While preparing my books on how to learn foreign languages easily and how to travel on a budget, I looked for a graphic designer, web designer and publicist last week.

My goal is to create a media company with products empowering people to engage with the world. I want to create global citizens, but I am sourcing my talent locally.

I posted three ads on the South Bay Craigslist section. I thought I’d only get candidates from the San Jose area or maybe a few from San Francisco. They came from every part of the US and India. Some wrote in incomplete sentences and couldn’t spell. Some sent me links to websites that didn’t work. And they wanted me to hire them? With the dozens of emails I got within the first hour my posts went up, I had the luxury of choosing not only a candidate with a good portfolio, but one that could also spell and lived nearby. The ability to meet in person to look at book covers and go over possible designs is vital. The designer has to get a feel for who I am and my character to properly convey that on a book cover. Skype and telephone conversations can’t replace the human element.

One Response to “Going Global, looking local”

  1. Blues says:
    October 25, 2008 at 4:24 pm

    Welcome to the world of technical interviewing :)

    I’ve been phone screening and interviewing candidates for web development and design work for several years now, and most of them make me want to tear my hair out. I look at the websites they include on their resumes and wonder why on earth anyone looking for a web design job would want people to know that they were responsible for such monstrosities.

    This happens often enough for me to come to the conclusion that there is actually a whole selection of workers who Truly Believe (TM) that blinking yellow flames on black background with pink text is pleasing to the eyes. Naturally, they’re desperately seeking work.

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