[three5]

I am in the middle of another search for a broadcast designer, and after slogging through several hundred reels and resumes, I thought I might give some tips about how to effectively and efficiently make your job submission have a little more appeal. I seem to need to do this hiring thing a couple of times a year, and I see a lot of the same mistakes come up again and again.

1- the link to your reel / portfolio should be one of the first things that is seen on your cover letter.
2- make sure your link works.
3- in your cover letter, be brief, be to the point, and for the love of all things holy do not gush about what a perfect opportunity for you this job is, or that you are sure that you are a good fit for the team. it makes you sound desperate, and even if you happen to actually be desperate, you don't want to come across like you are in your cover letter.
4- spell check. please. for the children.
5- do not ramble on, you aren't being graded on the length of your cover letter. especially if it references anything mentioned in #3.
6- your reel should start with your best work. while i appreciate some build up etc, i am looking at hundreds of reels every time i hire someone. im gonna close the window and next you if the first thing i see is some mediocre student project that was put in so you had enough material to fill out the 4:56 techno track that you threw at your montage.
7- edit. editing. please at least show that you tried to edit your work. a truly great song does not need to use every key on the piano, if you know what i mean. 1-2 minutes is about perfect for a reel, don't feel like it needs to be any longer than that. also, if you are going to use a music track for a montage, try and cut to the beat. it shows some polish and effort that will help you stand out.
8- on your website, make sure the navigation is clear and easy for me to find your reel. please also make sure your reel is in a common format / codec. quicktime or vimeo are wonderful, but you can't reasonably expect me to be able to view your SheerVideo Pro X file.
9- this is just a personal preference, but if you insist on creating a reel for each season / year, make sure that when i see it, it is currently that season / year. it is just about spring 2010 now, i'm not sure that i am looking at your most current work if your reel says fall 2006.
10- do yourself a favor, if you call yourself an art director or a creative director, please show me at least one job where you have held that title. while we are at it, if you label yourself as director level on your website or resume or cv, it looks awkward if you are applying for a jr or designer position. just sayin'.

This post has been edited by three5: 11 March 2010 - 10:48 PM

[mete_shop]

Damn, it's been a while three5! Nice to see you back, and behind such epic posts.

Totally seen many of the examples you site when looking for applicants at an old place. Hilariously, some people will send you an email and neglect to even link to a reel or website! Really??

You've nailed all of it pretty much. There's a whole sea of shitty designers out there, it only takes a little polish to really stand out.

[Trione]

Awesome post!

[three5]

i'v been around, lurking mostly because i've been pretty busy. i do stop in here to read up a couple of times a week, and i should post more i suppose.

i'm happy i could share my little brain fart with some people that might find it useful.

[vozzz]

I think i follow all those reels.

but not being fan of full time work, work is still not as plentiful as i would like i guess.

[boy.finley]

three5, on 11 March 2010 - 06:55 PM, said:

7- edit. editing. please at least show that you tried to edit your work. a truly great song does not need to use every key on the piano, if you know what i mean. 1-2 minutes is about perfect for a reel, don't feel like it needs to be any longer than that. also, if you are going to use a music track for a montage, try and cut to the beat. it shows some polish and effort that will help you stand out.

Cutting to the beat ≠ great editing though. You don't need to cut on the same beat of every measure for 2 mins.

[Spence]

boy.finley, on 15 March 2010 - 03:56 AM, said:

Cutting to the beat ≠ great editing though. You don't need to cut on the same beat of every measure for 2 mins.

He obviously wasn't telling you to make a cut on equal intervals to every beat of the song, he was saying take the song into account while making your cuts.

[BKM]

Although I agree with everything in the post, I am not sure I can respect it coming from someone whose avatar has dancing butt cheeks in it.

[monovich]

BKM, on 15 March 2010 - 12:40 PM, said:

Although I agree with everything in the post, I am not sure I can respect it coming from someone whose avatar has dancing butt cheeks in it.

I disagree. I think the butt cheeks serve as a heavy underscore for everything he says.

[monovich]

p.s. great list three5.

Also, don't put your paper route or pizza hut stint on your occupational record. fib a little and say "self-funded creative sabbatical" if you have to fill the gap.

[blackinkisnice]

monovich, on 16 March 2010 - 10:40 AM, said:

p.s. great list three5.

Also, don't put your paper route or pizza hut stint on your occupational record. fib a little and say "self-funded creative sabbatical" if you have to fill the gap.

"Self funded creative sabbatical" I LOVE that. I'm going to use it now.
I once had to sit through an 10 min student reel. It was torture.