The Making of a Manager

When we interview designers, we put a strong emphasis on the “portfolio review,” where candidates come in and present a few projects of their choosing. By hearing them talk through their process and show us specific examples of their work, we learn a lot about their skills and their approach to problems. A friend who works in education does something similar by asking potential instructors to come in and teach a class on whatever subject they’d like. Ask candidates if they can show you the applications they’ve developed, the articles they’ve written, the pitches they’ve given, etc., so you can assess the quality of their output. If what’s presented is a team effort, ask for clarification on which pieces the individual was responsible for.