I applied online. I interviewed at LOFT in Jun 2023
Interview
Too many unnecessary rounds of interviews already should have been a sign for me to withdraw. Through the conversations I had, the design team seemed to not know how to manage or know what they want. I got up to the edit test round and after I made my submissions, the VP forwarded the message to me through the HR recruiter that I was not made an offer because I did not have typography skills. If this was true, I should not have been given a chance for an interview at all since my typography skills are visible on my portfolio, or anyone's design portfolio for that matter. I don't think it's possible for a type designer to not how to set type. This was interesting feedback, considering typography is a designers foundational skill regardless of the prestige or level they are on in their career journey. Maybe they need to do a better screening, or just not give false feedback when making disqualifications? This was only an excuse to disqualify me because my type decisions and direction is more than relevant in my previous professional works and more so on my personal works. Given my previous experience with premium and global retail brands, I had a feeling they only moved me up to the last round to get information on my past workplace operations since each interview conversation had nothing to do with their process or their goals. They also asked me for my age and year of college graduation because they wanted to profile me when it comes to salary, which I kindly told them that it was inappropriate to ask given the opportunity for them to be discriminating. They also use Teams as a communication tool, which seems very outdated and not competitive given that there are more cutting edge and intuitive means to navigate a big team that works with the user rather than against.
A huge waste of time, and honestly quiet disrespectful given my skill which is reflective in every piece of my design portfolio and pedigree.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
What was the team dynamic like in your previous workplace? How was the design team set up?