The Interview

Things have been pretty intense ever since I first heard about this job offer. Why the hell should today’s interview be any different?
Sitting down with the manager and lead production artist for the client company brought a lot of clarity on their desires and expectations. Unfortunately, it also exposed a lot of problems involved with accepting the position. (For starters, there is a serious communication breakdown between them and my agency, which could result in them being extremely disappointed in the final results.)
After carefully reviewing this situation, I’ve come to the conclusion that I cannot actually do the job they are wanting in the time allotted. To be blunt, the client thinks they need an overqualified production artist that can provide additional services to their creative team. What they really need is a dedicated specialist that can commit to helping them build a post-production/preflight position that will facilitate their new graphic art department and overtaxed production department, all while coordinating effectively with management to serve the internal customer. Their goal is a reasonable and logical one, but it simply can’t be done to their express benchmarks within the six months they currently have available.
Of course, I did the right thing. Later in the afternoon I carefully composed a letter to my agency declining the position. I plainly laid out my concerns and my reasoning. Knowing that Jessica hasn’t been getting accurate information from the client about their real needs, I did my best to provide as many details as I could. I even called her and spoke with her for a half an hour after sending the email, answering any questions I could.
Of course, my agent didn’t accept no for an answer, so we’ll just have to see what happens from here.