#10

Beware of the template email.

You’re about to leave university and it’s suddenly dawned on you — “holy crap, I need to actually find someone who’ll employ me. I need a strategy and fast.” — but I would advise everyone to be extremely careful with template emails. It’s so easy to make tiny mistakes that can pretty much ruin your chances with the click of a mouse.

A couple of years ago we received the following email (I’ve changed the sender’s name for obvious reasons):

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Hello XXXX,
I am a recent graduate from (university name removed) and I’m currently looking for placement and job opportunities. XXXX is an agency I’ve been following closely for some time and I really admire the work you did for XXXX. I’ve attached my portfolio and CV for you, although I would jump at the chance to come to XXXX’s studio to see how you work. If you have any opportunities I would love to discuss them with you. Kind regards, Lauren Ipsum
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Our reply to her should have been:
Hello Lauren, XXXX off.
Thanks, Tom
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We didn’t actually reply — despite being hugely tempted — and you can see why. This small accident completely gives the wrong first impression.

My advice would be to take advantage of the age of social media. Open up discussions with agencies and designers you admire. Talk about the latest design news and have an opinion. Don’t just say “that’s really nice” or “I don’t like it”. Justify yourself. Design is completely subjective, but your opinion will position you in our eternal love/hate debate.

People engage with people, not automated robot emails. It’ll take 20 x longer to tailor each email to the audience, but I guarantee you’ll get 20 x more responses.

Tom Heaton.
Creative Director

Ahoy. Manchester