Applying for ID Positions 101

So you saw that flashy new job ad on Coroflot, and you’re all ready to apply. What do you do now?

It wasn’t all that long ago that I was applying for my own first job, and I can well remember well how mysterious the whole thing seems at first. Who reads these things? What is he/she really looking for? How can I make a good impression without betraying my individuality?

The first time I had the opportunity of being on the other side of the process–reviewing portfolios as opposed to submitting them–the proverbial light bulb popped on immediately. Suddenly I understood what had seemed so daunting mysterious from the other side, and it was so much simpler than I’d ever imagined. As I continue in my career, and continue recruiting new designers and interns, I learn more and more about what really “works” about a good application, and what seemingly-minor details can do to destroy an otherwise strong one.

I’ve decided to write this post because it has become clear to me over the last year that design students are struggling with this problem, and their job prospects are greatly diminished not by a lack of talent or ability, but by the fact that they simply don’t know how to write an effective application. My goal is to give you a little insight into what it looks like from the reviewer’s perspective.

I do not pretend to be an expert on the subject of Industrial Design HR, and I encourage you to take my advice with a grain of salt; ask other professionals in the field for their perspectives and opinions, and use mine as a data point in your process. Secondly, this is written for Industrial Design jobs only, and is not necessarily applicable to other disciplines.

Summary

In case you’d rather not read the gory details, here’s what I’m going to go over here:

• Who reads my application, anyway?
• Read the Ad
• Read the Ad again
• Research the Company
• Write a Draft
• Tailor Your Portfolio
• Double-Check and Apply

Question: Who reads my application, anyway?

Answer: I do. The other designers in the department do. A Human Resources specialist does. Depending on the position, the director of Design or of R&D might even see it. And each person who sees it is looking for something different.

Every business operates differently: in some cases, resumes are screened by HR before being shown to designers for review. In some cases, designers screen the portfolios before HR even looks at the resumes. Sometimes you’ll be sending your application to a “head-hunting” company, contracted to find the right person for the job.

The most important thing you can do as an applicant is to put yourself in the shoes of the reviewer on the other end. You are not applying to a robot, you are writing to a human being, just like you. When you get used to this idea, it can actually even be comforting. Every piece of advice is based on empathy with the reader.

Step 1: Read the Ad

Really. Someone took time out of a busy day to write the content of that ad. It’s not a silly formality: it’s practical communication. The body of a good ad will not only tell you what the job is and how to apply (and just as importantly, how NOT to apply), but it will also give you hints as to whether or not the job is really for you. Just because the job is at a company you admire doesn’t mean it’s a position that you would enjoy, or are even qualified for.

At first it was really shocking to me how few applicants really read the ads I take so much time and care to write. There is nothing more frustrating than taking an hour to write and post a Coroflot ad only to find that most applicants never even read it.

Step 2: Read the Ad Again

You want this job, right? The ad for the job is a gold-mine of valuable information that can help you write a good application. Read the ad twice, and try to figure out who wrote it and why. Mine it for phrases and terminology that you can use in the application and interview process. Every design studio has its own lingo, and if the ad is written in-house, some of that lingo is bound to slip into the body copy. Quoting it back will make it clear that you’ve not only read the ad, but taken the time to digest and internalize it.

Try to figure out who wrote it. Is it written in the voice of a designer, an HR professional, or a head-hunter? If you can figure out who wrote the ad, there’s a good chance that the same person will eventually be reading your application.

What does it look like they’re looking for in an applicant? Be prepared to custom-tailor your portfolio and cover letter to match the specific job in question. If the job is a production job, try to show off work and experience that proves that you know how to solve problems in the real-world, and aren’t afraid to get your hands dirty when it comes to manufacturing and production details. If the job is in a Research or Brainstorming group, focus on those aspects of your work and experience.

Step 3: Research the Company

Head straight to the company website and read the “about” page. Then read the Wikipedia article. Google designers in the department. Mine for names on LinkedIn. Try to find out what the company makes, who designs it, what markets they serve (professional, consumer, medical, etc), and what kinds of people already work there. If you are short-listed, there’s a good chance they’ll Google you before the interview, so it’s only fair that you do the same. Remember, your goal is to figure out who your audience is, and what they’re trying to find in a candidate. Reading the ad and checking out the corporate website will go a long way to this end.

Step 4: Write a Draft

Now that you know to whom you’re writing, you can start crafting your application. I don’t recommend using a form letter, as it will likely make your words sound cold and indifferent. The goal: KEEP IT SIMPLE.

Before giving an example, I’d like to describe a scenario to you. Imagine you’re at the job of your dreams, designing products for your favorite company. Feels nice, huh? Now imagine that you’ve been tasked with sifting through applications for interns at the office… in the half-hour before lunch. You open the email box and find two-hundred applications from all over the world, and you need to filter them down. What do you do? Where do you start?

Now you get the idea: your application is in a huge pile with hundreds of other applications, being read over very rapidly by a busy, hungry professional. Personally, I like to take the time to respond to each application I receive, if only to let the applicants know that they’re being reviewed. This takes time and energy! During this tedious process, you would not want to read long prose: you want the copy quick, concise, professional, and courteous.

Example of an effective cover letter:

Dear Sir/Madam:

I am writing to apply for position 12345 advertised on Coroflot.com on 01/01/1970.

The ad states that XYZCorp is looking for an individual with “strong sketching skills,” the ability to “work with marketing and engineering” effectively, and a strong working knowledge of SolidWorks and Rhino. I posess all of these qualifications, as outlined in the attached resume.

XYZCorp is inline with my career goals, because basket weaving has been a passion of mine for over a decade. I admire the work you did on the ABCProject, particularly the detailing on the DEF.

