Want to get your foot in the door? Don't put it in your mouth.

Freelance creatives and job seekers are constantly trying to get people to look at their portfolio. My recommendation is to know what you’re dealing with before putting on the hard sell.

Here’s how I approach the various types of people that I want looking at my work:

Junior-Level Creative: Tell a junior copywriter you’d be happy to re-art direct some of their spec work. Tell a junior art director you'd improve some of the headlines in their spec book. You’ll be in their office within 24 hours.

Creative Assistant: The gatekeeper to the creative department. Pre-stalk them on Facebook to learn about their bio and interests, and tailor your message accordingly. Keep the tone of your message casual and personal, and not overly professional.

Executive Creative Director: email is the best introduction here. Doesn’t really matter what you actually say in the body of the message; mention somebody important that you know in the Subject line of the email.

Associate Creative Director: Let them know that you know they’re in a leadership position. Tell them how much you’d love to work for them. Make sure they know that you know their opinion actually matters within the creative department. Really lay it on thick. Conclude your interaction (email, phone or face-to-face) with something like, “I hope to work FOR you someday.”

Copywriter: Be careful if you’re a writer writing to another writer. Ask if they know about other teams at the agency with writer needs. Don’t make the staff copywriter think you’re trying to replace him/her. If you’re an Art Director, this isn’t the right time to send that amazing logo you made. Rather, forward along a couple samples that make the headline the hero of the campaign, but require very little body copy.

Recruiter/Resource Manager: The key here is quantity. Regular messages will keep you front and center. But prepare yourself for a continual one-way conversation with yourself. Your work will (eventually) be seen, but prepare yourself to write a bunch of email openers like this: “Dear Recruiter, I hope your Good Friday was better than good.”

Art Director: Finally, an email that doesn’t require you to re-read what you’ve typed in order to look for spelling and grammatical errors. You have two choices here. One is to just pour out your heart in a stream of conscious and then immediately send it. The other is to just say it very straightforward without any capital letters: “dear art director, i’d like job at you agency. ken i show you mi book!” Remember, don’t use the default font on this email.

Good luck creatives!

First Day Jitters

Did I pack everything I need? Who will sit with me at lunch? What if I can’t find the bathroom?

The first day of a new job is very similar to the first day of school. For a freelancer like myself, the first day of school comes a few times every year (hopefully). But it doesn’t make it any less nerve-wracking, perspiring and exhilarating. We don’t truly know what to expect in terms of team dynamics, project expectations and dozens of other less important pieces of minutiae that can stress out all but the most savvy, veteran advertising creative.

I figure this is a good thing. It means I still care. It means I know there are still things I need to learn. And there are still goals I want to achieve. Guess that’s why I do what I do.