Do you hire freelancers/full-timers? What are your top tips for successful & stand-out job applications?
This is a question that gets asked a lot on The Dots, so I thought it would be a super useful thread to start. Hopefully it’s helpful for anyone currently applying for jobs and wanting to stand out from the crowd! Pop your thoughts below.
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- @Tina Bernstein wise words, thank you.
- Word of mouth but portfolio very important!
- @Vikki Ross Love the guy in the video and so glad he got the job, I mean he had to with that video, makes me smile! :)Definitely good to go with being creative and get noticed, if possible!
- Portofolio and word of mouth
- This is a great thread with excellent feedback for both hiring and applicants. Some top tips! :)
- When looking for new talent to join my team I want to see a concise cover letter which mentions why they are keen to work for my organisation, what peice of work have they loved or why they are attracted to the company brand or values etc.I also want to be able to quickly see that they are a fit for the job description so in the C.V. it's really hepful to have a key skills section and/or opening statement/bio that contains some details matching the job spec. Even if they have not had completely matching work experience to date, I want to see what their transferable skills are.It is also always useful to have a link to a portfolio of work, this can be the dots, vimeo, instagram, behance etc or their own website so I can get a sence of the kind of projects they have worked on, but they should always add what their specific role was on the project, even if it was making the tea for the crew, booking cabs or making dynamic subitles for the social video etc.Keep your C.V to a max of two pages and you don't need to include your home address unless it relates to the job spec (i.e. a local runner based in Newcastle) but please do have a straight forward and professional sounding email address, as daft email adresses can be a bit off putting!I hope this helps!
- Great question Pip,I definitely look for design candidates and who share the same ethicsand purposes as myself (Their WHY's are very important in the long run). These are the standout applications and the ones that really wow me overall.Having rationales with each project is a mustExample - The Challenge / The Design Solution.What their role was within the design team and the tasks they carried out, was it concept/roll-out/ideation etc.I hope this helpsCK
- Phillip Gallant Media has hired freelancers in the past. Persons interested in getting to work, and turning around an asset within a week are desired candidates that would be looked to in the future for gigs and jobs and projects and so on. Service meeting those standards are of great value to Phillip Gallant Media and arguably any digital media operation in pursuit of assets for projects and intellectual property management items. #PhillipGallantMedia #DigitalMedia #Freelancing #Freelancers #Assets #DigitalAssets #DigitalAsset #Comment #Commentary #TheDots #Pip #PhillipGallant
- @esther smith Hi,See my reply to Rocco.
- @rocco fiumaraHi,Sometimes people will tell you they can do it, it will be great, they know exactly what needs doing. Then when they do the project, it’s nothing like what they promised. Basically they over promised to get the freelance work but they were not equipped to do the work well. I hope this makes more sense?
- @Laura Holland same here
- As someone who commissions creative writers and illustrators - here are my top tips.- don’t overpromise and under-deliver. Always underpromise and over-deliver.- talent is super important but work on your soft and life skills. I’m never interested in talent alone.- Research well. I often get approached and can immediately see that they’ve never really seen my product or understand what it’s about.- Have some self-directed projects in your portfolio. This can speak volumes and shows aspects of who you are.- Be open to learning. Be curious. Show enthusiasm. Show passion and be generous. It’s maybe just a freelance a gig but I’ve re-commissioned work from those who weren’t just talented but were easy to work with, could accept constructive feedback and understood this is a collaborate project.
- I would hire either depending on the need / requirement... Top tip from me, I like to hear what impact a person has made rather than a function they performed. Don't tell me you lead a team, explain to me how you led them. What effect did it have on the business, performance or atitudes...
- I have hired freelancers in the past- but only ones whose work I have seen (Imake costumes for theatre) so there's no interview involved.
- @Mike Benson Thanks for the info Mike, I'll bear it in mind!
- So many good points. I would love to find out more!
- As someone returning to the freelance market its interesting to see how things have changed.
