Working at i-pointing

Who are we?

Hello, we are i-pointing and we are looking for YOU! You are a media designer, communication designer or media designer, Graphic designer:in or even a self-taught graphic designer? Then feel free to read the following interview to learn all about your possible start with us and your first weeks here. Have fun!

Currently, our agency consists of 52 employees, most of whom are graphic designers. They are the ones who take care of our clients' PowerPoint presentations to get the best out of them. That's why our focus is on presentation design. But don't worry if you don't have a lot of experience with PowerPoint yet, it will be shown to you in detail here when you start. You will have a mentor at your side who will guide you through our daily routine during the first months.

For a detailed insight into our application process, the trial work and your job start, I talked to Aykan (23). He started working for us as a (junior) graphic designer in mid-February 2022, so he can tell us first-hand how he came to i-pointing, what his first weeks with us were like, and how he likes it here.

Hi Aykan! What did you do before i-pointing?
"I trained as a media designer in digital and print at Ströer and I'm just about to get a master's degree in photography. The only thing missing is an exam, which I'll take next year."

How did you come to i-pointing?
"Via the Internet, i.e. via the job exchange. I thought the offer or the job posting was pretty cool. When it came to presentations, I honestly thought to myself at first: "Yes, how time-consuming and interesting can that be? But I thought to myself, yes come on, you just take a look at it, maybe you'll like it after all and surprise you – and that's what it did in the end."

What was your hiring process like?
"I applied as normal, then I was invited to the JoinUs Days and then spent about 1.5 days at the company on a trial basis. I watched a lot of other people, asked questions and got a few insights. They also told me what they do and then I got an assignment in the afternoon. I had to design a page of a PowerPoint presentation myself. I showed that to Tristan (a member of our recruiting team) and he looked over it. Halfway through the second day, I was called into Marion's office (our CEO) and she said that it would work out well with us “

Then you also started with us very quickly. How did the initial training go for you in the first few days?
"In the first few days, it was mainly about doing exercises to get to know the program a bit. Then, however, you were taken on very slowly with customer orders and were allowed to do a few pages. So from time to time you get more responsibility."

To what extent did you already have presentation design during your training as a media designer in digital and print?
"So there is a difference, you just think with some presentation pages: "Hm, actually, much more space should be created here now". But since there's a lot of content, you just have to delete things like that. It already deviates slightly from what you've learned."

And how is that for you? Does that then fit together with what you have learned or is that already a bit challenging?
"Yes, it's more of an adjustment. You're still thinking in the old pattern, as it should be. In that case, you just have to block that out."

The daily work routine at i-pointing

So what are the exact tasks or activities one does when "sprucing up" presentations?
"In principle, you get the presentation from the customer and in the e-mail it usually says exactly what is desired or what you have to do. In the presentation itself, there are often stickers from the customer, where he describes again on each page what he wants to have. And so you work through that one after the other."

Which part of your work do you enjoy the most and which the least?
"The most fun for me is the alignment, i.e. adjusting the whole thing. I'm already a perfectionist, such small details have to be right with me and I also have mega fun adjusting those - when I see them of course! And least of all tables, they're not really my thing."

A "typical working day", I know, doesn't exist here in that sense, but what does it look like in terms of procedure?
"So basically always working on customer orders, mostly the deadline is the same day or not always, but we try to send it out the same day. The transition to the customer orders then came about in this way, precisely because Tristan is someone who always wants to push you. Then he probably realized "ok, he's making progress, you can already give him more“ or he also just threw me in at the deep end in some cases. That was tough, but it was good."

What do you think of our system here with the shifts (early and late shift)?
"I think the shifts are cool because you can choose it freely. I don't yet, but I will later. I love the late shift, I can't do the early shift! I'm always so exhausted after work, I'd rather sleep longer. But with the shifts, I think it's really cool that you're so flexible."

And generally from a workflow point of view, you work to Tristan, don't you? So he practically has the jobs and you go along with it?
"Exactly, so I've also had jobs that I've been allowed to do completely on my own. But mostly I work to him, yeah."

Speaking of Tristan again - we have mentoring at i-pointing, how long do you accompany him or he you?
"Exactly, I was assigned to him. So he kind of picked me because he also got me on the team. And I'm pretty happy that he's my mentor. I'll probably be with him for the whole 6-month trial period. But it also depends on how fast I am."

Okay, back to your job as a (junior) graphic designer: What creative freedoms do you have or not have? To what extent are you perhaps restricted?
"Yeah, so you're creative - but you're also somewhat limited in terms of creativity because you just already have guidelines. But you can be creative if you follow those guidelines."

And how do you find working with guidelines?
"It depends. Sometimes you have phases where you don't want to be creative at all or you just want to work without thinking. Then it's pretty cool. So I'm more someone who likes to work with design guidelines like that, rather than being creative all the time. But you can be both if you want to be."

The time factor plays a big role in our company. We always want to deliver as quickly as possible, but also cleanly, of course. What do you think about that and how do you deal with the deadlines?
"Yes, the deadlines are sometimes very tight, or Tristan is always so motivated that we have to get it out on the same day, which I also find cool. But it's a bit difficult to find the balance (especially for someone like me who's new) between working cleanly and still being fast. But somehow, little by little, you get a feel for it and find your harmony."

About promotion opportunities and a „super cool“ team

Let's take a look at the prospects at i-pointing. What are your chances of promotion? Where can you still go?
"So from what I understand, you have some opportunities here. Depending on your performance, you can move up to designer after the probationary period. Then there's the further level of senior designer. There's also the position of Design & Conceptual Lead, currently that's three employees with us. But you can also Graphic designer remain. No one is forced to do more than they want to do."

Then we'll talk a bit more about i-pointing in general. What do you think of your colleagues at i-pointing, i.e. the team as a whole?
"Saucool, everyone is very nice. We get along well, everyone is relaxed. You chat here and there, but most of the time everyone is working quietly at the site. Every now and then you meet people outside smoking or in the kitchen. You get along pretty well and I'm very happy with that! That's not a matter of course."

Yes, that's great, that's how it should be! What do you like most about i-pointing?
"It's hard to say, I like a lot of things here! Well, I like the work itself, you always have something to do, you're never bored and the time goes by quickly. When you're done with something, you get something new right away. I think that's really cool. Apart from that, the working atmosphere here with my colleagues – it's not a matter of course that you have such cool colleagues and that everything here is so informal;

What advice would you give to someone who wants to apply to i-pointing as a (junior) graphic designer? So maybe what you have experienced that was very well received here?
"Show motivation and initiative. You need a certain motivation and interest here because it's already demanding. For someone who is looking for a challenge, it's just right!"

And as a final question: Presentation design can seem a bit daunting to some at first. How do you find the job here when you have this design background?
"No, you don't have to shy away from it at all! It's still design, just with more guidelines. But everything you've learned before will benefit you. Accordingly, just be open to it and go for it.“