A job in advertising. For people trying to land their first (or second), getting there can be much less than half the fun. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be asking ad folks who hire their thoughts on getting in.

Today, Grip Partner, Creative Thom Antonio, weighs in.

1) What do you look for in a student design portfolio?
I see so many student portfolios that look just like student portfolios. That is to say, that most don’t add anything to their school projects. What I look for is the student who went beyond the ask. The one who did more, the one who started with an idea and built it out from the idea space rather than from just a nice design “look.” I’m always looking for multi-disciplined multi-taskers and unfortunately most schools seem to be still geared to producing specialists.

2) What kind of spec work do you like to see – and does it have to be advertising?
It’s better if it’s not advertising. I like to see work that challenges. Stuff that creates an experience and a dialogue. Making things pretty is easy – but making things that change behaviours or start discussions is harder.

3) What’s a good way for up-and-comers to build their networks?
Do more work. Build your own story first. Understand who you are networking with before you start talking. Don’t just hit the “send” button.

4) What’s one of the common mistakes you seen young designers make while looking for work?
A lot of designers, both young and those with more experience, usually try to show too much stuff. They think volume will be impressive, but usually that just creates confusion. It’s important to be clear about your role in the work you are showing. I have interviewed different people who have each shown me the same project and claimed it to be theirs; the interviewer usually already knows the real story.

5) Any tips on acing an interview?
Be confident. Don’t make demands. Listen and then talk. Be honest and genuine. Show great ideas and fantastic work. Tell me what you’re thinking. Your pretty resume is not as important as the story in your portfolio.

6) When it comes to hiring and developing new people, what’s one thing our industry tends to do well, and one thing it tends to do poorly?
There is a wealth of talent out there. As an industry, we have tended to hire based on a specific skill set and then pigeonhole. It’s slowly changing by letting great talent find ways to do even greater things. As the traditional divisions of advertising/interactive/design are broken down there will be greater opportunities for ideas to play bigger roles. We also tend to underplay the level of influence we can wield. Being brave is important for talent, agencies, and clients as well.

7) Any other thoughts on getting a design job in advertising?
Don’t get a job in advertising. This business is about so much more. The currency we deal in every day is ideas. So increase your value by creating, sharing and building your ideas. Be a student of life and get a job doing what you love to do.

<UPDATE: Click through read Parts 1, 2, and 4 of this series.