Thank you for your time, and best regards.

Adam O’Hern
adam@theoherns.com
(123) 456-7890

Keep it short, simple, and get to the point. If the letter is long, you increase the temptation to skip the reading altogether, thus losing your audience completely. Save the juicy details for the phone interview; the cover letter is just an introduction.

First, tell the reader why you are writing. So many cover letters skip this simple step! If you don’t tell me why you are writing, there’s a good chance I won’t read it.

In the second paragraph I briefly recapitulate the specific qualities mentioned in the ad, and acknowledge them. Probably half of all applications I receive are from unqualified applicants, that usually have not even bothered to read the requirements for the position. Read the requirements, and tell the reader that you’ve read them, and still feel you are qualified.

In the third paragraph we tell the reader why his or her company is a desirable place of employment in particular. There are lots of jobs out there; why do you want this one specifically? If you’ve spent your whole scholastic career sketching cars, why would I expect you to enjoy designing consumer electronics? Tell the reader–in no more than two sentences–why you admire the company, and what specifically you think makes it appropriate to you as a designer.

Many applicants tend to write in an exceedingly arrogant tone, for some reason using quasi-Elizabethon English. A good rule of thumb is to never say anything in your cover letter that you wouldn’t be willing to say face to face to a peer. If you’re tempted to say something that sounds arrogant, there’s a good chance you shouldn’t say it. Try reading your cover letter aloud to a friend or collegue. If it’s embarassing to read aloud, you shouldn’t send it! Remember: you’re writing to a person, not to a robot. The person reading the application speaks normal, modern English, and probably doesn’t appreciate smugness either.

Do NOT try to explain how you would seek to “improve” the company. Many applicants attempt to do this, and it’s just embarrassing to read. Be humble, and recognize that you’re going somewhere new, and that you will have to learn on the job. The idea that as an outsider you would presume to know more about an industry than those who have worked in it day-in and day-out for years is not only absurd, it’s insulting. A little humility will go a long way.

Step 5: Tailor your Portfolio

Your portfolio is the single most important part of your application as an industrial designer. Polish it, and take the time to customize it for the specific company in question. If you’re applying to an automotive firm, show them that you understand form development and emotional styling. If you’re applying to a hip consumer electronics firm, show them that you’re an innovator with a knack for what is “cool”. If your target is a staid luxury brand with an emphasis on long-term technological innovation, make sure to emphasize your ability to think deeply and critically about design and end-user benefit.

When I look through applications, I scan the cover letter mainly to see if the applicant is qualified, and then move straight to the portfolio. I do not read the portfolios on the first go-round, I simply look at the images. Let your images tell the whole story; do NOT rely on text. Once I’ve narrowed the pile from 200 applications to 10, then and only then will I begin to actually read into the details of projects.

Put your best work at the front of the portfolio, and show me what your process is like. As a reviewer, I want to see that you can a) think critically and creatively, b) communicate your thoughts visually, and c) take your ideas to logical and realistic conclusions. I am not impressed by large amounts of work: I prefer to see one really fantastic project than fifteen poor ones.

Make sure your work speaks for itself. By looking at a single project, I can usually tell if the applicant is worth consideration. On the first pass through, I spend less than one minute on each portfolio. Be clear, concise, and get to the point.

A few other important details: put your name and contact information on every page of every document you submit. I have had applications that made the short-list, but were eliminated simply because we could not figure out who the applicant was! The applicant in question had provided his contact information in the resume, but not in the portfolio. When we printed the portfolio, we could not easily figure out the application to which it belonged, so a strong portfolio presentation was wasted.

Also keep in mind that portfolios are sometimes reviewed on screen, but are often reviewed printed. For this reason I highly recommend formatting your presentation as a landscape-formatted 8.5 x 11 sheet. This format prints beautifully on any laser printer, is easy to file in standard file folders without folding, and looks good when presented on a standard monitor. I greatly discourage use of very small or very large page sizes: small pages get lost in a stack, and large pages are too difficult to print and/or file. Standard letter sheets are by far the best option!

Lastly, make certain that you send the application in the manner specified. If the ad requests that portfolios be attached to the email as a PDF no larger than 4MB, do NOT send the portfolio in any other way! For example, I personally will not go out of my way to find your website or click through your flash presentation: I request PDF’s because I print them out and bring them to a conference room for review with the team, and applicants who ignore this requirement are passed over. Furthermore, do not send me a 10MB file if I asked for 4MB. An applicant who does this either a) did not read the ad, b) does not follow instructions, or c) lacks the expertise to optimize his/her files. None of these possibilities speak well of you. Just follow the instructions.

Step 6: Double-Check and Apply

Collect all of the information requested in the ad, and prepare to send it in. Once the information has been collected and organized, I highly recommend a resting period of no less than 24 hours before clicking “send” on the application. You will make mistakes on the first draft, and you must give yourself time to notice them. Forgotten attachments, misspellings, and accidentally using the wrong company name are all easy to do. Take the time to check and double check, and then sleep on it before sending. Those kinds of mistakes will at the very least annoy the reader, and at worst could cost you the job.

Conclusion

Applying for a job is not a complicated or difficult process. The most common mistake among student applicants seems to be the perception that the process is a mystical secret shrouded in jargon. The reality is that an application is simply a letter to a person–a person like you–explaining why they should call you up for more information. Be yourself, have fun, and keep it simple!

about adam: Adam O'Hern is an industrial design consultant specializing in visual brand languages, and has designed products ranging from laptops to power tools, classroom toys to bathroom fixtures, and robots to lint rollers. He has published with 3DWorld Magazine, CGTuts+, and Luxology, and works with Josh Mings of SolidSmack.com on EngineerVsDesigner.com.