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Is this spec work?
4 years ago from Robert Williams, Owner, Folyo
Taurean Bryant, 4 years ago
genuinely asking, what kind of feedback would an employer give to newly created work they couldn't also give to existing portfolio work?
Alex Hoffman, 4 years ago
I think it's more of a contextual situation. Assuming you're actually presenting it to them either in-person or via video chat/screenshare, you get to see how they react to something they requested that you create for them, opposed to something you created in the past for someone else. Ideally they give you good constructive feedback, but maybe they don't and are irrational and emotional about their feedback.
I only ask because the only time I've ever received useful valuable feedback on work I've done has been on work done for someone else (which makes sense, it's the work I was able to genuinely prioritize and think about as well as work on in a real environment instead of a hypothetical vacuum).
It worries me if a potential new employer doesn't want to do some sort of homework project. As a designer, I feel like it's an opportunity to see what kind of feedback they'll provide, it sheds a lot of light on what it will be like to work there.
That being said, it's not spec unless you ask them to work on a real project. One of the most common one I've seen is design a time-machine app. Stuff like that is more than acceptable and ought be expected.