I’ve been using Craigslist since long before it came to Montreal. I was living in Boston and first used it to find an apartment. I couldn’t wait for it to take off in Montreal and I’m happy to report that it has become commonplace in the city.
For those of you who aren’t sure what Craigslist is (and for some reason a lot of people have trouble describing what the site is), put simply: Craigslist (Craig’s List) is a free classified ads website. The company generates revenue by charging for job posts in a select few cities.
Once in a while I post help wanted ads as I search for fresh talent to hire. Most of the time I’m looking for web designers, website programmers, graphic designers, SEO people, Internet marketers, and related talent. Unfortunately, the replies I receive, while plentiful, leave a lot to be desired. So here is my guide on how to reply to an ad for a web-related and/or designer position on Craigslist.
Job Postings
Just for the record, I recognize that many job posters on Craigslist put in a lot of vague statements such as “we need a web designer” and end it there. I don’t do that. I typically provide full details of the precise professional skills, bonus skills, ideal personal skills, and benefits of working with my team. If you can’t take a few minutes to read through the details, there’s not much you’ll be able to do for us, as attention to detail is crucial in my company’s success.
Guidelines: What To Do
1. Read the Ad Carefully
I typically describe the position in detail so applicants know exactly what they are applying for and I can cut down on time wasted sifting through inappropriate applications. I think that offering a lot of details is quite reasonable, yet I receive replies like this one: “I have not included examples of my work because I am not sure what type of work you are looking for.” (Yes, that’s an actual reply). Just read the ad!
When I write that my company needs an SEO technician who is fluent in English (verbal and written), don’t send an email with the following: “My inglish is good for you pleese hire me.” I get that far too often. Another real one: “Hi my name is Claudia I’m interesty to job…how to do for apply…thank”
2. Treat the Ad Like an Interview for Your Ideal Job
Imagine that you are about to get interviewed for a position in a company that you really want work for. Spend some time preparing what you want to say and customize your email to the job that is posted. If you’re applying to get a position as a web designer, don’t send your CV full of glowing references to your past as an IT technician. It’s unbelievable how many “IT guys” apply for a job as a “web guy.” They are completely separate positions and require different skill sets and personality traits.
3. Send the Specific Info that is Requested
My ads typically ask for the following:
- A few lines describing your experience and strengths to be written in the email
- A CV/resume
- A link to your website or to websites you’ve worked on in the capacity for which I am looking to hire you (i.e., don’t send me a link to CNN.com where you designed one banner ad, and expect me to believe you designed their website.)
- References (optional)
- Samples of your work (sometimes a small jpg file with some graphic design artwork is requested)
I don’t believe that the above is over the top, yet many of these requests are ignored.
I ask for links to your website because I want to see your work in action so don’t send me an MS Word document with logos and screenshots of websites. Or, worse, screenshots of templates you purchased from a template reseller website that you want me to believe was designed by you (see note about honesty below).
I received this actual reply from a web designer ad: “familiar with all the designing software.” Like what?! What does “familiar” mean in this context? That you’ve heard of it?! Give me the specifics of what you can do with what software by way of samples.
Another real application stated that “I have very good experience with best marketing company in Canada” but failed to give me information about what they actually did there or could offer my company in terms of job skills.
Emails which ignore the above requests for information such as “www.[sitename].com please call for info” (yes, that’s a real reply) get deleted immediately. I know about the automated Craigslist application software and related non-sense and will delete all suspected emails of that nature.
I receive many job applications with “more info/portfolio is available upon request.” (a real reply). Actually my friend, the post WAS the request!
4. Pay Attention to the Location
If my job posting says “you must come to the office once in a while but can work from home most of the time” don’t bother applying if you can’t come to the office once in a while! That means no out-of-towners and people on different continents. Once in a while I do hire people from around the world and I will say so in my ad. If I need you to be in or near my city, and you live far away, don’t apply!
5. Keep it Short and to the Point
Write a few lines about you, your experience, what your needs are (yes, you have a say), and list URLs to your best work. If I ask you to attach a CV, then attach one! A lot of businesses and private individuals don’t care about having your CV on file but I do. so attach one. I don’t need a long cover letter with everything you’ve done for the past 20 years in painstaking detail (I get tons of these). Just reply with the relevant highlights in a short paragraph or two.
6. Send Contact Info
You want me to get in touch with you? Don’t make it hard! If the ad says “qualified applicants will be called” then give me your phone number!
7. Don’t Customize Your Reply Email Title
Use the title of the job posting in your reply email. Don’t change it to “CL job” as I may have posted multiple positions and this just confuses matters. Sometimes people write a few extra words such as “This is PERFECT for me” or “I’m an ideal candidate for this job” which is fine.
8. Be Honest About Your Skills
Don’t send an email saying that you’re an expert at Photoshop but Craigslist didn’t allow you to send files because they were too large. Just about every ad I place looking for graphic artists or web designers generates at least one reply that tells me their email was returned because it exceeded the Craigslist attachment file size limit. Ok, well if you’re great at Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, or any other relevant program, I’m sure you can find a way to shrink the file size to something that is within acceptable limits (I believe the Craigslist file size limit is 150kb). As the job applications stream in, I rarely have time to write back to people who, at face value, already don’t qualify.
Even worse, don’t ask if you can you snail mail them to me. I’ve gotten this on several occassions. If you’re great at using Photoshop, it won’t take you long to prepare a jpg file with some samples in it. I will obviously know that you aren’t an expert so there’s no reason to lie since you won’t get the job anyways.
If you designed a banner for CNN.com/health, don’t write that you designed the health section of their website. Show me the exact sample you created for them.
If the art director in your last company gave you a concept which you brought to life in your design, don’t take full credit for the design. Explain that you followed instructions (and hope to be able to generate similar work of high quality on your own).
I happen to be good at seeing the potential in people and the truth is that I only call people who I think will absolutely excel in my organization. I take pride in the fact that I’ve hired people who looked good and I guided and pushed them into being great. At the end of the day, I hire people who I believe to be very talented and have room for more growth.
9. Adopt a Professional Approach
Say “Hello,” “Hi,” “Dear Sir” or some other acceptable greeting in your email. Sign off with a “thank you” or something similar. Don’t use profanity or stupidities. At least one person sent me to see his sample designs on his blog which had profanity all over it.
Someone else sent me a link to his blog which had a post about the glorious nature of drugs. If he’s a major user, I don’t want him on my team. I also received an email with no name other than “Artsee Fartsee.” Please keep it professional! Create a separate, professional email address if you have to.
I received a Craigslist job application that read “please look at my portfolio work” and when I went to look, the portfolio page was empty. That’s not helpful!
Just a few hours after I posted an ad, I received this: “is the web design job still available?” Sometimes I post at night and I received one response saying something along the lines of “here’s my application. By the way, you must be desperate because you posted late at night”… and he thinks I will hire someone with that attitude?
What Not To Do
1. Don’t Ask If the Job is Still Available
Don’t email 3 days after the post is put up and write “is this job still available?” with no other information. Those get deleted faster than all others.
2. Don’t Apply to Every Single Job Posting
If I happen to post 2 completely different jobs posts and get two back-to-back emails from someone, I assume they can’t be good at either since they’re applying for both positions.
3. