My company recently posted an ad on craigslist looking for a designer for a product we are planning to release mid-year. I have some ideas for who I would like to do the site, but I figured I would check out the local talent first.
My ad was simple….
Skills Desired:
-Strong knowledge of CSS and Web Standards
-Clean/Simple Design Style (37Signals and Stikkit like style)
-Ability to work with the Ruby on Rails web framework (no programming required)
What We Would Like to See/Know:
-A link to the coolest looking site you’ve designed
-A few links to designs that inspire you
-Your hourly rate and general availability
I’ve received over twenty responses in the last day, and only two have mentioned Rails or provided links to designs that inspire. Almost all these people failed to listen. Their misunderstanding was that they decided to tell me what they could do (cool complex flash start pages, MySQL, ASP.net, photography, etc.) even if it was completely irrelevant. They would have likely been a lot more successful if they had related what they could do to what I am looking to accomplish.
Lesson: Align your interests with those of others you are trying to impress.
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