Dummy Design Brief
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- pillhead
Bloody hell there are some jokers out there. I enquired about a design position yesterday and the company replied asking me to do a test design for a dummy brief. They want me to spend the best part of a day designing a home page and HTML CCS build work to make sure I can build and design a site. And they guarantee not to use the design for any other purpose. OK Then.
There's me thinking my online portfolio would give a good example that I can build and design a bloody website.
- boat0
You should make a porn site and send it to them.
- ian0
Done it before, I think its standard for some companies perhaps some of the developers on here might know more but I've definitely heard of it.
Pain in the hole though.
- bjladams0
probably want to see what you can come up with in a short period of time.
- bjladams0
my dad was a bricklayer, before he'd hire people he'd have them come work with him for a day. even thought they had pics of houses they'd worked on - he wanted to see their work ethic and if they really knew what they were doing... hard work for a day, but makes sense.
-just sayin'
- pillhead0
I do not mind a test to make sure you can do the job, but I have not even met these people before or been to an interview yet. If you want to interview me and look at some of my client work which I have designed and built, and then give me a test which would be the more acceptable way of doing things.
- Jordy0
It happens for sure. I know quite a few agencies who do this.
They just have to ensure this person can do the job and sometimes a portfolio doesn't say enough. When it comes to code, they want to see you can code standards, and do it clean and neatly.
Same goes for Art Directors who are tested for their concepting skills with dummy assignments. Hell, I even know agencies who use the work they let people do for testing purposes with clients.
Don't be a dick about it and just spend that day and get the most out of it. If you really want the job, that is.
- scrap_paper0
I've heard of it too but isn't the three months of probation what this is for?
Also, I hope they are paying for your time.
- orrinward0
This is more or less a standard - A way of filtering out any Brett Bash's and also to see how well you cope under pressure.
You could have an amazing portfolio of work, but in business, time is money. They have no way of gauging the efficiency of your work.
- Claymantis0
- wait, what?? so they wasted yr time and then told you they were going to try... ah jeez u musta bin PISSED!Projectile
- orrinward0
In the 3 of my full-time design jobs I've had I've always had to do some sort of a test, and for most of my successful interviews as well.
I think at a junior level at least this is becoming the norm.
I have got into a spot of trouble with one job where they asked me to design a mock UX for their product. They said they were very interested in hiring me based on it, then someone more senior decided to revoke my contract and instead outsource 4 Indian designers. The mocks I've seen being used are very close to what I made for them...
- Projectile0
It'd be more realistic of them to give you a simpler assignment, or at least give you some elements ready to use, so that it wouldn't take most of a day, but just an hour or two. It'd also help them to do this as phase two of the interview process so people would actually bother.
They're also probably looking for people who are willing to bend over backwards from time to time and not leave at exactly 6pm sharp because "this is my job description and I flatly refuse do do anything else, ever, no matter what deadline is looming or whoever else is sick and unable to do thier job"
-just saying
- With the 'This is my job description', I personally don't think this should be an issue if the employee is dedicated for the time they are there.orrinward
- the time they are contracted to be there. If you have to be constantly spending time over what you're paid for then the company is understaffed.orrinward
- d_rek0
My experience with this practice is that it is largely abusive.
I can understand from an employer's perspective that you would like to know how qualified any likely candidates are but really it's nothing a few days/weeks on the job wouldn't reveal anyway.
It's also not like the job market isn't saturated right now - I would imagine any employer has a goodly list of potential hires. I know my company does.
- nosaj0
If the company is legit, and it's a job you want why not do this.
For the employer, hiring the wrong person can be a nightmare. It costs a ton of money and time (even if you just let them go during the probationary period).
For the potential employee, if it's a job you want, and you're good, why not show them just how good you are before negotiating your salary?
I've worked with a few people that had good looking portfolios but couldn't consistently produce quality work.
- tgqt0
I started as an intern. Worked for 8 months for no pay.
- dskz0
I avoid anything with " dummy " that doesnt pay.
- Frosty_spl0
Could they just hire you as a freelancer for a day?
- lobstarr0
i agree with d-rek: ABUSIVE.
douchebags mostly ask you to do this... besides, it really isnt alot of money UNLESS its a small agency. the amount of overhead they charge clients is enough to take a risk.
also, if you are, in this case, being tested on your design/dev skills at the production level, you should also have the support of knowledgeable peers to take you to another level without the presumption of looking at your work and being like they were expecting something that SHOULD be there..