Building Design Portfolios

Job no:70268 Title : RP- Building Design Portfolios Client : Pro-Vision

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/ Building Design Portfolios

cold calls

Job Hunting

A phone call, rather than an email, is still the proper method of contacting a potential employer or

client to drum up freelance work or an interview. Creative directors have busy schedules, and tracking

down designers who are away or busy can be frustrating and a waste of time. Knowing a freelance

designer is free and available for new work can be just what they need, so do not hesitate to make a

call to let them know. Ask an art director what time of year is best to call, and be persistent without

nagging or calling too often. Also, freelance designers can and should ask whether the art director

prefers to receive calls or mailers as follow-up reminders. Giving the client a choice is perfectly reason-

able and often appreciated.

Before picking up the phone, be sure to do your homework first. Here are some guidelines to help you

make a good first impression:

• Compile a list of art directors or companies.

There are many sources to find this type of

information, including:

• Design magazines

• Magazine mastheads

• Company websites

• Literary Marketplace (LMP), a reference

book that lists the names and contact infor-

mation for art directors at publishing houses

throughout the United States, and the

International Literary Marketplace, which

lists publishers outside of the United States.

• Design organizations can be found

on the International Council of Graphic

Design Association’s website,

www.icograda.org. Icograda is the profess-

ional world body for graphic design and

visual communication.

• Faculty lists from design school websites

• Advertising annuals (Clio, Art Directors

Club, Hatch, Summit Creative Awards),

ADDY (American Advertising Federation),

and BTAA (British Television Advertising

Award)

• Grammy Awards and the various video

music awards will provide contacts in the

music industry.

• Find out the name of the person with whom

you should be speaking and ask for them

specifically. Knowing the correct person to

speak with shows your attention to detail

and illustrates your level of interest in the job.

• Mentioning an art director’s recent projects

or awards can be flattering and will illustrate

your level of interest in the job.

• Use a reliable landline phone, rather than a

cell phone or cordless phone, if possible.

• Present your name first before addressing

the person you are contacting.

• Keep the conversation polite, brief, and

on track.

• Do not answer call waiting, and never put

the art director or creative director on hold.

• Ask if the art director sees portfolios and try

to set up an appointment where you can

present your work in person. If this is not

possible, but they have a drop-off day

when you can leave your portfolio for view-

ing, this is your next best option. Drop-offs

are not ideal because there is no way to

ensure the art director will review your

work or for you to gauge his or her

reaction to it.

• Many art directors prefer to see design

samples in advance of a portfolio, so be

prepared to provide the following: PDFs by

email, a URL of a website where your work

is posted, or print samples by regular mail.

• If an art director does not want to see you or

your samples, ask if there is a better time in

the year to call back, and bring the conversa-

tion to an amicable close. It is reasonable to

try back a year later, so use a file or notebook

during a job search to keep track of who you

spoke with, when you spoke, any important

details in the conversation, and his or her

contact information.

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