Contacting studios - w12

6B2
6C2
6D2

In May last year I applied for a design internship to w12 studios, a UI/UX studio based in London. Whilst I did not get the internship, I decided to reach out to w12 on work experience. 

The person in charge of recruitment is a contact I have through a friend who he previously worked with, therefore the email I composed was considerably less formal than I would normally send. 

Hi Callan,

Not sure if you remember me, I'm Charlotte, Sarah Scrutton's friend who applied for your design internship in April/May last year. I'm currently in my final year at university and looking for a week or so work experience during my Easter break (6th - 27th April). I have kept w12 studios in mind and would love to discuss the opportunity of work experience with you, if at all possible?

Attached are my portfolio and website: https://www.charlottepricedesign.com/

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Thanks, 

Charlotte

Attached to the email was my portfolio as well as website. Callan replied asking for my CV which I then forwarded on. We arranged to have a Skype call for the next day at 4pm.

Preparation:

I am anticipating that I will be asked about my experience with UI/UX design as my portfolio does not include any. I have not had much of an opportunity to experiment with UI/UX design within my course so far, as we do not get taught it. However, I would love to learn a new skill and get an insight into a new part of the industry.

Questions: 

What is the work environment like?

How does the team work together?

How do you handle projects/what is your process/delegation of tasks within a project?

What do you enjoy the most about working at w12?

What will my responsibilities be at w12?

During my Skype call I talked to Callan who I had been corresponding with, as well as Porsche who was from HR. During the call, I found out more about w12 studios, including the format of the studios which was what I was interested in knowing. The team apparently is split into design/strategy, coding as well as prototyping, but all work together on projects, so the atmosphere is very social. The team get together for socials every month, have lunch together every tuesday and each week 2 members are picked to make breakfast for the team. Callan and Porsche did not yet know what my responsibilities would be at w12 but were certain that I would be 'fought over' which was flattering! They said they would get back to me next week once they had discussed details.

I am having another video call with Callan tomorrow to talk more about the experience, as they had a meeting today to discuss it.

The call instead turned out to be with Cameron who is a designer at w12. This was helpful as he had undertaken 2 weeks of work experience previously and now has a job from it, so I could ask him questions about his time doing work experience too. 

After this call, Porsche and Callan got in touch to confirm that I had the work experience and that I would do it over the Easter break.