A few times a year, mostly during the summer, the studio gets a number of random, unsolicited emails containing resumes and generic cover letter .PDFs from people who want to work here.

I’d like to issue an open letter in reply.

First off, thank you for your interest in what the studio does, and for wanting to be a part of it. It really means a lot to me.

Secondly, I’d like to confess something to you. I don’t care about your resume.
It’s true: I don’t read them. Your resume tells me two things:

  • Your attention to detail.
  • Your ability to organize content.

Now, both are important qualities, but are only parts of a bigger whole. Showing me that on screen, for a piece that is meant to be printed is already one strike against you. Thinking that I may actually print it out is another. Two strikes against you and I haven’t even seen your work yet. The odds are not in your favor.

We are in the creative services industry. If you can’t devise a creative way to get my attention, then that’s another conversation we can have at a later time.

So why do I not read resumes? In the hierarchy of things I need to know to consider offering someone an opportunity to work with me, a resume is probably third or fourth on the scale of importance. What are numbers one and two? The work presented, and the person presenting. In that order.

Nothing else matters. Really.

Your work is what will get you in my door, but actually speaking to you will convince me to grant you an opportunity.

Did you catch that? Speaking with you — conversing — is the key. If you have the chance to talk with me about an opportunity, it is yours and yours alone to attain or to lose.

Now since I am writing about opportunities at gruntmonkey I’ll just go ahead and close with this:

Are there currently opportunities to work with gruntmonkey? There are ALWAYS opportunities to work with gruntmonkey. It’s up to you, the applicant, to convince me that you have earned it.

Edited by Alisa Bonsignore