Web Designer Freelance Interview Question:

Explain what are your graphic design career goals?

Submitted by: Muhammad

This is an interview minefield that can be tricky to cross, especially if your career goals don't necessarily include staying with a company for an extended period of time. You want to be honest, but you don't want to come off as someone who is simply using this job as a stepping stone to something bigger. Employers realize that their employees aren't always going to stay with the company for the entirety of their career, but they also want to work with people who are committed.

You want to be honest, but you don't want to come off as someone who is simply using this job as a stepping stone to something bigger.

Express your career goals as a designer in a way that makes you seem favorable to the employer. For example, saying that you want to eventually leave to work with bigger brands and hopefully gain larger recognition might sound like a good goal to strive for, but saying as much could hurt your chances of getting the job.

Instead you might say something like "One day, I want to create a logo that is as recognizable as the McDonald's golden arches." You're telling the employer that you have lofty goals, but you're framing them in a way where the employer might be able to benefit from them. In the employer's mind, it might be their logo that you make into a nationally recognized icon.

It's important that you have goals. Saying that your career goal is to do the exact job you're interviewing for is just going to make you look desperate and directionless. The company you're interviewing with wants to expand and grow, and they want to work with designers who also want to expand and grow.
Submitted by: Muhammad