Concept for a cover letter
This is a concept I had last year for my resume and cover letter for looking for editorial work, maybe other fields of work as well related to design. My main questions are really: Is it too stuffed? What fonts would you guys use? Maybe it's a bit over kill? My creativity, technical skills and ability to stand out are things I want to shine through...although I could always make a logo to have people think that, but I always found a lot of people come with a great logo but then their portfolio is standard to mediocre. I want to stay away from that bunch and stand out from the first contact with a client or potential employer and then let my portfolio continue though with that vibe.
As usual, constructive comments and questions are welcome!
The resume is the next post, sorry for multi posting guys :)
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great portfolio piece but...
for a portfolio i would be sure to include some elegant and conservative examples for a different kind of client. The people who do the hiring sometimes have a hard time imagining how, for example, the above art translated into, say, Cigar Monthly style.
As a resume cover letter... I don't recommend this style at all, though my experience has been relegated to corporate work and may not be the type of work you are looking for, I can tell by the cover letter wording that you may be new at this.
TEXT: You do know that each cover letter is made specifically for each prospective employer, right? So generalizations about what YOU want does not work, right? You have to explain how best you fulfill THEIR needs. You can talk about what you want from them after they say they are interested. And do the company research yourself. They don't have time to explain what it is they do.
Sorry - this may not be the advice you were seeking. Your illustrations are great!
ps. I don't think I am being too conservative by recommending that you keep the jokes out.
I tend to agree with the above post:
I really think the employers are looking for a classy resume and personal cover letter directed to that employer. Perhaps you can make a web site showing what your talents are. There you can have some illustrations. If you do not have a site, then you can create a blog on Wordpress or Google, they are free. Another thought is that you could make a CD with your art on it and mail it with the resume.
Lou Lou
Good feedback
functioncreep makes GREAT points in regards to the text: yes, every single cover letter must be custom tailored to the specific employer I am soliciting. The text in this example could've easily have been the Lorem Ipsum. I remember once I went for a job and sent in the cover letter but *gasp* forgot to send examples of my work. In the cover letter I had addressed it to a person, mentioned the various awards the company had garnered (not in point form, but integrated into the text) A few spell checks and some fancy wording actually got me a call back for an interview, even without the example artwork!
In regards to the artwork, it's totally interchangeable with other pieces I have. This example posted here is more of general cover letter to show you guys my concept. If i was going for a more conservative magazine for example, I would use more mainstream and less flamboyant artwork. If i was going for a more urban magazine, I'd use more colorful artwork, and so on and so forth.
Finally in regards to the jokes...well...yeah. I guess there's a time and place for them, depending on the client I am soliciting. Some interviews I've been to have been really laid back, whereas some were in big boardrooms being interviewed by three of four people at a time, full suit and tie. But in general maybe not in a resume.
And yes, this is EXACTLY the type of advice I was looking for,friend! Thank you for the kind words!
Re: Studio Lou Lou
I do want to come up with a full package for clients, including the promo cd I would send out as well. I am coming up with a website as well, after doing the collective pay per year website thing with ten million other Illustrators and Designers, it's time for my own dot-com.
Classy is good, but is it appropriate all the time? What differentiates a Designers resume from, say, an engineers? or from other Designers for that matter?
Thanks again for the great advice!
Basically what this piece is is an introduction to, well, ME. It's kind of like a spread sheet I'd mail out, or email to clients, kind of like a teaser. Sometimes it would be mailed out with a promo cd, or emailed with a link to my site-to-come. On the CD or website is where they would get my pieces in full color and not cropped.
classy is always appropriate
or maybe a better word is "professional."
if you want to break outside of the box, that's not a bad thing. but turn it into something special. this is really just a letter with some illustrations on it.
and really, the letter itself should just be that: the letter. if you want to include some samples of your work, they don't need to be cobbled onto the letter. separate pages with samples are much better. or do something completely out there with them. but don't just dump them onto the letter.