Last week an employer who placed an ad here looking for a blogger, provided valuable insight into what an employer is looking for in his applicants. Whether or not you agree with his process for weeding out the applicants, the fact remains James is the one hiring and many others in his position to hire feel the same way.
What made an impression on me the most was James’ suggestion that the applicants who sent in their details five minutes after the gig was posted might not have spent enough time researching his website. There were a few in disagreement. Some felt one didn’t need more than five minutes to research a site, while others would like James to consider that the applicant might have already visited his website several times in the past.
This may well be the case, but if you did spend the time to visit James’ website, your cover letter should have reflected as much. If a client provides details of his business, an applicant needs to make it his business to make the employer aware of your visit.
Let him know:
- A few positive things about the site or the business.
- What you feel you can add to the blog.
- The range of your expertise as it relates to the site in question.
Everyone has a cookie cutter cover letter. I know I do. While it’s always good to start out with a template, tailoring the template to fit the client is what gives you an edge over the other candidates.
If a client provides a website or blog address in his ad, it generally means he wants you to take a look at it, before applying, to ensure you’re a good fit. Whether you spend five minutes or five hours perusing the site, it’s still worthy of a mention on your cover letter.
Now, there was also a suggestion that if one knew enough about tea one could apply without visiting the website, and with that I disagree. If a client offers a company name or website details, it’s always within your best interests to take the bait and pay him a visit. It shows you have good instincts without having the obvious spelled out for you.
So that’s how I feel about visiting a potential client’s website. Am I wrong? If so, please tell me why.
Good post Deb. What I want to know is how many additional hits has James gotten out of all this back at his site? His willingness to mix it up with all of us puts the name of his business out there (now going on a week). We writers are probably a good demographic for tea drinkers!
I think this is right on, Deb. If the client gives a URL, click it. If they give a full company name or their full name, Google it. Who knows? They could be big scammers and taking 2 seconds to look them up could save you months of trouble.
And if they’re not, well, you’ll have an edge over the people who were too lazy to check them out.
I posted about this the other day (hope you don’t mind the link, Deb):
http://tinyurl.com/34222e
kk
I completely agree with you on this. Though admittedly in the past I may have been a little quick to apply for a job, lately I have been trying to tailor my cover letter to fit the specific customer rather than taking the chance that a generic template letter will get me noticed.
I agree, too. Sure you can maybe write about tea, but why not enjoy the added advantage of getting to know where you might be working? If there’s a site offered, I always visit first to see if the job is what I think the ad means it is [if that makes sense]. Sometimes, I’ve been surprised to find my assumption was pretty far off the mark, and others it’s been right-on, but I know it’s better to know!
I don’t like template cover letters. I did that when I began writing, but not now. I’ve said it before, but you have to hook an editor just like you hook a reader. Those plain, mass-used cover letters just do not do that.
I agree completely. But it gets tough when the ad won’t actually tell you anything about the client. “New website needs content on health, travel, and family.” How are you supposed to respond to that? I usually send my template cover letter, slightly tailored with whatever clues I can eke out, but I never get any response. Anybody have any suggestions? A couple times I’ve e-mailed and just outright asked for more information, but I almost never get any response to that, either.
New to this, anyone have a link to James’ posting I want to check out what y’all are talking about?
The thing that threw me was not wanting to hire people who drink their earl grey with milk. Sheez!
For jobs that don’t give any indication about the pay, I send a template cover letter. When you have a “we need 200+ word articles on many subjects,” type ad, it seems like a waste of time to write a well crafted and targeted letter.
Also, template letters are not all bad if they are well written, to begin with. Just slap it around, paint it pink and add stripes according to what the ad says are must haves, and press Send.
Madeline — I think what he meant was that he doesn’t *care* that you drink earl grey with milk, and that that mere fact alone would not qualify you for the tea blogging job.
(Mmm, earl grey with milk…)
I blog about tea and try it in every way possible that someone else might. Not a fan of Earl Grey though, :-O. A tea blogger who doesn’t love Earl!
I wasn’t too worried about getting the job, thought it would be something interesting, then I realized that hiring a blogger who blogs about tea for another store site wouldn’t be a great idea in the first place!
ur groovy Deb,
Thought I’d check in and say hi. I’m kinda loyal that way.
As far as learning about an employer, you should get a feel for who they are. Blogging is a lot like acting. If you don’t want to play the role, then forget about it. If so, then give it all you’ve got. Shine on the stage and forget about the rest.
I say as long as I don’t have to go the way of Hilary Swank who had to lose weight, hair, tape breasts, and insert a rolled sock into the front of her pants for my role as a blogger, I’ll give it my best shot.
I did not check out the tea site before I sent my email, which is not my normal way of doing things. Finding out as much as you can about the potential employer and their business is sometimes a time saver. We’ve all checked out blogs, sites, etc. with which we would not want to be affiliated and this were spared the time and effort of applying.
