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Approaching an agency

Never send a generic letter or do a mass emailing - that will be quickly thrown away. Not taking the time to find out about the company you are applying to speaks volumes about how little you actually want to work for them. Jonathan Barnbrook

We consulted a number of figures from across Design & Advertising on the question of how to speculatively approach an agency. A broad selection of their individual responses are presented in their entirety below.

Prefacing them is a list of some of the key points that came up consistently.

Overview

• Consider the agencies you wish to work with, as you’ll obviously want to apply to those whose work you like and who work in the discipline/s that excite you. Your portfolio should fit with the nature of the agencies that you plan to approach.

• Thorough research is absolutely vital. Before you get in contact with an agency, it is essential to find out what they do, which clients they work for what their most recent projects have been. You will then be able to show that you’ve taken the time to take an interest in their business. You’ll need to get peoples names correct (no spelling mistakes) and so putting a phone call in to the agency to find out who your best point of contact is (and maybe some other inside information) will be a good idea.

• A big no-no is to apply to someone generically. When you do come to send something in it’s your chance to show off what you have learned in your research. Customise your applications in each instance as much as you can possibly can.

• There are of course all manner of ways to go about getting in touch with an agency speculatively, and as you’ll see from the different thoughts below – people have their own preferences. Go with what you feel comfortable with; play to your strengths. Presentation is really everything at this point.

• Once you’ve sent out some work or correspondence you’ve got the perfect excuse to call up and ask if it has been received and maybe arrange a meeting. Remember that people in the industry are often very busy, so don’t always count on them getting back to you. On the phone remember to smile when you dial (as naff as it sounds) – being positive an upbeat does make a difference. No one likes arrogant or sulky people.

• You might not succeed in getting an interview at once. Sometimes it is worth calling up and chasing the person until you have had a definite no. You’ll need to feel out the situation in each instance. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket but apply to several agencies at once.

Sources

Jonathan Barnbrook – Barnbrook Design

Never send a generic letter or do a mass emailing - that will be quickly thrown away. Not taking the time to find out about the company you are applying to speaks volumes about how little you actually want to work for them.

Don't give up, if you really want to work at a place and don't get an answer there are many factors that can stop people replying to you. The amount of time people have for instance, it is not just about your work, some people are incredibly busy, persistence will often get you seen.

Seize the moment. If you meet somebody you want to work for then take the opportunity to ask them if they would look at your portfolio. You are going to get an immediate response. Don't be creepy or too arrogant, just ask if there is a possibility? You will find that most people are polite and will be honest with you.

Realise that your personality is a big part of whether people will want to work with you. Your portfolio is just one factor in your employability, not the only one.

And how not to be annoying: don't turn up at the studio door and ask to be seen, and once you have been told a definite 'no' then leave people alone. If you get any kind of reply then have the basic manners to answer back even if the answer is negative.

Paul Jenkins – Ranch Design

I like initially to be sent one of two things:

1. A CV and work samples.

Let me hasten to add that there is absolutely no point in sending out something ill-considered here. You are approaching successful designers in a very competitive market. The thing you send out should be, basically, amazing. If you can’t promote yourself wonderfully then how are you going to do that for clients when you start work? In the past I have had some fantastic promotions sent to me. Anything ordinary or messy just will go straight in the bin and quite rightly too.

2. A PDF or website link.

This would be my preferred option nowadays. It is impressive if someone has a good website and indeed this is the first thing my current designer sent me before I took him on. I will go either way, as a lover of print, digital or physical, but needless to say they both have to be excellent.

After this a phone call is acceptable, but wait about a week after posting. Basically if it has registered in someone’s brain they will probably talk to you. There is no point at all in calling lots of times.

Offer to do anything, work for free or just expenses if it’s a good place. It’s essential to get some names on your CV at first, and then slowly ascend the ladder!

Jeremy Garner– LBi London

I think phone is more effective than email. The trouble with email is that it is too easy to be deleted. It is far better to try to fix a meeting date by phone, and then you know that you've passed the first hurdle.

Even so, it may be that you're asked to email over your mock-ups or ideas. But that's OK. At least you've made contact and you'll be remembered. Send stuff over in whatever format you agree on the phone.

"For a confident applicant, I would suggest a phone call would be a good place to start rather than just putting everything down in an email which can be VERY impersonal". Michelle Kostryka

Here’s some advice based on our experiences as graduates and employers:

1. A prospective applicant MUST have visited our website and read up about our company before getting in touch. Their style of work and approach to design should have the potential to fit within, and ultimately compliment, our own company ethos.

