Key career moment or How to get a job in an agency?
We receive quite a lot of letters from applicants. Many people want to get a job at a creative agency with a good portfolio and take the initiative. This is commendable. However, some candidates make mistakes that cause us to write them off.
Submitting your resume and first interview is Key Career Moment (KMK). If everything works out, you will find your dream job and for several years you will join a team with whom you will share joys and hardships. This is an important point. It’s worth getting together and doing everything perfectly, without compromise.
Let me share some tips to help you ace your interview. They will be relevant not only for contacting Eventum Premo, but also for other event agencies.
Write correctly
You are writing your first letter. It must be checked and not contain annoying errors. This could be the one letter that will completely change your career for a few years and then impact your entire life.
In work correspondence with colleagues, you don’t have to be a pedant, write abbreviations, use punctuation freely, and attribute everything to the author’s unique style. Still, we do not work in the Ministry of Culture, we use a living language, we turn a blind eye to something.
But the first letter is KMK. Check everything before sending.
Don't forget to send attachments
It's very simple - check what you are sending. If a candidate writes about his excellent experience, but forgets to attach a resume, this immediately indicates that he is an absent-minded person.
You should not send huge files (more than 5-7 MB). This is beyond the scope of netiquette. Yes, we have unlimited traffic in the office, but it is only appropriate to send a huge portfolio if you have been asked to do so. By the way, many formats, such as PDF, are compressed by 5-10 times. If you don't know how to do this, well, that's a shame. This means that you do not possess some useful skills and curiosity, and we have already learned about this.
Write only to us
What do people hope for when they write a letter “I want to work for you” and copy 10-20 companies? Yes, we have no illusions that you, having vast experience, want to get a job not only with us. We are normal and understand that you can consider different companies, especially in such a large country as Russia. But this remains behind the scenes. We want to know that you took a few minutes to write to us.
By putting 10 companies in a copy, you save a couple of minutes. What will you do with them, with these saved seconds? But all (!) 10 recipients will understand that you are not calculating the situation even one move ahead. Why do we need such a candidate?
Be specific and remember your customers.
When you say that you know many contractors and sites, be prepared to name the managers you worked with. If you have a technical background, be prepared to talk about technology. If you are a creative person, you need to know who won the festivals, who brought the Cannes Lions. Remember the names of your clients and the names of your customers.
Yes, you can find almost everything on the Internet. But if you cannot remember from memory the names of the people with whom you worked, perhaps they did not leave a mark on your life. Probably, just like you, you left no trace in their memory. It is unlikely that your cooperation was as close as you would like to imagine. If you don’t remember the names of the companies you worked with, it means you don’t value your work, it doesn’t touch your soul. This means that you will forget our company very soon.
The excuse that everything is on the phone is not good. Even without a phone, you remember the name of your mother, your friends, your coach - these are your close people. If you don't remember, then you don't know them. Alas, this experience is worth nothing.
Take an interest in us and our business. Show understanding of projects
Any agency on its website has a section that they are very proud of - portfolio, clients. It's better to know about them and not ask who you worked with. Tell us which project you liked best, which clients you also worked with, and what feedback you heard. This will give you +100 points to the candidate's karma.
Tell us about your achievements so that we understand how they will strengthen our team. Not about teamwork skills, but about your personal achievements and competencies. It’s not easy to list a long list of projects in which you participated, but what exactly you did, what you were responsible for, and how you handled the task, and how these projects are similar to what we do.
Don't scold your ex
All the former are future for someone.
If you scold your previous employer, we conclude that you will scold us in due course. If you promise to hand over the databases of contractors, then our databases will go “for a walk” around the market. We probably won't like it. Gentle criticism is appropriate, otherwise you wouldn't change jobs. But it’s better if we hear praise about your previous place of work and your plans for improvements that you would like to implement.
Prepare your questions
When you come to an interview, you are preparing to make a good deal. You can’t make a mistake, otherwise you won’t be able to get back the wasted months or years. If you choose the wrong company, you will miss another good chance. It is important for you to choose the right company and team so as not to regret your choice later.
The employer also makes a deal - a mistake in choosing a candidate means a refusal to another good candidate, which means an investment in employee training, trust, and the risk of failing an important project. Therefore, the employer wants to avoid this risk and get to know you better so that they can make an informed decision. It is not surprising that the employer will ask you about your career, plans, interests.
It is the responsibility of getting a good deal on both sides. Mutual responsibility and mutual benefit, if successful.
So you ask about the company, its plans, traditions, and objectives. So as not to make mistakes and make the right choice. If you don't ask anything, do you really care where you work? This will not be a transaction, but... a purchase.
Don't disappoint us, take your part of the responsibility, find out about the terms of the deal and approach the decision responsibly.
Punctuality
Imagine that you are flying on vacation to the other side of the world. You have purchased expensive air tickets, booked hotels, transport, and excursions. You've read a bunch of articles about an exotic country. Is it possible to miss the plane in such a situation? Mix up the airport and arrive at Domodedovo instead of Sheremetyevo? You will lose a lot of money, miss out on an important life adventure...
A responsible person will not be late and will arrive on time and at the right place.
An interview is not an ordinary meeting where a delay of a few minutes means nothing. An interview is a KMC. Don't be late, the plane won't wait and neither will the chance for a successful career.
Well, now your Key Career Moment will be more aware and prepared. Good luck, colleagues!