Years ago, when demo reels were sent out on videotapes or DVDs, other recruiters would beg me to tell applicants to put their contact information on their physical medium. Recruiters would receive reels without contact details – every week. They still do. A recruiter who worked for a company in Australia brought a stack of reels with him to SIGGRAPH in Los Angeles in hopes that he would somehow meet the artists who created the artwork. He could not bear to part with these reels as the work presented was brilliant. If you do a brilliant job, why not put your contact details there?
Help recruiters find you easily.
I am currently recruiting for a Senior Motion Graphics Designer position and have been frustrated with many artists who always neglect to share their contact details via email on their reels, portfolio, websites, resumes and profiles LinkedIn.
I love it when artists make it easy to get in touch – by putting their email address in their contact information on LinkedIn or in the About section of their LinkedIn profile. It’s not even a big deal if I have to go to their website and find their contact details there, although it does take some extra effort. Some artists ask me to fill out a contact form on their website instead of providing their email address. It takes more effort from me, but I did it and I hope the messages will get through and I will hear from the artists. I even tweeted people with my email address. So far I haven’t been able to get a response from anyone I’ve tweeted or filled in the form.
If you’ve been contacted by a recruiter, even if you’re not interested or unavailable, respond to let them know. Better than that, answer if you can refer a colleague or friend. An artist on LinkedIn went the extra mile for her colleagues and recruiters by posting a link to a Google doc on artistic talent. These artists will occupy a privileged position in the “Rolodex” of the recruiter and will always be the first contacted when an opportunity arises.
Now that you no longer need to put your work on tape or DVD, and can create an online portfolio or reel, you still need to make sure your email address is prominently displayed – unless of course you didn’t want recruiters to contact you with opportunities.
I’ve watched many reels on Vimeo and other sites and was disappointed that even now artists neglect the most important element of any reel or website – contact information. Every now and then someone puts in a phone number instead of an email and I’ve phoned and spoken with artists. But, many recruiters would not go for these efforts.
Make it easy for recruiters. If you are easy to contact, you are easy to hire.
Pamela Kleibrink Thompson is a career coach specializing in helping creative people succeed. She also recruits for companies in visual effects, animation, games and design. She speaks at schools and conferences about getting jobs in animation and other creative fields. To reach her for recruiting or speaking engagements or for a private consultation to learn how to create a career you love, email PamRecruit87@gmail.com.
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