Finding a design intern...?
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- freakpelican
After 15 years in the life of a 'creative' I have finally come to grips with my strength and weaknesses. I started an internship in 2000 The post production else where I thought I was going to be an avid editor. Within a few weeks I was going through every Lynda.com tutorial that they had available for Dreamweaver and Flash. That started my six year journey as an interactive designer and developer. After running my own studios/being freelance for a decade now I am looking for a young buck like I once was.
Anyone here have any advice on how to find an intern without having to weed through a bunch of "kids" looking for a title and a chunk for a resume? I've had people kick the idea to me numerous times lately of just posting something on craigslist... That seems like a lot of work to qualify someone's true talent/skillset.
I definitely have some ideas but I was reaching out here to see if anyone had any sage words of wisdom.
- omahadesigns1
Are you looking to mentor someone? Are you looking for someone in school?
If you post on Craigslist, be prepared to get resumes from people in high school, but you could get a few good replies. Most of the posts on Craigslist are vague and people are afraid to give their identity for some reason, so if you tell people about yourself and share a link, more qualified people are likely to email you.
The best way to get an intern is to know someone who teaches to refer a student.
- omahadesigns1
"That seems like a lot of work to qualify someone's true talent/skillset."
Taking on an intern and providing a good opportunity to them is a lot of work too. If you expect a young talent to work for free/pennies, you need to be nurturing and educate them too.
- ArmandoEstrada1
Where are you located? My first intern came to me via Craigslist. She was with me for a year and a half. I paid her half on whatever she worked on.
The small shop I rent my desk from got one from the art institute. They paid her a decent hourly rate and was with them for about the same time.
They are both working in the field making a very good salary at other shops.
I guess my point it's about being able to screen them first. Get the three strongest and have them come for a day each (paid) and go from there.
- freakpelican0
I am located in Dallas, its pretty amazing to watch all of the co-working locations pop-up and witness how much raw talent is in this town working on their own out of the bevy of new coffee spots that have become the norm in any town of this size.
I am sure of the fact its going to be a lot of work on my end. I would truly like to be in the mentor position if at all possible, with that said i have a certain fear of an Art Institute grad that "knows it all" and has a style that is so hip that they can't see outside of the trend-box.
I am of the mindset that my first 'boss' did it right. He paid me a very nominal weekly amount in the beginning and once i proved myself to be a quick learner i was taking a cut of the projects i was doing for the post house. If i can deliver work quicker to my clients and not have to feel like I'm stretching outside of my forte to be the sole production artist on a gig than i am more than willing to split the job in half.
I guess craigslist it is... I agree that the more personal you get in your post the better caliber of responses you would be apt to receive. Now i get to figure out how to craft the perfect reverse resume.
- renderedred-1
fuck yeah, do the capitalist thing, get some kid to work for you for free or almost for free that can and certainly would go through all lynda.com tutorials in order to feel adequate and work for you for pennies and then do the same thing to someone else. hellz yeah! you do understand YOU are the problem?
- Funny my old intern that I found through CL was paid $25 a hour on projects. She now makes $75k.ArmandoEstrada
- freakpelican0
Thanks for your input renderedred! I found a guy today and basically negotiated a 60/40 split on project budgets. He's a kid finishing school, he wants work for his portfolio and he does the exact style of work I know is rather hand off to someone who is more intuitively geared for.
Can't imagine how I am speaking to be "THE PROBLEM" bc what was done in my past gave me a ton of motivation to learn fast and I proved myself in a matter of weeks without any formal training. I can only use my personal experience as a guideline outside of the advice I gain from peers.