs you think you’ll be good at and what you’ll learn from. The kind of job you want isn’t always available so you do have to be enthusiastic and well researched when it comes to an interview for plan b. Don’t let an interviewer see you slouched in a chair when waiting, even the secretary might be taking notes on you. Trust no one. Jokes. But in all seriousness even, when you think they can’t see you, be on your best behavior. Even when crossing the street, the interviewer could be sitting in their Toyota waiting to head inside and see you stuffing your face with a hamburger and you lied in the interview about being a hardcore Vegan.

They say dress for the job you want not the job you have. Unlike most jobs, you turn up in a three-piece suit or a pencil skirt and a briefcase for the interview. As a designer, we don’t really do that. They want someone who looks vibrant and creative, not someone who looks like they could handle your taxes. Be comfortable but obviously not soccer mom, collecting her kids in her pajamas at 2pm comfortable. Definitely don’t turn up in legwarmers and your favourite sequin blazer, but be unique and memorable.

(Theguardian.com, 2020)