We all know the job market’s tough out there. We all know that creativity is a massively over-supplied resource. Yet, as someone who’s interviewed his fair share of creatives, it amazes me how many teams seem to stumble and flail through interviews with all the finesse of a drunk at a posh wedding.

It seems to me there are some elementary do’s and don’ts that could help creative teams give a better account of themselves in these situations. So here are my top ten tips for doing interviews based on my own experience (from both sides of the fence).

1. Avoid floating writer syndrome. If a team says: “we actually both write a bit” that translates to me as “neither of them can write and if I ever get a brief in for 10 letter variants, it’s going to be a pain the arse to get one of them to take it on.”

2. Don’t point out minor flaws in your own work. Once a creative came in to see me whose work I’d already seen and liked. He proceeded to point out things about each piece that could have been better. I ended up viewing a folio I’d initially warmed to as a series of failed creative experiments. By the time he’d finished speaking, the book didn’t look half as good to me. Dumb, dumb, dumb!

3. Don’t slag off your existing agency. It makes you look like a loser because, at the end of the day, you chose to go there. It also makes prospective employers think that if they took you on, you’d go round slagging off their agency too.

4. Don’t blame it all on the suits. Selling ads is a two-way street. Creatives should look on suits as bullets and themselves as guns, they need to load them up (with the right creative sell), point them in the right direction and let them go.

5. Have a game plan. When someone says “why do you want to leave the place you’re at now?” don’t just say “to get more money”. Think about it! Have a structured piece of reasoning that makes people see you as someone who thinks about their career in the long term and is in charge of their own destiny. Say “I want to leave to broaden my knowledge of digital”, “I want to be in smaller, more entrepreneurial agency” anything that sounds like you’ve got a plan basically.

6. Say why you want to work at their agency. Be blatant – do your internet research before you go and have a cogent reason for being in there talking to them. After all, you’ve given up an hour of your time and paid for the train fare, you may as well make it look as though you haven’t got there purely by chance.

7. Don’t whinge. Let’s be honest, most Creatives can whinge for Britain, if you put yourself in the 1% who don’t fall into this trap – you’re automatically ahead of the pack.

8. Watch Russell Brand. If you‘re not the most exuberant person in the world, get yourself vibed-up before you go along to the interview so that you’ll make more of an impression. Listen to your favourite music or watch someone like Russell Brand and see how his natural enthusiasm and energy draws people to him.

9. Have a proposition for yourself. You’re a brand – you need one. It could be something about your working methods or something you think you can achieve for agencies. Mine, for example, is this: “I make a difference and improve agencies creatively and financially.” You’re welcome to nick that one if you want. But whatever it is, if you have a proposition you can stand behind, you’re more than just “that team with the tall girl and the fat bloke”

10. Ask the agency what they want their next hiring to bring to their company, what they’re trying to achieve and what the opportunity is for you. If their answer is well-reasoned, it means that they’re serious about the hiring process and are more likely to help you develop from a personal and career perspective. It also helps you take control of the interview.

It’s all simple stuff but, like a lot of simple stuff, it can make a big difference. The key things are: don’t be afraid to sell yourself, sell your work and be positive.

Hope this helps!

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