"A Lifestyle Career" - Jack Pringle, Perkins + Will

As part of our "What Employers Want" series and filmed by Bespoke Careers at MIPIM 2017 in Cannes, Jack Pringle from Perkins + Will talks to us about their design ethos, office culture and the best things about working for Perkins + Will. He also gives his advice on what they look for in a CV and how they prefer to receive portfolios.

What is your design ethos?

We think the quality of the design is the most important thing across all of the sectors as we’re really design-focused and try to hire the very best designers. Design ethos is really ‘inside-out meets outside-in’, so it’s going to work for the client, but at the end of the day it’s going to be part of a city or landscape, so the designer also has to work outside-in. We adopt an inside-out, outside-in approach. 

What are the best things about your practice?

We’re a very collaborative group. We’ve got 24 offices all collaborating with each other, so you get a good sense of how big the world is. You’re dealing with people from your own firm and from all different parts of the globe to work towards a common purpose on a project. 

How would you describe your office culture?

We adopt a friendly, can-do attitude, with a bit of competition too which is good. I always say to people not to wait to be given responsibility but just to take it. I’d also like to think we’re a very energetic bunch with a positive attitude. 

What are you looking for in a CV?

You can flick through a CV in 20 seconds and figure out whether the person has got any design skills. If you’re an applicant, it depends what you’re trying to offer yourself as. Sometimes people are quite clear about what they’re offering, and some aren’t very clear. I try and encourage both myself and my colleagues to hire people who are going to be better than they are, because it’s going to make your life easier. We’re looking for the very best, but that comes in a lot of different guises – we’re looking for the very best designers, the best people to run projects and those who can relate to clients. We’re looking for someone with a certain spark and you know that when you see it. 

How do you prefer to receive portfolios?

All that matters to us is that you’re organized and quick to show me your work. A lot of people have got their Ipad stuck in their bag somewhere and we don’t want them to have to waste time digging it out – they should treat the interview like mini project. They need to plan how they’re going to deal with the interview when they come and then I’ll be impressed.