OUGD602 - iTunes - Preparing for Digital Interview

After receiving an email from Apple following my application for their internship programme, they have invited me to do a digital interview with HireView. Therefore in preparation for this I have spent the weekend preparing answers for questions they are likely to ask me as well as familiarising myself with their company goals. 

Companies Goals:

• Enrich Lives
• Help dreamers become doers
• Help passion expand human potential
• Do the best work of our lives
• Give more than we take (from the planet and to the person beside us)
• Be environmentally friendly
• Be a nice person
• Everyone is welcome. Everyone.
• Draw strengths from our differences (be diverse)
• From backgrounds and perspectives
• Open to collaboration and debate
• Redefining expectations (first for ourselves then the world)
• A little crazy
• Good isn't "good enough"
• What we do says who we are
• We find the courage: to try and to fail, to learn and to grow.
• Always trying to figure out whats next
• Always trying to imagine the unimaginable
• (And do it all again tomorrow)
• At our core:
• We believe our soul is our people.
• People who recognise themselves in each other
• People who shine a spotlight only to stand outside it
• People who work to leave this world better than they found it. 
• People who live to enrich lives.

Tell me about yourself

• I'm Beth, I'm 21 and I'm currently in my final year of studying Graphic Design at Leeds Arts University, formerly Leeds College of Art.
• I first heard about Graphic Design when I was in sixth form when I did work experience at local Graphic Design studio called Grafica. I'd never done graphic design before but have always been super interested in Art and design, taking fine art and textiles as my A-level subjects.
• But only actually found out it was something I'd be interested in pursuing as a career when I did a foundation course after finishing my A-levels at Chesterfield college. After trying out all the different disciplines for the first semester I did a week in visual communication where I first started to learn about all the different areas you could go into as  graphic designer and all of the different jobs as I knew I wanted to do something creative but had never actually considered Graphic design or understood the different areas it encompassed like packaging, editorial and digital.
• Many poeple on my course had a few years of experience under their belts already so I felt like I was under a bit of a disadvantage not being a pro at illustrator or indesign or knowing what a sans serif was but I was surprised how quickly I picked everything up, learning about design principles, terminology and how to use the programmes.
• Since then I've fully found my passion for the discipline and have been successfully entered and been featured in a number of design competitons incuding last years YCN awards and also winning my category for the PEnguin random house design awards. as something 

Why should we hire you?

• The first reason I believe I'd make a good candidate for the role is because a lot of your core values align with my own. I'm passionate about leaving the world in a better place than we found it and believe design will be a massive factor in achieving that and also I feel like we're entering an exciting age that's starting to dispell inequalities such as racism and gender disparity through brand values as well within the creative industries which is something Apple has been achieving for a long time so I'd passionately advocate and showcase this belief through my work knowing that Apple is at the forefront of this movement.
• A second reason is I'm an extremely hard worker and wouldn't waste an opportunity like this if it was given to me. I understand I'm still young and only just starting my career in the industry so know I have a lot to learn and will work tirelessly to improve my skillsets and grow as a designer using apple as the incubator.
• The third reason is I've already proved to myself I can do this. WOrking at PEnguin I took on board feedback, had a keen awareness of current design trends, answered briefs in a way that meant the outcomes were successful and received well.

What are your greatest strengths? 

• Super organised. I LOVE lists. Make at least 3 lists a day because they help me visualise time management and not forget anything
• Time management 

• Proactive and Resourceful, One of my favourite quotes I always think of is: Shitty situations inspire brilliant solutions. Which is something I find myself doing a lot I can always find a way out of a potentially stressful or annoying situation by thinking of innovative ways to get around it on the spot.
   
• Getting stuck into group work but also encouraging more shy members of the team to get stuck in.
• Working hard and applying myself to any task even if that means learning a new skill. Can do attitude.
• Learning new things quickly 

What is your biggest weakness?

• I'm a  huge perfectionist and feel like if I haven't done my absolute best or something or it doesn't go as well as I'd like it to, I'll really put myself down for it and be really hard on myself knowing I could have done better. 
• This can mean that I can spend forever tweaking things and not knowing when to let them go because I feel like I can always do more and nothing is ever completely finished meaning it can have an impact on my time management as it's hard to juggle different projects when you think you could be working on and improving something else.

Why do you want to work here?

The first reason I believe I'd make a good candidate for the role is because a lot of your core values align with my own. I'm passionate about leaving the world in a better place than we found it and believe design will be a massive factor in achieving that and also I feel like we're entering an exciting age that's starting to dispell inequalities such as racism and gender disparity through brand values as well within the creative industries which is something Apple has been achieving for a long time so I'd passionately advocate and showcase this belief through my work knowing that Apple is at the forefront of this movement. 

• Having grown up with Apple since being about 12 it is a brand that has just become integrated into my everyday life and it's not only the products that I love but the lifestyle and almost community it makes you feel a part of. I clearly remember getting my first ipod and even the ad campaign that was out at the time and it's that feeling of joy and memorability that I'd love to be a part of and add to.
• Because I know you're very passionate about global issues and the environment and being diverse and inclusive and these are values that align very strongly with my own and I feel like I'd be a passionate advocate in contributing towards this growth and way of thinking and designing.
• I feel like apple would be an amaxing start to my career in the industry and feel like there'd be no better place to start learning new skills and working alongside undoubtedly some of the best art directors and senior designers in the country. 

What is your biggest accomplishment?

• Deffinintely winning the design awards for penguin.
• Then working there and getting a book published

Difficult problem you had to resolve

• Public Speaking in front of a big class of the year below

Where do you see yourself in 5 years time?

• In a more senior role as a designer whether that be at Apple or as an in house designer at other exciting companies such as adidas or puma or facebook or working in big multidisciplinary design studios such as Pentagram.
• I would love to travel the world to work visiting different cities like LA, New York, HongKong to gather research and inspiration, increasing cultural awareness and diversity.
• But wherever it is it would definitely be in an exciting studio environment working with other creatives.

What are your hobbies?

• I love the outdoors so hiking, walking and going on bike rides, originally from the peak district and live on the Chatsworth estate.
• I enjoy visiting new cities and exploring them, going to art galleries and immersing myself in the culture so recently I've been to Berlin, Barcelona and Budapest and am going to New York in a few months after winning a competition with my boyfriend to promote the new social banking app circle.
• I love going skiing. I've been skiing since I was 4 so have travelled all over Europe doing that with my family so love mountains and the Alps. 
• Recently really got into cooking because my flatmate is big into cooking and has been showing me the ropes so been doing a lot of cooking recently rather than just going for easy options like pizza and pasta

Recording the answers

Another aspect of the preparation for this interview has been to record myself answering the questions and watching them back to pick up on any bad habits I am doing such as playing with my hair, not looking at the camera and waving my hands around. 

Doing this has also allowed me to see how long answering each of the questions out loud takes, noticing parts that could potentially be cut out so I can answer it within the time given.