The GLM inbox is always buzzing. It recently struck me how stark the differences are in emails by authors pitching themselves as a service, intern, full-time employee, talent or freelancer. Among the good ones there are emails that are too lengthy, bare, misspelled, or plain boring. My focus below is directed to interns, though many of the concepts also apply to potential staff, crew, and talent we may work with as well, so stay with me.
Green Lens has been fortunate to have some great interns. Every one contributed in meaningful, professional ways, though it is funny to think—we did not find them. Green Lens does not currently seek interns, as our schedules typically prevent such campaigns. However, our not looking for interns doesn’t mean we don’t bring them onboard. They find us, simply asking about any opportunities. I love to diminish daily incoming email, but I support inquiries like this. It shows initiative. Go-getters write cold emails. Let me rephrase: go-getters write good cold emails.
To be clear, these are the items that matter to us, realized through actual poor emails received, with the overall point being this:
Your pitch needs to sell YOU – your education, skills, experiences, and projects are great assets of you, but WHO you are is the critical pitching point.
YOU.
Here is my personal top ten list of things that I find less than compelling when trying to make a first virtual impression (yes, whether in person, by phone, email, or homing pigeon, first impressions really do matter):
1. Sloppy email: Grammar, spelling, and appropriate tone are all important. Everyone is entitled to a typo here or there (I’m certainly no saint), but if the general pattern is one in which it seems the writer is winging it, or worse not caring enough to proofread and fix mistakes, then why would the recipient think you would conduct yourself any differently in your daily routine?
2. Email length: You do want to get the info out, but you also want to respect people’s time. When emailing a company, keep in mind it takes time to sift and sort through just daily necessities, so if the extra communications are either not descriptive enough or too demanding, then it is likely your questions will go unanswered as it is extra, nonessential work. When in doubt, go short, but not so short you leave out your personality and sincere interest.
3. Cover letter absence: If the email body is really short, having a good cover letter makes up for it. It’s fine to treat the email body as the cover letter, but the best solution is to have the body give a fast summary of who you are and what you want, and then attach a more detailed cover letter. PDFs are ideal.
4. Generic cover letter: Managers are most interested in candidates that make a unique and relatable case. A vaguely written cover letter that can literally go anywhere is nothing special to take note of, and it’s likely the email will not be taken seriously. A graphic designer’s letter tailored for a web design company that focuses on the medical field might not be the same letter to send to our video company that serves green, corporate, and academic organizations, even if the skills would be the same. As a hirer, I want to read why you looked at our company, why you are the right person to be working with us, and why we are the best match for you. Letter starting with “Dear Film Company” are the kiss of death, since the request gets lopped in with so many others like it.
5. Resume missing: In my opinion, a resume does not have to be as pretty as the career office told you (certainly don’t go by that for all jobs you approach; I’m speaking from our perspective). For our purposes, all a resume is is a communication of past and current history and qualifications. Make it look as pretty as you want, but more important is the information in it. If you are proud of the work I say include it, even if it feels long, but if you choose to customize it for the company you are sending to, make sure the items listed are, again, relatable. Things I look for on resumes are versatility. Imagine saying of a candidate, “oh, she wasn’t just a camera operator on 3 different projects, she was also VP of the debate club, and knows how to ice sculpt.” That’s unique, and what attracts me to a potential teammate is not just a focus, it’s a diversity of talent.
6. Portfolio missing: More important than the resume is the example. Any work in the can that can be shown online should be, and should serve as samples of your craft, artistry, and record. If you have any work that is viewable online, whether it is a video, article, photo gallery, blog, website—please send those links! Even if you were unhappy with it, show us, then tell us what you learned from making it, why you were disappointed, and what you would do differently next time. If you don’t have any work done yet (hence why you want the internship), tell us about other projects you have worked on. In all these cases knowing what capacity you were involved is key.
7. Contact information missing: Clearly we have your email, but believe it or not sometimes we might want to call. Imagine, having to speak! Including a phone number seems like a common sense item to include, but some incoming mail still surprises us. A phone call is also a serious opportunity to let your personality and passions light up, so take advantage.
8. Lack of Follow-up (you): If we reply to your email and you do not, either for a long time or at all, that will not sit well with us. If I email a potential client and they respond with a question, this relationship matters a lot to me, so I send my response out as soon as possible. We would expect internship inquiry responses to be handled the same way.
9. Lack of Follow-up (us): As I mentioned, we get a lot of mail, some of it pressing that must be taken care of immediately. If we don’t respond to an email it is not because we don’t like its sender; it just means we are particularly busy at that moment in time. And in some cases, though we would normally respond after the decks are cleared, it is possible for emails to get lost in the chaos. If working with us means that much to you and we haven’t responded, please shoot another email. We try to not let this happen, but when it does it provides the candidate with a good opportunity to demonstrate their persistence and continued interest in working with us, and that means a lot.
10. Lack of Honesty or Care: You need to care. Care about yourself. Care about the image you are virtually projecting of yourself in the manner, content, and tone that you write. Care about the person/company you are writing to, and do all of this with honesty. People work best with others they can totally trust, and it’s easier every day to spot the difference between the guy who says all the right things because he really believes them, and the guy who says all the right things because he thinks that’s what the other person wants to hear. Along with honesty to the hirer also comes being honest with yourself. Ask, “Is this really the internship/job I want and can do?” If your gut says no, and you take it on because you have nothing else, you not only set it up to be a waste of time for you and the company, but you rob someone else of their chance to have it be their opportunity.
The biggest takeaway here is the caring. It needs to just ooze off the screen. If you fail to convince that you care about what you are doing, or describe why you are specifically writing us, one could assume you are just doing the shotgun approach to see who you hit. It’s risky to think you/we will be a good catch if you’re fishing for any and everything that swims.
Lastly, whether you ace the email intro or botch it, in the end these introductions are all talk. Actions are the true test of time. Action and conduct show how well a person will fit at a company, not talk. Those who think just name-dropping, a huge resume, and a suave persona is enough to sustain them in this business inevitably learn they’re in a permanent state of go fish.
Focus of the week:
What’s your logline for you?
Eco-tip:
If you will be idling for more than 1 minute, shut off the car. More gas is used in that minute than is used in the motor starting up, so save a little fuel, money, noise and air.
Film-tip:
If you need to transfer an FCP7 project to FCPX, try 7toX. Read our post on it here.
