Note: Read >>Lesson/ Lesson 6: Resume before proceeding

Responding to a Job Opportunity

Once you’ve found out about a job or project opportunity, you will want to do everything you can to respond appropriately.

Everyone knows the importance of making a good first impression, but sometimes people forget that the chance to do this comes even before you meet the hiring manager for an initial interview. When you’re replying to a job ad, or even just making a “cold call” for consideration, be sure that every word and file you choose perfectly represents your own high standards and qualifications.

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Here are a few guidelines to follow:

1. Make sure you know exactly what the company needs. Usually, they tell you this directly in their ad, so READ what they write. If you can’t offer them what they want or at least provide a compelling argument as to why they should want what you can offer, then you probably shouldn’t waste your time and theirs. If you have to, research the company to find out what they do and where you fit in.

2. Prepare samples of your work that represent your best work, but don’t overdo it. Select enough items that give a nice taste of your skills, not everything you’ve ever done but a good introduction of it. If you have particular skills or talents, like sketching or modeling, or computer work, emphasize them in your samples. Five or six images should be enough to whet their appetites, but send more if you have enough quality projects.

3. When sending digital files, keep them fairly simple: the last thing you want is for someone to be unable to open an attachment or load it on their computer. Any extra design you put into a digital presentation should be done to increase the ease for the recipient to view it and understand you. Your best bet is to send the URL of your online portfolio, which should also be just a basic introduction, (you can link to that from your one-page cover letter).

4. Always include a proper cover letter to accompany your response to a job opening, even if you are emailing.

5. Follow up after a few days to make sure that they got everything all right, but don’t be a pest or nuisance. Make sure that the person you contact is the most appropriate one.

Cover Letters

Your cover letter is a significant part of your resume, and a good one can make you stand out among competing candidates. No matter how hard you try, it’s difficult to make your resume stand out among those that list similar qualifications.

That’s where cover letters come into play. While they too follow a formula for success similar to a resume, they go one step further in that they allow you to present yourself in a better light, and more importantly, better target specific employers and their job descriptions.

Your resume is a summary of your qualifications, but your cover letter is your sales pitch to the employer. If you’ve done your homework and written it well, it:

  • Properly introduces you
  • Highlights your qualifications
  • Explains what your resume can’t
  • Shows that you’ve researched the company
  • Demonstrates your written communication skills
  • Convinces the employer to grant you an interview

Cover Letter Format

A cover letter serves as an introduction to yourself and the documents you are sending. A cover letter should be in paragraph form with a conversational, though formal, tone. As such, it should be professional and proper: remember to reread, revise and edit!

In general, a cover letter should be structured into three paragraphs:

  1. First Paragraph:
    State the position that you are seeking and where you heard about it. Be brief, perhaps two or three sentences, stating:
    • what job you are applying for and how you learned about it 
    • any personal contacts you have in or with the company 
    • your general qualifications for the job. 
  2. Second Paragraph:
    Demonstrate your skills and qualifications for the position.
    • Expand upon your qualifications for the position.
    • Pick out the most relevant qualifications listed in your resume and discuss them in detail, demonstrating how your background and experience qualify you for the job.
    • Be as specific as possible, and refer the reader to your resume for additional details.
  3. Third Paragraph:
    A Conclusion, outlining a time for a follow-up or setting up of an interview.
    • The concluding paragraph of your letter should request an interview (or some other response, as appropriate).
    • State where and when you can be reached, and express your willingness to come to an interview or supply further information.
    • Close by thanking your reader for his or her time and consideration.

Cover Letter Check List:

  1. A good greeting ( try to be personal: use the appropriate name and title if you can get it, if not use a good substitute, i.e. Dear Hiring Manager, Design Professional, Human Resource Specialist, avoid the “Dear Madam / Sir” syndrome)
  2. Why you are contacting them
  3. Where/how you got their information
  4. What you are (designer, illustrator, animator, etc.)
  5. Where you go to school or where you currently work
  6. What you are doing there (studying, working as an intern, etc.)
  7. Why do you want to work for them in particular (you admire their innovative design work, they specialize in the field you want to get into, use other information you found out about them in step 1)
  8. What you hope to get out of working with them (better insight into the field, etc.)
  9. That you are eager to relocate to their city (if applicable)
  10. How they can contact you

Who Reads a Cover Letter?

