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PRINCIPAL INTERIOR DESIGNERS - HOW TO HIRE FOR YOUR INTERIOR DESIGN FIRM

Guest post by: Julia Molloy

Article Overview: Get important interior design business advice. Do you need to conduct interviews and hire more staff for your interior design firm? If so, you can use these key interview questions and methods to help make the most of this valuable screening opportunity.

PRINCIPAL INTERIOR DESIGNERS - HOW TO HIRE FOR YOUR INTERIOR DESIGN FIRM

Interior Designer- 2nd Interview Guidelines: Thank them for making themselves available to interview. Let them know you have reviewed their resume and would like to learn a bit more about their experience.

1. As appropriate, ask them what they enjoyed most about what they did.

2. What they found the most challenging and difficult.

3. Ask them to describe the list of duties as they understand it. Give clarification as needed. Ask them to walk you through their experience and how it relates to the position.

4. Discuss the duties for the position, what they feel they would do very well and what areas they would need to work on to get up to speed.

5. What attracted them to the position?

6. What is their ideal job?

7. If they did get chosen for the position, how do they imagine they would like to see their position evolve over the next 3 years.

8. What qualities do they look for in a boss?

9. What characteristics do they find to be most important in maintaining a healthy and highly functioning company culture.

10. Is there anything in their personal life that they can foresee that would prohibit them from being able to work full time for the next 4 - 7 years or more?

11. What is most important to keep in mind when representing a luxury brand.

12. If they got the position, what would be their objectives for the first 90 days?

13. In perhaps playing a leadership role at some point, what characteristics would he want to instill into the design team and why?

Thank them again. Let them know where you are at in the interviewing process and that you will be in touch with them to let them know what the next step is.

Your method and what you're looking for:

You may not get to each question and that's expected. Let the interview have its own natural flow.

Listen well and watch body language. Try to detect topics of discomfort. Pose follow up questions to get to the heart of things.

Get them to reveal themselves. How easy was this? How transparent and open are they?

Listen to the actual words they use. Are they words you find in your own vocabulary?

Do you sense fear or anxiety in them? Are they too eager to please? If you sense this is the case, try throwing out a statement that you would expect they'd clearly disagree with. Do they challenge that statement or offer disingenuous agreement or acquiescence?

Reflect on the ease of the conversation.

Do they seem congruent? Does everything add up?

Try to ask deeper follow up questions and take their lines of thinking as far as they can go.

Ask the question WHY often.

Do they communicate a sense of pride and passion for their work?

What are your company's key characteristics / values? Is their personality and energy consistent with those values?

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Article Tags: conducting interviews for an interior design firm, hiring for an interior design firm, interior design business advice



Related Forum Posts
Startup Pitches - Although I am a newbie to this site, I am not new to owning a business. I have read some great comments on this post. Specifically Michele52, Andrew and Connie. My advice comes from a different background, one heavily relying on design and marketing. Once all of the business research has been completed, keep in mind that people buy DESIGN. Sometimes they don't even understand that is what they are buying, but they are. Take two products that are exactly the same. Put one in pleasingly designed packaging and watch how people will purchase it over the other. I am a graphic designer and partner in a design agency. We have also guided one of our clients through most every stage of their start-up business from securing business vendors to all of their direct mail marketing, website, event booth, uniforms, packaging, logo and corporate identity, you name it and we have probably provided it to them. It has helped us gain invaluable experience to be able to pass onto others. If you have specific questions for me, please do not hesitate to ask. Giving back is something that I truly enjoy. Also, read the eMyth Revisited. The best book I have found that really explains indepthly what to expect when starting a business and the roles you must be willing to play in order to make it successful. Good Luck!


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