- @Mike Benson And... one more thing. We're always looking for exciting new brand action and communication projects. Hit us up! Thanks
- At Berliner Benson we've been hiring freelancers for 10 years - writers, designers, creative directors, strategists, film makers, photographers, illustrators and project managers. So we have definitely had a range of experiences, ranking from 0 - 100. Here are some lessons:- if you can hire people you know, life is easier... (obvs)- if you can make people feel like collaborative partners, there's both empowerment and engagement, but it comes with a great deal of shared responsibility- if you're a freelancer and want to work with an agency (we are very small, but I think this is fairly universal) talk more about how you can help them, rather than what you want out of the gig- make it easy to see your work- as a small shop with fewer people, the chemistry with freelancers is really important. being easy to work with, communicating well, basic stuff like showing up on time, delivering work on time, contributing to the conversation all count for a lot- make it clear what you can do - and what you can't. we've had a few instances when people don't admit they have a problem and by the time we discover this, it's late into the project- decide who should / should not be in front of a client - ask about presentation skills when you hire.- references really matter if you don't know the person. i try to get a couple - preferrably from employers and peers. this can be tedious and trying, but not as bad as having the wrong person in the room.- as far as you can, let people understand how junior - senior you are. not just as a term, but what you're capable of doing and what you think you can handle learning.- the best long term relationships we've had have started with a day or two working with a freelancer, so every interaction counts!Hope this helps. We're always looking for freelancers and specifically looking for experienced brand / content / copywriters now.Thanks, Mike
- I'd love to hear more point of view on this! Following this thread :)
- Hey :)I like to see a clear and succinct cover letter / email. I know that cover letters are becoming outdated but I think it's really important to hear why someone is interested in the role. Especially if their CV or previous work isn't a perfect match or they want a change in career path as they can give a bit of context or background. Keep it short though! And bespoke to the role of course!And it's seems so obvious but I rarely see it - tailor your application to the role! There's nothing more off-putting than seeing lots of detailed but irrelevent experience on a CV. Unless they can explain seperately how they think those skills are transferable.I was watching a Linkedin Learning course on CV writing the other day (can I say that here?!?!) and they suggested using quotes/references from previous employers at the top of the CV in place of a personal profile, which I thought was a great idea. Especially if it's from someone well known or senior within the industry. It's become quite normal to just add 'references on request' at the bottom but I love the idea of making them a feature!
- I say that I am more or less freelancer myself however I occasionally hire other people to help.Read what is requested and reply to this specifically. No generic cover letters. Show me that you want this job not that you are desperately in need of work and just send spam.Make it personal. Don't lie.Provide proof. I don't care name shoutings and empty sentences. Show me what you have done and what can you do for me/company.If you are creative person. Make it unique. Design. Typography. Details.Find a way how to open dialogue. If it is relavant ask additional questions. Make yourself known.Keep it relatively short. People who hire don't have much time to spend on you.Here is something from freelancer point of view. 90% of I suggest that no need to bother to send your application at all.Don't reply to job applications where you see red flags beforehand.Major red flag is when job post is generic or missleading or just thrown together fast. People who invest time preparing though out job posts are are interested finding quality leads instead of quantity.
- We recently advertised on The Dots for the first time for a freelance junior designer on a branding project. We got lots and lots of applications. The applications that stood out:- attached a well-designed portfolio or link to an online portfolio- included a covering note - briefly saying hello, introducing self and saying why they were interested in working with us- answered the questions in the job ad.Sounds basic, but a surprising number of people didn't state their availability and rates, which we'd asked for in the ad. And only a handful mentioned why they were attracted to working with us as a company. I definitely took more notice of those applications, since I am interested in working with a designer who resonates with our work and style.Things that put me off (sorry):- overly long and formal letters with a huge amount of detail- no covering note- poorly-designed CV or portfolio.Hope this is helpful!
- I run an agency and I've seen a lot of CVs from designers. I see common mistakes across a large proporation of them.Here are my tips.- Make the links to your work easy to find- Make sure all links work- Don't include information about previous jobs that are not relevent- Demonstrate your passion and abilities in your cover letter.- Make your cover letter short and snappy- Bear in mind that in most cases the person looking at your application is looking through lots of others so make it straight to the point. People will skim read so only include the most important informationI had one cover letter that was only a few sentences long that said something along the lines of "I'm going to keep this brief. I'm a talented animator and I specialising in social media content. Here is my work. Let me know what you think." It was quite refreshing to see this. This style won't work for more formal jobs but if you're going for a creative role then submit a creative application.
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