We've been getting quite a few resumes lately inquiring about internships and job openings. After going through some of these, we thought we'd share some of our tips for landing an interview - and a job or internship at a design agency
1. Before you make contact with the agency, do some research on them. Find out who you are going to contact in the agency about the job opening. It's always nicer to get an email with your name in the greeting. For example, "Hello Melissa" instead of "Hello." Yes, it's a little details, but details do matter.
2. If you are contacting a web design agency, it's a pretty good possibility that they will want to see an online portfolio. Okay, they're definitely going to want to see one. So put something (nice) together, and include the web address in your email.
3. It's okay to make your resume look more creative (for us anyways), but make sure that it's written well and has relevant information on it (e.g. we want to know what software programs you know how to use and how proficient you are in those programs).
4. Having an awesome portfolio is more important than what's actually on your resume - if you're looking for a design or development position. For us in particular, we're constantly on the lookout for people with talents in web design & development, flash and graphic design.
5. Please, please... please make your email easy to read. Hit return/enter and put some spaces between paragraphs. More than likely, the person who is reading your email will take about 10 seconds if that to determine whether to finish reading or to hit "delete."
We hope this helps out a little in the job hunt. We know it can be rough. Especially with getting that first job out of college. But we're always on the lookout for fresh, new talent. Good luck!!
