As I'm starting to get my stuff together in search of my first summer placement/internship (not the kind that counts towards idp). CV, cover letters, list of firms, etc... no problem there.
One idea I was pondering was whether or not to send out a teaser portfolio with my resume. A very short, small portfolio of work with some highlights included, in hopes of getting somebody's attention. My brother is a graphic designer and he has done this before with success (including getting a great job right out of school).
Is it worth it the effort? I need to make something similar for one of my courses over the next two weeks anyway. Has anybody here done this for an architecture/design job?
A resume only says so much so I feel it helped make more of an impact on my design skills. I kept it simple - one page, one project, two images, and enough text to give a general understanding of the project.
I only sent it out to two firms and both specifically thanked me for sending a sample page along with my resume.
slantsix,
it's totally worth it. i've always done this, and most of the really design-oriented offices have always commented that if there wasn't some samples of work attached it just goes into the resume pile (usually a stack that sits on someones desk that is about 12-15 in. high)
if they like what they see in the work samples they staple your resume to it and put it in the call pile....the rest, well they sit there for a real crunch.
in other words, undoubtedly yes. also, this will continue throughout your career. even offices do this to get a project....so it's good experience.
send them a really nice package that includes your resume, a cover letter (ADDRESSED TO THE PERSON WHO IS IN CHARGE OF HIRING FOR THAT PARTICULAR OFFICE), and your portfolio.
It is stupid to send a 'teaser' before your actual portfolio because most firms dont want to take the time to wait between your teaser and actual portfolios
Just do a professional job of it cover letter or portfolio, forget the teezers & ticklers, I tried it once years ago and looked back on it after and hoped and never run into the guy I had originally sent it to. Major mistake and a career limiting move as the first impression is that you are wasting their time by not giving them the goods, vs. just being straight forward with them .... chances are you need them more than they need you. If you think about it in those terms you'll develop a better strategy, ie how can you make them money.
ca ching!, that's business and in a falling economy there may be a lot more talent out looking for work.
I'd recommend you think of it less as a "teaser" and more as a "mini-portfolio" -- I don't want "cute" -- I want information to make a decision.
Look, we employers know that students don't have a lot of money and that preparing and sending out a bunch of complete portfolios is both a lot of work and expensive. Plus, you always want them back.
Unless you're providing the firm access to a web-based portfolio (which I like - when they're fast and actually work the way they should) a mini-portfolio should be sufficient to help the firm decide whether a phone-interview or a personal interview would be a worthwhile follow-up.
Besides, I hate receiving stuff I have to send back. For me, just give me enough to make some basic decisions -- if that induces me to bring you in for the interview, you can bring your big guns with you then.
Whistler, why do think your decision has limited your career?
I'm green to architecture but I have a degree in industrial design and I'm confident enough in my abilities. I think I'm realistic, too - my portfolio will reflect my (limited) experience. I think that's all anybody can ask.
Sending an entire portfolio seems like it may be a bit much.... it's expensive, big and bulky.... It's been my thought that if somebody wants to see my work, they'll call me in. The teaser would just assure them that they're not going to be wasting their time during an interview.
It didn't limit my career but it sent a first impression to that particular Architect who I, IMO would have developed a negative first impression that would be difficult to overcome, I learned a great deal from the incident and always tired to approach future job prospects more professionally than trying to hard to be "nifty" or "creative" when a good solid gopher is all they want. But if you have some great skills to offer and a good person to be around then that helps too. You'd be surprised by the need for just great people, all to often the prima donna's and "creative types" are way too much effort to have around.
Having just seen that you have a background in ID I would play up your best work ( quality not quantity, delete and distill the portfolio down if its too big) Look for work where your ID background could complement a firm's Architecture. I always used to look at who just landed big projects and were flush with a project type I wanted to work on and and potentially under staffed, chances are they need help, once you get in the door and land a job make sure they know all the other things you can do.
I started "just doing a 2 week model building job", I was there the whole summer, next year part time, the following summer, and the year after. I had two years experience before I even got close to graduating. I also had a couple friends with backgrounds in ID and jumped into many great jobs because of the cross over skill set, Its a great combination so play it up.
i think it is worth doing slantsix. quizzical is correct on all counts, based on my own experience.
when i was looking for work last time i had about 4 thumbnails scattered confetti-like on my 2 page CV. most of it was built work and fairly sexy. that and a cover letter to firms i was interested in worked to get me job fairly quick...
i wouldn't do that now, though. no good reason other than my tastes have changed and i prefer to not design every little thing all the time...if i were looking for work now i think i would send cv, cover letter and maybe 4 or 5 built projects on a coupla pages. nothing fancy. just straightforward.
I used a resume brochure (tri fold) when I was job hunting after graduation. On one side was a cover letter, contact info graphic, and resume. The other side was divided with architecture work, photography, and furniture design. When it was closed one side was my cover letter the other was my contact info. When you opened the first flap it revealed my resume and my architecture work.
Very simple, clean and concise. And it was a great intro to my portfolio. Every firm I applied to loved it and in some respects made me seem more professional than what I was trying to come off as.
And it cost $2 a piece to print on 11x17 (final size 5x10) card stock at Kinko's.
Jan 15, 08 8:46 pm ·
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Teasers, mailers, micro-portfolios.....
As I'm starting to get my stuff together in search of my first summer placement/internship (not the kind that counts towards idp). CV, cover letters, list of firms, etc... no problem there.
