1. Take a look at our website to see who we are and let us know what you think:

a) What do you think we do?

You are a custom screenprinting company focusing on gear for runners.

b) Who do you think our customers are?

Marathon events and sport teams.

c) What page and aspect do you like best?

The ‘Create Custom‘ page, which gives both a vertical sidebar menu and a visual horizontal menu, giving the user the impression that there are many choices available, and they are easy to access.

d) What page and aspect do you like the least?

The Inventory page. It is not thematically branded with the rest of the site. I assume this is in order to allow custom database display; however, with Toolset, you can custom-code database display within a WordPress page and style it anyway you want.

f) What is your overall impression?

This is a website that has had heavy technical constraints for some time, and because of that, it’s difficult to get the design you want, because you have to accommodate so many legacy features.

g) If you were hired what would you change and how long would you wait to make changes?

  • I would design a new database display on an orphan internal page, revise it with the team, and once approved, make it the new Inventory page.
  • I would redesign the permalink structure, so instead of ending with /?page_id=10 slugs would be /custom-screenprinting-apparel-for-runners/ – this would improve your SEO and usability.
  • To preserve old links, I would compile a redirect spreadsheet from the existing content map and the new SEO-friendly content map, and place 301 Redirects in the .htaccess file on the server so no links are broken in the permalink migration.
  • I would use some of the Revolution Slider’s more exciting capabilities, like animation and time delays.
  • I would not change the Magazon theme, but I would generate image sizes based on how they are displayed on the page. If the original pixel size of the image does not match the display (meaning, if it is resized in CSS) then it slows down your page load time.

h) Please submit 2 web Home pages you have designed that are similar to ours (screen shots ok)

If you don’t want to look over at my portfolio, you can see this one and this one. (Those are actually 2 separate WP sites – we had to keep the store separate.)

2. If you are hired to redesign our WORD PRESS website, explain what your process is and what are a couple of your favorite WordPress templates and why.

My process usually involves working in a sandbox. I create a subdomain with a fresh WordPress install, and import the existing website into it. Then I make design changes on this website clone, and go through revisions with you in the sandbox. Once the designs are approved I migrate the design changes to the live site.

My favorite themes are Avada and Divi. Avada uses the Fusion Builder, which allows me to get really creative with the latest WP capabilities – parallax backgrounds, responsive columns, and fantastic shortcodes. Divi is one of the most versatile themes on the web right now, and it has made styling new eye-catching full-width pages quick and easy.

3. Are you familiar with IContacts and have you used it to do automated email marketing and email blasts? Explain your best experience using it.

I haven’t used iContact for a number of years, so I assume their features have evolved since I last used them. However, I have used every major email marketing and marketing automation platform out there. One of my previous employers was an email marketing platform (Outstand) and I ran competitive analysis on iContact in 2012 as part of my marketing research, comparing their feature set to ours.

4. Share with us the best & worst job you ever had:
What were your duties, why it was great or not great, how long you were there & why you left.

Best job – being a dad. It doesn’t pay well, but it’s a lot of hard work, and the benefits are incredible.

Worst job – setting up for Cirque Du Soleil. I ran away and joined the circus when I was young, and I was trained as an acrobat. When I came to Portland, I didn’t know anyone in the circus or theater scene, and I saw an ad for tech help for this new big circus coming to town, they needed help for load-in. Since I knew nobody, I got the worst detail: hauling heavy wooden platforms by the hundreds to cover the gravel on the South Waterfront. My body was so worn out from that first day of working that I didn’t go back for the second day.

5. Does multi-tasking come natural to you? Yes or No?

Oh, yes. I’m doing three other things right now. I have heard of recent research that says we are actually serially uni-tasking, and it is inefficient to do more than one thing at a time, but I have grown into the habit of multi-tasking so much that I don’t care to stop. Being a designer requires moving ideas through multiple platforms simultaneously, anyway – the same advertisement, while being developed, will be in Canva, and a Google Doc, and the subject of a phone call and 6 emails in a single day. The single idea, spread across so many platforms, requires a multi-tasking mind to shepherd it into completion.

6. How would you manage your time if this happened to you:

You have a deadline of 4:30 to finish an email blast to give for another site to post and you are about 20 minutes away, and then:

a) The owner wants to meet with you on a new page for the website
b) Our sales manager has a question on some marketing materials you created that a customer is waiting for
c) Our screen printer has a question on some art you provided them that needs to print on their evening shift.
d) Our production department has a question on some sublimation print sizing that they are discussing with our factory offshore.

“Yes, let’s talk about that. Can you give me 20 minutes to get this email out on time? If you need to, email me something to review, so I can show up prepared – I’ll get back with you by the end of the day.”

7. Give a brief description of ONE successful: Social Media OR Google Remarketed-Redirect AD campaign that you have designed and managed.