2. We don't receive very many phone calls from people looking for work which is a good thing. But for a confident applicant, I would suggest a phone call would be a good place to start rather than just putting everything down in an email which can be VERY impersonal. By speaking to a member of the team, the applicant can ascertain who they would need to write to, and what they would need to provide, as well finding out whether there were any positions available at this current time. When the letter comes through, we would already have the applicant's name and the conversation in mind, and are more likely to take notice of their application.

3. Applications are a mine field. The prospective employee must remember this is a creative as well as a professional industry, so we look for work which is brilliantly and imaginatively presented, which says something about the person behind a project, as well as the work itself. Ideas, unfinished work and physical mock-ups are usually the most interesting part, and should be included in any presentation.

4. As we are a small team, it’s really important that a new member is able to get on with everyone else, and communicate on the same level. We would therefore set up a 2-4 week placement session prior to a term of employment.

5. There's one last thing I would like to add. With spell checks on almost every Mac and PC, bad grammar, typos and spelling mistakes are unacceptable and these applications will not stand a chance amongst the high numbers of letters and emails we receive each week.

Niku Banaie – Naked Communications

Be inventive, polite and time it right. Think about your format - don’t just send in a cover letter and CV.

Most companies receive CV’s everyday so how will yours be read by the right people? Target places you'd like to work, maybe even identify individuals within the company and then really think out your approach. Target bombing loads of places is futile. Then think about your approach – being wacky for the sake of it won’t work.

Think about this. Of all the pieces of paper that come through your letter box which ones do you open and not bin straight away? Think about your approach in this way – some of the best examples of door drops have been the ones that intelligently surprised people. From the CIA style crime file to engage people in a new program to a plate with a print on it that I once received for a job – an intelligent format will always be given attention and then I’m intrigued to know more about the person that sent it to me, and so I am willing to take their call or email.

Simon Smith – Baber Smith

There are very few jobs in this industry, so only the very best students will survive. Being good won’t get you a decent creative job. You have to be superb.

Send in something to the Creative Director with a wonderfully creative idea and make sure it’s been executed to a professional standard.

Creative Directors are busy and hate taking calls from students. I never meet any. But students have to get on the phone to try and make an appointment. Start calling creative heads/senior designers if there’s no joy with the CD. I mailed 100 agencies and made 50 meetings to get my first creative role. Be persistent.

"I’m really not a fan of over-confidence, so the ‘I think johnson banks would really benefit from my approach’ kind of thing goes down like a lead balloon here". Michael Johnson

Matt Willey – Studio8 Design

We get phone calls requesting placements and we get a lot of emails sent to our general email address. With the phone calls I tend to ask them to send a PDF of work by email. I'm far more interested in the work than the CV (which I must confess I rarely read — I've no interest in their GCSE's or A-levels, it's about the work). A PDF attachment of the work is a good starting point. Following the email with a phone call is fine — I don't find that annoying. This may not be relevant, and if it's not then just ignore it, but I would encourage graduates or even non-graduates to put personal work in or made-up projects if it shows something interesting, something that they're pleased with. Do not disregard such work simply because it doesn't have the stipulated criteria of an 'officially' set brief or because it's not the result of a 'real' job.

Nick Stickland - ODD

When approaching an agency always do your research, make sure that you in your cover letter show what you know about the agency and explain why you want to work there and what you could contribute with.

Don’t send out generic application, but make a list of approximately ten agencies that you admire and aspire to work for. Customised and targeted applications work best, where you come up with a specific idea for the particular agency of interest. Like someone sent us an inflatable transparent pillow with their CV inside, that gets noticed.

Following up with a phone call after a few days is fine.

Peter Costello – Atticmedia

If you are going to send a PDF folio over email. Only put a couple of your best pieces in it. This way, the file size is small, You're showing only your absolute best and you leave yourself more work to show talk through if you get an interview. Attention to detail.

Michael Johnson – Johnson Banks

I’m really not a fan of over-confidence, so the ‘I think johnson banks would really benefit from my approach’ kind of thing goes down like a lead balloon here. Huge and unwieldy PDFs are a bit of a drag too, as are overly complex and over-engineered websites (I’m judging people on their ideas, not their ‘flash rollover’ skills). I’ll very rarely put a CD Rom in my machine now after various horrendous crashes caused by student CD Roms. I guess what I’m saying is that being a digital smart-arse is all well and good, but if you do, make sure it’s brilliant.

Jeremy Garner – LBi London

A follow-up phone call is fine. And so is a follow-up, follow-up call. Don't start calling twice a day though. Or you might discover the Creative Director you are after has been mysteriously injured in a freak combine harvester accident, and is permanently unable to get to the phone.

Good luck! It's a great time to be starting off in this business.

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