I have been working in the PR/Communications field for the past three years and I have loads of writing experience. I even blog for fun on the side.

I have been trying to start out and get even a simple gig but haven’t had any luck even though i’ve applied to a ton of postings. I know getting that first break takes time but just wanted to know if I’m missing anything or if there are some good strategies when it comes to getting that first job.

I usually post my cover letter and CV in the body of the email to make it easier for the employer. Is this the wrong way to go about it?

any tips/advice would be appreciated!

Thanks

@ Monika – I have both Word and PDF versions on my system. I prefer to send a PDF, but for the folks who won’t do attachments it is easier for me to dump it into the message from the word doc. I don’t have a formal website for displaying my work.

@ Amy: It’s nice to see you back again; I’ve enjoyed reading your posts.

Having a few articles sitting there talking in different voices might help, I can see that now. Question is, is it better to have them in PDF format on the site, or a simple Word Doc?

What do you guys use?

When I said writers do not set the rate, I was referring to writers who (rightly) quote rates at the market rate – based on their experience of course.

Some employers may not be willing to pay these rates – therefore, the writers in this case, do not set the rate.

But of course – the underbidders will set the rate.

Not sure if that made sense! LOL Time for a break …

And yes, I think can be to a writer’s disadvantage to quote a rate. If someone asks me for a rate quote, I say my rates for blogging range anywhere from from $15-$50 per post, sometimes more depending on the amount of work involved. I tell them I’ll need to know the specifics of the position before I can offer them an exact quote. If they don’t like that as a response, oh well. But I’ve never had anyone complain. And I’m not hurting for work badly enough to sell myself out with a low-ball quote. I must have missed the “agree to disagree” discussion; I was sick for a while and wasn’t online.

However, I think we (the blog) have argued this point before … and I think the consensus was to “agree to disagree” on whether or not to provide a quote.

When applying for jobs, I always start out with cover copy that’s conversational in tone. I include my objective, introduce myself, and mention past clients/publications. In the third paragraph I do the job of “selling” myself — I need to set myself apart from the other candidates somehow, and the cover copy is the perfect place to do that.

Then I close with a short sentence thanking the hirers for their time, and that I hope to hear from them.

Next, I paste in my resume, relevant links to writing samples, and then — and only if requested — I include my rates.

It would be interesting to see some samples of Deb’s readers’ cover copy and resume samples — possibly for a future blog topic.

@Sue – I don’t know about everyone, but the lawyers I write for wouldn’t take time to click on a website and go through samples/clips/whatever you want to call them. In fact, I’ve had some ask me to copy/paste entire articles I’ve written into the email (which screws up the formatting) rather than post a link. Their reasoning behind this — yes, I’ve asked the ones I’ve gotten to know well enough to ask — is that they print their emails out at the end of a long day to read on the train or at home. They’re not necessarily online when they read their emails, and it’s easier to have everything right in front of them on paper. Once I understood the methods to their madness, the cutting and pasting seemed like less of a chore. Then again, these aren’t $2/post blogging jobs either, so taking extra effort is worth my time.

@Monika – I’ve run into this myself. I do have a set of standard writing samples on hand. Not published clips — just articles on topics I write about. I also have a few clients willing to let me use select published pieces as samples, but I don’t have many clients like that. When replying to an ad, I usually try to find the most suitable sample I have and send that. Even though I mostly only blog for lawyers, there’s a big difference between the practices (even within personal injury, drug injury differs from motorcycle accidents, for example). For most ads I just send the closest I have, and I don’t get any complaint. Generally they’re looking to see my writing and research skills. If I can research and writing about drug injury, I can tackle motorcycle accidents. That said, there have been a few (I think 3 in 4 years) I have written a new sample for, because I really really wanted the job. One was for the first food poisoning writer I wrote for, because I had nothing to show him that would have been even close to this topic, and I wanted the job so I could break into this niche. I would only do this to get a prestigious client, not a blind craigslist ad, and I don’t just dole out free samples on request. I chalk these occasions up to bettering my own career, and it’s really no loss when the samples can be used to show other potential clients. I do have a strong opinion about random ad posters who request free samples, but I think you know I’m talking about is different? (I desperately need some coffee…)

I also know a few ghostwriters who will send material they wrote for another client and block out pertinent information. I won’t do this for my own ethical reasons (i.e., I signed a non-disclosure agreement, and there will always be something identifiable that can’t be blocked out that could trace me back, and it isn’t worth getting a lawyer or myself in trouble). But this does work for some people (like press release writers, magazine journalists) in some cases. I could say a whole lot more about ghostwriters and NDA and ethics, but think I’ve rambled on enough about this. Deb may be tempted to boot me out of here soon.