While working for Outstand they wanted to try their first remarketing campaign. I used the company Google Apps account to set up the budget, graphics, landing page, and tracking. Every month I provided the owners with a spreadsheet detailing the traffic through the remarketing links and the new signups we got from this channel, so we could ensure there was ROI every month. The moment that shifted, we saw it in the data, stopped the campaign, and redesigned it to be more effective.

8. What would be your “dream” day be? Please note your ideal percentage of time spent on each task… And please give a little description of your reasoning …

For the dream day –
Creating a new look for one of the pages on our website

20% – this is one of my favorite things to do, and I’m really fast – otherwise this would be 40%.

Creating an email blast

10% – I’ve developed really efficient ways to batch email production. I will write 7-10 emails at once in a Google Doc, so I can see how they all relate to one another in a campaign. I usually make project assets in batches, so when I need them they are available. Scheduling each individual blast then becomes a matter of simple assembly.

Updating product content on our website

15% – If I understand this task correctly, it is creating new items for sale. Bringing in copy, photos, and code. Weaving these three together is what makes the day fun.

Updating product descriptions with creative copywriting

10% – Again, this is batched work. I would work on copy independently of programming for a few days in a row, and then upload all of it in one session, to preserve efficiency.

Working with our sales department to create marketing flyers

20% – This is an area I would devote extra time and attention, because good marketing collateral positively affects revenue. I would ask the sales department where these would be distributed and how they would be seen, so that I could design the flyer to be most enticing in its natural environment.

Developing a new Tradeshow Booth Display

5% – I am great with digital media, but printing and displaying it are not my strong suits. I could be useful on the photoshop side, but not as useful in the physical layout and arrangement.

Helping our IT department by doing some back end programming for our database or ecommerce.

20% – Database programming can lead you into to rabbit holes, where you discover unexpected problems that require creative problem solving to overcome. I would preserve extra time in my day to allow for this to happen.

9. What are some factors you have hindered you from getting a job done? Please explain.

Waiting on others to complete their deliverables. Unless there is an assigned project manager, I usually take it upon myself to keep everything moving. With any project that requires 3+ people, I like to have weekly meetings where we touch base about what was done last week, what’s happening next week, and who is doing what. This gives an opportunity to examine all the steps from here to completion, and identify any open loops.

If someone has assigned deliverables that are necessary for project completion, and they don’t deliver, I can remind, cajole, and beg for them to get to it, but unless I can step in and do it myself, relying on others to deliver is the only potential hindrance I face in getting things done.

10. What is the most challenging problem you have ever had with a supervisor and explain how you overcame it.

I was waiting tables in Santa Fe and the owner of the restaurant came out onto the floor and started yelling at me in front of the customers. The issue was another worker, who I had trained, not showing up for work that day. The owner displaced her anger and threw it at me. I apologized to the diners I had been talking to, and took her into the kitchen and got her to calm down. We called another waiter on their day off and got them to fill in.

11. Give a brief description & rating (1-10) of your skill level using the following applications:

Word Press Themes & Plug Ins

10 – I eat WordPress for breakfast.

Illustrator

8 – This was the first Adobe tool I ever used, and I have it open all the time.

Photoshop

6 – Because I learned Illustrator first, I never got comfortable with layers. I can use them, and I’m fluent in the tool, but I prefer Illustrator.

Dreamweaver / CSS

9 – I learned to code in Dreamweaver and I modify CSS settings on my websites every day. The main way I style pages is with custom CSS.

MYSQL

3 – I run my own Virtual Private Server, and manage multiple cpanels, making MySQL databases all the time – but mostly for WordPress. I know the basics of how they work, but it’s not my strong suit.

JQuery

2 – I know the basic vocabulary and syntax, but I have only modified jQuery code rarely.

PHP

5 – Modifying plugins requires a working knowledge of PHP. I don’t write much of my own code, but I can modify it as necessary, with good Googling.

12. If it were 6 o’clock and you had an email blast that needed to be finished to go out at 9AM and you still had a couple hours work to do but had dinner plans at 7:00, what would you do? Would you find that stressful?

I would go to dinner and work afterwards.

13. What do you want us to know the most about you?

I pride myself on my efficiency.

14. What do you want us to know the least about you?

Sometimes for lunch breaks I run around outside and climb buildings and do Parkour.

15. What were the daily and weekly average work hours in your previous job and what would you prefer them to be should you get this job and why?

I generally work 8am-4pm, with odd hours on evenings and weekends as necessary. I’m flexible on when I work.

16. Please list your salary history for the last 3 years and what your yearly salary expectations currently are.

2016 (projected) – $125k

2015 – $115k

2014 – $98k

My current monthly expenses are $10k per month. (I have three young children and my wife is a full-time mom and we homeschool our kids.) I also have some revenue from hosting clients and various affiliate programs, but my salary would need to contribute the majority of my expenses – and if I were working so much that I would not be able to tend to my freelance clients, I would need to be compensated for it.

Thanks again for your time – we really appreciate that as we strive to get the purrfect fit for both applicant and company.

Thank you! I hope we get the chance to talk together soon.