portfolio questionnaire

answered by Micha de Haas
ABBINK X DE HAAS architectures, Amsterdam
www.abbinkdehaas.nl

Questions:

1. Is it preferred, in your company, to have a portfolio added to a job application? yes
If yes, continue to 2.
If no, is it required later?
If yes, continue to 2.
If no, why not and how do you judge the skills of a job applicant?

2. What is your job function or position within the organization? owner
b. What is your role in hiring people?
First and final selection (together with partner)

3. What is the preferred media for the portfolio: paper or digital? digital
b. Do you prefer to have it send by mail or e-mail? E-mail

4. What is the most important thing you are looking for in a portfolio? Design talent, graphic skills, consequence quality, analytical capacity
b. How do you usually find this? By a quick look through it

5. What is the maximum time you spend on reviewing a portfolio? 5 min (first selection)
b. How does the time you spend relate to the interest in the portfolio? directly

6. Besides the content, what other aspects are relevant to you when examining a
portfolio? (graphic design, lay-out, personal information, …) good info about skills, attention to dedails in layout and graphics, well written, non standard text and/or letter.

7. Do you only prefer the end result of a project or does the design process add
information for you? Depend on the project

8. Would you like to see the skills represented within the portfolio in a list or by the
content? list

a different user story

X: 30 year old working girl, who wishes to buy a car. Before starting looking at all the offered portfolios, X tried to figure out what she considers to be important and set her needs

Of course, all those parameters are not of the same significance, therefore X has to set her priorities and limit down her range of choices.
Safety is a high rank issue. X knows there is a financial barrier, which also increases the need for durability. An overall low price, special offers, alternative ways of payment but also the maintenance costs would affect her choice significantly. X’s needs determine what type of car she should buy, in terms of size and specifications. X wants to like her car so she will try to combine all the above prequisites with a satisfying design.
At the same time she will take into account all the additional information offered by the different portfolios. Among those she will receive information that outline the profile of the company and create its style. Thus, the webdesign and the priorities given regarding the content, provide a complete image of the company and specify its target group. For example, a brand of very expensive cars would not focus on offers or finacial facilitations but on the elegance of its design.
She has decided to check the available websites that will help her sort out the most interesting options and then visit the respective retailers.

Among others she is visiting the Opel website (Vauxhall in UK).
According to the homepage she realises that she is probably within the company’s target group. The content is clear and there is information that covers almost all her inquiries. The structure is straightforward but also serious and a bit sober. X wonders if the style of the cars is like that as well. Advertisements and links about offers and alternative ways of payment are positively visible and furthermore there is a possibility of interaction with the website to help her choose the appropriate model, according to a number of key questions. Creditability, organisational skills and environmental sensitivity are also highlighted as the company’s characteristics.
X is always doubtful with large companies and their purposes, however she would probably pay a visit to an Opel retailer. It’s too bad that she lives in Holland and the Dutch Opel website does not have an english version.

http://www.ksicardo.com/