I perfectly agree with you. Sometimes clients are unreasonable, it is us writers who have to decide whether to sell our talent for money or creative satisfaction. Most often writers write for paltry sums, this disturbs the whole equation of the industry. Even websites like Guru.com etc. should have certain bidding standards to protect writing industry in general.
Sonya,
I actually thought he said he was looking for a specific philosophy/way of looking at tea that would not match with someone who thinks it’s okay to drink earl grey with milk. Admittedly, it was late at night when I read that, but that’s how it stuck in my mind.
You know, I logged on last night to check my email once more before going to bed. I have a pet peeve to add from the writer’s standpoint.
Back in October, I applied for a job writing product copy for a new website. The pay was incredible, so I really had hoped to lure them in. I have a standard cover letter, but I alter it to fit each job listing. Never heard a word, which is fine, so I stopped thinking about it and moved on.
So last night, more than four months later, they respond saying I’m a perfect fit and they’d like to hire me. FOUR MONTHS! By now, I’m swamped with different projects, but the pay is still a major factor, so I find myself torn between overworking myself or telling them they were a few months too late.
Ann-
You know, that happens quite a bit. It is how so many of us end up stressed, swamped, and generally crazy. Wishing you a lot of luck with either choice you make!
A concrete example of customising your application is the huge number of people who told me that their favourite tea is not only a tea that I do not sell (and I sell more teas than anyone else in the UK), but from a category that I do not sell, and that is not even tea at all. Peppermint (not tea), raspberry (not tea), chai latte, rooibos (not tea), Typhoo (not great for a fine loose leaf tea website), Twinings (likewise). I can understand many people probably thought oh, tea, of course I know about tea. I don’t expect you to know as much as I (may) do, but often I wondered whether people had spend ten minutes on my website (and it’s not like they didn’t take time applying – I am humbled by how much time many people took to write obviously personal emails). I am not judging your choice of tea, but I am judging how well your choice of tea matches mine. I won’t reject you just because you misjudged my needs, but it doesn’t help.
I think the tea blogging manager made maybe one or two valid point, but not the rest can go in the circular file. Why would any decent writer with a portfolio invest much time in a job proposition if the ad is not clear or complete? The most viable candidates will ask questions before releasing personal info. It’s common sense, I don’t know you…you don’t know me.
Another important point, why don’t these requesters do their homework? You are limited by Craig’s List’s file size. Why would they ask you to send material without providing an email that can handle the load.
Rejecting one liners? How totally ridulous. When does quantity validate substance. Sounds to me like the requestor wants to be courted and wooed by lots of folks.
Ann,
Have to agree with Julie. I typically expect it to take six months from my initial contact with a client to actually getting work. That’s not bad, though. I spent 18 months chasing my last job as an employee and that job lasted only 13 months!
Some will respond more quickly because they have immediate, sometimes one-time needs. The ones who take longer to respond often wind up being good long time clients.
To Deb,
I agree with most of the adevice, which is basically “job hunting 101.” Though blogs, online communications and computers make working at home or telecommuting more possible today than years ago, many of the traditional job hunting advice is also appropriate here.
Ann,
Why don’t you send me the info on the job with the “incredible pay” if you don’t want it.
James-
I think the issues with the applications concerning types of teas stems from the many Americans who more than likely applied.
Most of us enjoy different forms of tea, like the herbal infusions. Your site (i went over and checked it out, yep) has only true teas. The differences in ideas of what tea truly is varies, so you’ll find the favorites from many Americans to be the teas that are not, as you stated, tea.
It may be very hard for anyone who is not English or at least have lived/had contact with that area/people to understand what you’re selling or the type of writer you’re looking for.
Then again, I could be dead wrong and have someone else come along and point that out in a few minutes.
Let him know:
* A few positive things about the site or the business.
* What you feel you can add to the blog.
* The range of your expertise as it relates to the site in question.
Very good idea. This will definitely eliminate the five minutes or less question.
Remember the perfect spelling he was talking about? I thought I might point out that you have a misspelled word in your article. I’m sure you can find it.
See, no one is perfect 100% of the time.
Thanks for the great article.
My apologizes,
You didn’t have a misspelled word after all.
If it is a “really” lucrative position, I will visit the website before applying. Honestly, I don’t usually visit a website until they get in touch with me as I simply do not have the time unfortunately.
Hey, I checked out the site and commented on it
I didn’t apply for the gig though; I was just curious to see what everyone was applying for
May be I should have applied… then I could have talked about the cream buns in the blog! My taste buds could have won the gig… of course having stated I loved tea too
@ ann g – i was going to say the same thing someone else did. send that client my way. LOL!
i try to look at the client’s site and get some info about them, if possible. but there are SO MANY blind ads out there, it’s hard.
and 2000 applicants for the tea blogger? good lord. i expected that there’d be a lot of competition (based on the fact that i saw the ad on 3 different sites) but had NO IDEA it’d be that heavy. no wonder it’s so hard to get a response from employers. everyone wants to be a pro-blogger these days. i’m trying to stand out from the crowd, but it sure is hard.