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First Interview Advice


Jonathan Sanchez
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Hey Guys, I just scheduled my first Arch Vizulizer interview!!!! I'm real excited, but nervous. I wanted to ask some questions.

-What do you guys think I can do to better my chances?

-How much do you ppl pay entry level vizualizers, I dont know what to say if they ask me how much I want to get paid. I am getting interviewed at Spine3d, which is a pretty big comp.

-Would it be wise to offer myself in a trial period maybe w/little pay where the heads could just observe my performance, do you think that would better my chances?

-My portfolio is not even complete, I have around 5 final images, and I am currently working my a#$ off in another one to complete it by next wednesday, is this okay to have 6 images?

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The golden rule for any interview is to go in well rehearsed - go over it from start to finish until you are happy with your responses and delivery.

 

My personal opinion is not to offer your services at a lesser rate and definitely not for free (although I do believe that the US is sometimes different to the UK on this matter) if they want you, they will make it clear.

 

Have a good idea of where you want to go with them eg; modeller, animator etc... think it through throughly. If your portfolio isn't as extensive as you may like then, go in with a sound knowledge of the industry and why you want to be part of it and more importantly Spine3D - also, read any info you can get on them.

 

hope this helps

 

N

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first of all goodluck....

 

im going to give some different advice, ive never rehearsed for an interview, i know it sounds a little strange but i think its better to wing it, then at least they see you as a person, and your personality comes through, rather than rehearsed anwsers.... its good to have anwsers to their questions but remeber they would also want to see you as a person also... hope that makes sense, and has stated previously by noise i wouldnt do any thing for free, your offering a service, and you do not want to make them see you as unprofessional by doing it for free.....

 

well thats what i always get told, as i used to under price my services for friends of friends, you end up making a rod for your own back... and will find it hard to ask for a pay rise in the future etc...

 

anyhow good luck... fingers crossed hope you get it as you have put a lot of effort in developing your skills over the past year...

 

cheers

 

dan

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I met the owner of that company this summer, he seemed like a decent guy.

 

Having a killer portfolio should not be necessary. You should include progress image, not just completed pieces. They will want to know how you handle the various steps that go into producing a piece. They probably don't need to hire a competitor, so don't worry if your portfolio doesn't match theirs. Show you know important parts of production. Perhaps you should review my task list and make note of your abilities in each catagory.

 

I'm not going to tell you how much to ask for in salary, but you owe it to yourself to ask a fair wage. I would hope that the company would pay one without you even having to ask, but I don't know that one way or the other.

 

I would be interested to know how much of Spine3D's work is done in Florida vs. overseas. Just curious.

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good remarks from ernest. i never thought of showing a portfolio in that way. when i chose my job i'm at now (my first job in the industry) i was deciding between 2 firms. both asked me what wage i needed to be hired. since then 3 more offers have come, and out of those, 2 of them asked what salary i wanted. so unles the job is posted in a newspaper or monster.com or something, (which viz art jobs usually aren't) you will probably need to have a salary range in mind. when i was first interviewing with firms i only had like 8 images. i think what impressed them the most was the quality increase between each image i did. i told them i had a lot i hoped to impove in and i told them those areas. i also made sure they knew that sinse i was so new and had improved so fast it would be a fast uphill increase in my skills working for them. they continually see that fulfilled too. i've told this to friends of mine who have interviewed for the same type of job, but i think what sold me more than anything was my passion for what i do. i seriously love architectureal illustration and anything related to it. and if you are anything like me, express that passion to those interviewing you. good luck.

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Wow Thank you all!!! Amazing advice. Really gives me the confidence I need. Well I truly do love this field. For the last couple of months I've been working real hard at creating the best quality images I can produce. I was initially thinking of not taking my first couple of images that were mediocre, but now that I think about it, it's true, I should take them so they can see my rapid progress. I will be sure to let them know my love for the industry, and my desire to continually improve myself. There is still one thing that haunts me though, I dont know what would to say once they ask me about pay. I mean I seriously have no idea, I've done a job here and there for clients, but never worked for a firm. Can you guys give me an idea of what entry level renderers are making in your firms?

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My 2 cents -

 

Show some wires I imagine they will ask have some clean sets ready that show clean modeling.

 

Just be honest. IF YOU DON'T KNOW SAY I DON'T KNOW. I have seen so many people try to flub an answer in an interview. It never looks good.

 

3 most important things I looked for when I was helping with hiring.

1. Can the person learn? If I give you a task & you cannot finish it will you ask for help, ask smart questions and be able to think it through? I would assume people knew a bit and were smart but there were things I wanted done my way not the way they did them at their old job or at home and I needed to know they could change.

2. Do I like you? Getting along in an office is HUGE and you need to fit. I have worked places where I didn't fit. No fun.

3. Are you worth the money?

 

Personally I would rather hire a smart person who learned really well that I liked for more money than a stubborn person who would not adapt but knew a lot for less money.

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you can generally request a little more than a traditional drafter in your area to start. granted some seasoned drafters might make quite a bit, but we're talking about entry level start pay. really the company will not know you ractual worth until you are there for 6 months or more. then new job offers may come, then you can request what your really worth. but to start, research drafting jobs in the state and request $1-2 more. i'm not too familliar with the economy in florida, but you can take this for what it's worth. in utah, as far as i know beginner drafters are being hired all the time ranging from $11-15 per hour. so maybe requesting like $15-17 may be a good start. like i said i'm not familiar with the wages in florida, but today in down town salt lake city, our 85 octane unleaded gas is $2.02. see if you can come up with any formula with that:)

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