One idea I was pondering was whether or not to send out a teaser portfolio with my resume. A very short, small portfolio of work with some highlights included, in hopes of getting somebody's attention. My brother is a graphic designer and he has done this before with success (including getting a great job right out of school).
Is it worth it the effort? I need to make something similar for one of my courses over the next two weeks anyway. Has anybody here done this for an architecture/design job?
I would definitely do it - we don't even look at resumes & cover letters unless they are accompanied by some sample work.
I did it.
A resume only says so much so I feel it helped make more of an impact on my design skills. I kept it simple - one page, one project, two images, and enough text to give a general understanding of the project.
I only sent it out to two firms and both specifically thanked me for sending a sample page along with my resume.
slantsix,
it's totally worth it. i've always done this, and most of the really design-oriented offices have always commented that if there wasn't some samples of work attached it just goes into the resume pile (usually a stack that sits on someones desk that is about 12-15 in. high)
if they like what they see in the work samples they staple your resume to it and put it in the call pile....the rest, well they sit there for a real crunch.
in other words, undoubtedly yes. also, this will continue throughout your career. even offices do this to get a project....so it's good experience.
send them a really nice package that includes your resume, a cover letter (ADDRESSED TO THE PERSON WHO IS IN CHARGE OF HIRING FOR THAT PARTICULAR OFFICE), and your portfolio.
It is stupid to send a 'teaser' before your actual portfolio because most firms dont want to take the time to wait between your teaser and actual portfolios
Just do a professional job of it cover letter or portfolio, forget the teezers & ticklers, I tried it once years ago and looked back on it after and hoped and never run into the guy I had originally sent it to. Major mistake and a career limiting move as the first impression is that you are wasting their time by not giving them the goods, vs. just being straight forward with them .... chances are you need them more than they need you. If you think about it in those terms you'll develop a better strategy, ie how can you make them money.
ca ching!, that's business and in a falling economy there may be a lot more talent out looking for work.
I'd recommend you think of it less as a "teaser" and more as a "mini-portfolio" -- I don't want "cute" -- I want information to make a decision.
Look, we employers know that students don't have a lot of money and that preparing and sending out a bunch of complete portfolios is both a lot of work and expensive. Plus, you always want them back.
Unless you're providing the firm access to a web-based portfolio (which I like - when they're fast and actually work the way they should) a mini-portfolio should be sufficient to help the firm decide whether a phone-interview or a personal interview would be a worthwhile follow-up.
Besides, I hate receiving stuff I have to send back. For me, just give me enough to make some basic decisions -- if that induces me to bring you in for the interview, you can bring your big guns with you then.
Good luck.
I appreciate the variety of responses, so thanks.
Whistler, why do think your decision has limited your career?
I'm green to architecture but I have a degree in industrial design and I'm confident enough in my abilities. I think I'm realistic, too - my portfolio will reflect my (limited) experience. I think that's all anybody can ask.
Sending an entire portfolio seems like it may be a bit much.... it's expensive, big and bulky.... It's been my thought that if somebody wants to see my work, they'll call me in. The teaser would just assure them that they're not going to be wasting their time during an interview.
It didn't limit my career but it sent a first impression to that particular Architect who I, IMO would have developed a negative first impression that would be difficult to overcome, I learned a great deal from the incident and always tired to approach future job prospects more professionally than trying to hard to be "nifty" or "creative" when a good solid gopher is all they want. But if you have some great skills to offer and a good person to be around then that helps too. You'd be surprised by the need for just great people, all to often the prima donna's and "creative types" are way too much effort to have around.
Having just seen that you have a background in ID I would play up your best work ( quality not quantity, delete and distill the portfolio down if its too big) Look for work where your ID background could complement a firm's Architecture. I always used to look at who just landed big projects and were flush with a project type I wanted to work on and and potentially under staffed, chances are they need help, once you get in the door and land a job make sure they know all the other things you can do.
I started "just doing a 2 week model building job", I was there the whole summer, next year part time, the following summer, and the year after. I had two years experience before I even got close to graduating. I also had a couple friends with backgrounds in ID and jumped into many great jobs because of the cross over skill set, Its a great combination so play it up.
I sent out a mini-portfolio....7-10 pages with the money shots of my best projects in 5.5 X 8.5" format. It was fast, cheap and effective
i think it is worth doing slantsix. quizzical is correct on all counts, based on my own experience.
when i was looking for work last time i had about 4 thumbnails scattered confetti-like on my 2 page CV. most of it was built work and fairly sexy. that and a cover letter to firms i was interested in worked to get me job fairly quick...
i wouldn't do that now, though. no good reason other than my tastes have changed and i prefer to not design every little thing all the time...if i were looking for work now i think i would send cv, cover letter and maybe 4 or 5 built projects on a coupla pages. nothing fancy. just straightforward.
good luck!
I used a resume brochure (tri fold) when I was job hunting after graduation. On one side was a cover letter, contact info graphic, and resume. The other side was divided with architecture work, photography, and furniture design. When it was closed one side was my cover letter the other was my contact info. When you opened the first flap it revealed my resume and my architecture work.
Very simple, clean and concise. And it was a great intro to my portfolio. Every firm I applied to loved it and in some respects made me seem more professional than what I was trying to come off as.
And it cost $2 a piece to print on 11x17 (final size 5x10) card stock at Kinko's.
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