  • Recruiters and hiring managers often use cover letters as a way to determine their interest in a candidate.
  • Most hiring professionals get dozens of e-mails a day, and in most cases won’t take the time to open the resume if the cover letter doesn’t tell them something valuable about the candidate.

Keep It Short

  • Given that e-mail is supposed to be an efficient means of communication, it’s a mistake to send overly wordy or detailed cover letters.
  • Keep it direct and to the point. Clear communication of what you’re looking for and briefly summarize your key skills and experience.

Tailor Your Message to the Employer’s Needs

  • A one-size-fits-all e-mail won’t cut it with most recruiters and hiring managers.
  • If you’re responding to an advertised position, your cover letter will be most effective if it addresses the ad’s specific requirements.

Put Specifics in Your Subject Line

  • If you want to annoy recruiters and hiring managers, send an e-mail with a vague subject line or none at all.
  • The realities of online communications — junk e-mail, computer viruses and high volumes of daily messages — give busy professionals strong motives to ignore or delete messages with missing or ambiguous subject lines.
  • If your e-mail is a follow-up to a conversation, refer to it in your subject line as well as in the body of your e-mail.

Spell Check and Proofread Your Correspondence

  • Check, recheck and triple-check your letter for typos and other errors.
  • Get other people’s opinions of your letter before you send it.
  • Remember that people, not machines, will be reading your cover letter and resume.
  • Make sure that what you send by e-mail is something you’d want to be printed out and shown to a prospective employer.

Say Thank You, But Consider Your Audience

  • The medium you choose must be a good fit for the intended reader. In general, use e-mail when:
    • Speed is of the essence.
    • You need to demonstrate technology skills. You’re contacting a high-tech company.
    • You’re communicating with recruiters.
  • When should you take the time to send correspondence through regular mail?
    • When sending thank-you letters.
    • If you’re a senior executive.
    • When the company and industry are low-tech.

Follow-Up/Thank You Letters

Follow-up letters (or phone calls) are among the most crucial efforts job seekers can make, to influence a hiring decision. Making a habit of writing a follow-up letter within 48 hours of an interview is generally a good idea.

Thank You Letters have Three, Possibly Four, Purposes:

  1. Thanking the interviewer for the time spent together
  2. Re-describing selected qualifications in light of needs confirmed during the interview
  3. Declaring interest in the next stages of the selection process.
  4. Re-addressing a key question that the job seeker may not have handled as well as desired, to possibly salvage consideration.

Thank You Letter Format

  • The first paragraph should be short but should include a straightforward statement of continuing interest.
  • The second paragraph, the re-exposure of qualifications, should be formulated from notes the job seeker made immediately following the interview.
  • The final paragraph should declare interest again and offer to provide anything else the employer may desire to further a positive outcome.
  • If you really want more consideration for a position, letters should be written to all persons with whom the job seeker interviewed.
  • Multiple letters should be tailored to the specific interviewer and should never be exact copies of one another.

Tips for the Follow-Up

Assume that potential employers are too busy to call you, because probably they are. Those that get the jobs are the ones that continually make themselves noticed to employers, without being annoying and psychotically persistent.

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  • Never take it personally if you don’t get a callback
  • Call after sending correspondence to politely inquire if you may offer your services
  • Check in with previous employers (or places you’ve interviewed at in the past) to see if projects are available
  • Calls an employer back after the completion of a project to confirm the employer’s satisfaction and your future availability
  • You should perform callbacks, inquiries, and contract work on a regular basis. Use your judgment, don’t annoy. Be present.
  • The competition can be fierce, figure out what distinguishes you from the pack and sell yourself.
  • And remember to help a friend, if you are offered a project that you cannot take or that is not right for you, this is an excellent opportunity to recommend someone whom you know can do an excellent job. The favor might one day be returned.

Next lesson >>Lessons/ Lesson 8: Building the Portfolio