• by Jon Stierwalt , Op-Ed Contributor, June 6, 2019

Playing it safe rarely nets results. So if you really want to work in the creative industry, you really need to get creative. And it probably is going to take more than just selecting the perfect typeface for your resume in Microsoft Word. 

Every time we post an open position ,we get hundreds of submissions, in varying degrees of relevance and resume design fidelity, but even after simmering the stack down to just the qualified candidates, there are usually dozens left over. Sifting through the remainder becomes a daunting task in its own right and over our 20 years in business we’ve seen some stellar – and not-so-stellar – attempts by candidates to differentiate their resume package and make a mark on our hiring managers. 

When it comes to landing the initial interview, a few successful strategies can be brought to bear. The first of which is that you’re going to need to customize your resume and cover letter for every single application. And yes, even in 2019 you still need a cover letter, unless the job posting specifically asks only for a resume. Review the job listing line-by-line and make sure you cover off on as much of the job description as you can, either narratively in your cover letter or by calling out relevant work experience on the resume itself. Updating your cover letter and resume every time is tedious but it’s also far more effective than sending the same package to every agency and wondering why you never hear anything. 

There are dozens of factors that go into landing a job at the hot agency or brand, but all else held equal, when it comes right down to it, humans are emotional animals and tend to hire people they like. Do hiring managers really get a good sense of a person’s day-to-day working style by sitting around a conference table asking cliched interview questions? Absolutely not. But it does provide an opportunity for a candidate to showcase their personality and highlight what makes them the right fit for a given culture. Everyone gets nervous in interviews, but playing it straight and answering questions robotically doesn’t do much for likability. Relax, crack a joke or drop a clever quip, just try to be as genuine as you can. An equally qualified candidate with a magnetic personality will get the nod every time. 

And beyond personality, candidates that create some kind of moment tend to stand out. We had an applicant design and produce a “get to know me” box, with custom packaging in our brand colors that included his portfolio, resume and space for two dozen donuts. Then there was the copywriter who sent a giant fortune cookie with his resume baked inside. But probably the finest example of “out of the envelope” resume creativity goes to a particular designer who applied a few years back. He built his resume into a hiring campaign that bombarded us for 10 straight days. He even plastered our neighborhood with “Hire Me Nemo” posters, each with the URL of a blog where he chronicled all the reasons we should hire him and the progress of his hiring “campaign.”.Every phone pole in a three-block radius from our office was covered in the things. 

But it’s not about just making noise – you need to know your audience when considering how to present yourself. We happen to have strongly irreverent creative culture with no dress code, skateboarding in the hallways and the occasional Death Metal outburst from the design floor, so what flies with us may not play quite as well at the B2B web shop down the street. Take that into consideration before you decide whether to throw on a mock turtleneck or a Motorhead t-shirt for your interview. If you’re working with a recruiter, ask about the company culture and dress code ahead of time. And if you’re going to pull a stunt, make sure it’s right for the agency and right for you. 

Whatever you do, remember that even in the creative services industry, basic decorum and preparedness still applies. And there are some simple tactics that get consistently missed. Make sure you always bring copies of your resume; don’t assume everyone you’re interviewing with has had the time or wherewithal to review your CV ahead of time. Bring a decent pen and a notebook that doesn’t look like it’s been in the bottom of your bag for five years. 

Find out everything you can about the agency’s past work, clients and culture, then tailor your resume package and interview plan accordingly. Make sure you can precisely describe to the interviewers why you want to work for them specifically. If you’re interviewing at an agency, spend enough time on their website and scanning the trades to ensure you can answer what your favorite piece of their work happens to be. If you’re interviewing with a brand, know their product line or service offering well enough to be able to speak intelligently about where they fit in their broader competitive set. And no matter what, make sure you come to the interview armed with at least three questions for your interviewers. 

At the close of the interview, ask each person for their card and make sure you send at least an email thank you note within 24 hours. Which also happens to be a great opportunity to continue the conversation – it’s perfectly acceptable to ask follow up questions or even clarify something you said during the interview itself. 

But no matter what else you do, please do not show up unannounced or email every senior manager in the company before you’ve even been offered a phone interview – we’ve seen both more than once and that’s the kind of notoriety you don’t want.