@Scribette – I see your point, and I agree that most folks posting a job do have a price range in mind. That said, if I were an employer posting a job and had a budget in mind of $50 per article, but I left my budget out of my ad and got a quote from a qualified writer willing to do the article for $25, I would hire that writer at $25. I wouldn’t say, “You’re hired, but I’d like to pay you $50 even though you’re willing to do it for $25.” I thought that was the type of thing Deb was referring to.

As for cover letters, the letter I send is parallel to the job ad. If the client can’t be bothered to tell me in some detail what s/he wants in a writer or a pay range, well then I will give a bare bones background on me until I get more detail. And I ask for more details.

One thing I have noticed, though, is the clients looking for bloggers seem to be much pickier about the application requirements than the print trade publications I write for. Why is that, do you think?

A blog does cover some of that. You can write, “My best work is what you’ll see at my blog,” but then what you are supplying as a sample is a blog post – and your client might hit on one that you don’t particularly want to showcase for the job.

It’s a better idea to have specific samples that relate to the job in question or a portfolio page where you have a few samples potential customers can browse.

While the principle of a cover letter via email (pitch) is clear to me I wonder what you think of this scenario Deb.

When I “pitch” my greatness to a job ad, I always include a link to my blog and my online portfolio. I figure that if a potential employer goes to my blog and reads my writing, he or she would soon know whether I’m suitable for the job at hand.

What is your take on this Deb as a potential employer? If the pitch is attractive enough, are you tempted to go further or would you want to see more?

One thing I don’t understand; while I have written in many fields, niches and markets before, how could I provide samples if the work is confidential? Surely I won’t be expected to do spec work or write articles just for display?

I guess what I’m wondering is this? Is it ok to include a link to my sites like I do and include a snazzy pitch, or is there more you as a potential employer would expect to see?

Just to clarify, I have gotten most of my work like this but I also wonder whether I’m missing out by not providing enough?

Thanks
And by the way, loved your posts, great information.

And personally, I don’t see why attachments or copy/paste are so difficult so why not just give what client offers?

Ann G: I had a similar exerience with McAfee and find AVG protects me better. Good advice!

(For the record – if you are a comcast customers you get McAfee for free, and AVG found online is free and quite well rated by Consumer Reports – I’ve used it for a year now and it picked up viruses that McAfee missed! So if you don’t have virus protection – go to http://www.grisoft.com)

My email letter that goes out to others has a link that takes them to my online resume which I tuck away from view on my site. It has everything they need to know there and lacks any attachments. I’ve had a number of people say they prefer that set up. One thing I will not do is use Monster jobs for anything. If a job is posted with Monster, I’ll skip it. The amount of spam my mom got after posting her contact info there was absurd. I’m thankful I set her up with a Yahoo account first so that all of the spam can be automatically deleted.

I have found that when I write my introduction letter/pitch/cover letter with style and voice and explain why I am perfect for the project, I get immediate results. I completely changed my approach towards applying for gigs after reading a guest post here.

And as an editor, I always respond to folks who do the same because it shows that they can write and gives me a sense of their natural voice. Clips only show one part of your writing style. Editors may have completely changed their original post or article. It’s happened to me, so I know it must happen to them as well.

Regarding, “quite frankly, if a job prospect does not accept attachments or cannot bother to open them, I have no interest in applying for the job and it’s the employers loss.” It makes me wonder if this is the attitude this commenter takes towards editors too. Your job as a writer is to get your message across and to make your editor’s life easier. Don’t do this and you will lose out on gigs, pure and simple.