Designers | How to make your job application stand out from the rest

Designers some tips on how to make your job application stand out from the rest

Designers the tips offered in this article could help you to get your dream job. There is a real art to creating the perfect application. There are some basic fundamentals if forgotten can cost you dearly. Find out the five easy steps you can take to achieve success.

Interior designers, decorators, graphic and fashion designers sometimes forget to create interesting, sparkling, exciting applications to reflection their creative flair. I have seen it happen. Over many years I have successfully applied for jobs, have helped others to achieve success and selected for interview people applying for positions with companies I have worked for.

Time spent creating sparkling exciting applications pays dividends

Some of the things I will mention may be common sense but you only get one chance the slightest mistake could cause your application to be placed in the bin. It happens. Often hundreds of people are applying for the job. If you want to stand out your application must have impact.

Stand out from the crowd by delivering an impacting cover letter.

Step 1

Read the job advertisement carefully

This may sound silly but you would be amazed how many people completely miss an all important part of the job description or some other vital piece of information. Make notes as you go. For example for an interior decorator position posted on the MyCareer website by the Laura Ashley’s company I noted they wanted a highly motivated person with a passion for people and an understanding of retail and the list goes on. What they mention first is usually what they consider to be most important.

Step 2

Find out about the company

Visit the website check out the colours, patterns and motifs used. Try to find out about the people who work in the company. If possible find a telephone number. You can then call the company and find out the person to send the application to. It always looks better if you have gone the extra mile and put a name instead of sir or madam.

Get a name much better than plain sir or madam

Step 3

Work out a colour scheme for your application

You can use the information gleaned from the website to help you choose colours for the paper, folders and/or cardboard you are using in the application. Instead of plain A4 sized pages get creative. Select some colours from the website or company colours. Or you may want to go down the recycling route. The ideas are endless. As designers you should find this easy to do.

Using a different colour instead of black or blue for the text is a good idea. For example the Laura Ashley Company is known for soft delicate hues. So maybe a light beige paper with a toned beige text colour would appeal to the reader of your application.

Step 4

Compose the cover letter 

Word the letter carefully use positive words. Address the job criteria spelt out in the advertisement. Try to give evident of how you meet the criteria. It is best to use short carefully constructed paragraphs. Start each paragraph with a different word. Take care not to use ‘I’ too many times. Keep working on the letter until you are able to express yourself in one A4 size page.

Keep the cover letter to one page

It is important to make sure the letter is easy to read. Use only one or two different fonts. One font for the heading; one for the body of the text. The size of the lettering is also vital. If you make it too small and difficult to read it could end up in the bin. You will find examples and more details on http://creativebuzzing.wordpress.com  the notes will give you an idea of how to word your application.

Make it easy for the reader to read

Step 5

Coordinate your application package

Use the same colours for your curriculum vitae (or resume), skills audit, educational and reference pages as used in the cover letter. It is wise to have your name and contact details on each page. This keeps bringing your name before the person reading the application.

Create an interesting folio for your application

Present the application in a coloured folder or envelope. Make sure the colour works with the colours of the pages you have selected. Pure white, beige, grey or black usually work with most colours. I do offer a word of caution check out the company carefully. A conservative company would be looking for someone who can fit in with the company image. Where as a contemporary company will be looking for someone who is trendy and up to date.

So there you have it five easy steps to design success. Happy job hunting.

Author: Rosena MacFadzean for SampleBoard.com

Client Presentations | Create Color Schemes in various Design Disciplines

SampleBoard created by Pixy Louise Smith on sampleboard.com

Create a Color Scheme with your initial design presentation

The easiest way to start designing a look and feel for a client is by getting the color scheme right from the beginning. By presenting various color schemes when pitching to a client it will give you a good indication of the feeling your client wants to create, be it an interior space, fashion collection, graphic brochure or website layout…

Most creative design disciplines require some sort of color scheme when creating an initial design – may it be by using paint swatches, fabric samples, HEX or RGB color codes. Color schemes are useful in any design presentation.

SampleBoard created by Pixy Louise Smith on sampleboard.com

Designers in various design disciplines can easily create their own color palette on www.sampleboard.com by following these steps.

Check out SampleBoard.com’s Creative Community for more inspirational ideas on how to create beautiful sampleboard presentations.

Inspirational SampleBoard | Use nature as inspiration for design projects

Sampleboard created by Eileen Reiner on sampleboard.com

‘Designers Block’ | Using nature to portray visual ideas

We all use design in our everyday life, we just don’t always realise its impact on us! We also know how important it is to get clients and colleagues on the same creative page quickly when working on a project.

Nothing does this better than an inspirational concept/mood or sampleboard. Whether designing interiors, capturing trends or creating colour schemes or themes – sampleboards capture visual ideas.

All of us sometimes suffer from ‘designers block’, on these days try using nature to stimulate your creative process, you’ll be amazed how fast a beautiful old tree trunk turns into the inspiration for your look and feel concept like the Inspirational SampleBoard created by Eileen.

SampleBoard.com allows you to save time, energy, money and the environment by creating digital sampleboards, from the comfort of your own creative space…