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Contacting Companies for Jobs
I’m a video editor and motion graphics designer from Toronto. I’ve been working at a small ad agency for a year and am really hoping to move up to other, more experienced, studios in the city.
There are many great places in Toronto that produce amazing work, places where I would love to work. I’m wondering what is the best approach to contacting them. I’m hesitant to start cold-calling/emailing them but at the moment, that is my only option. I don’t have many friends in the industry but I’m hoping to work on that in the near future by going to some meetup groups in the city.
I really want to move on from my current employment and actually work in a more accomplished studio. I’m currently the sole video editor at the place I work and you can only learn so much working alone!
If I do go with the cold-call/email route, maybe I shouldn’t ask for a job straight off the bat, but maybe ask to visit the studio and take a peek. Just a thought.
So what’s your take on cold-calling/emailing?
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2 Replies
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be a man, and start cold calling. Everyone does it. Successful companies, packed with work, have their sales people make cold calls.
And this is what happens when you cold call – everyone says no. It’s worse – you can’t even get someone on the phone to say no to you. But you keep calling. And you keep getting rejected. And you toughen up, because when they keep hanging up on you, or say “send in your reel”, it gets less painful when you keep making those calls.And 2 – 3 weeks into your cold calling, and getting rejected, some guy doesn’t show up to work, and the boss says “where is that idiot kid’s phone number” – and you will get called in. And while you are there, another guy that blew you off will call (while you are already booked at the first job), and you will say to yourself “oh no, what do I do now”.
And guess what – you keep doing this -keep making cold calls – for how long – for the rest of your life. that’s how you run a business, that’s how you get new clients. But now, you can say “I work for x, y, z, and his brother in law” – and you won’t be blown off as fast.
A couple of years into it, they will be calling YOU – and you won’t have to call anyone.
Bob Zelin
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I agree with Bob. Don’t send e-mails. Everyone sends e-mail and it is just treated like Spam. If you have time I recommend visiting in person or cold calling. It separates you from the crowd. E-mail is easy, walking in and saying hello is hard. Plus, then I can put a face with the person who calls me to check up on if we have any work. We get hundreds of e-mails, lots of calls and very few people walking in the door.
Stephen Smith
Utah Video ProductionsCheck out my Motion Training DVD
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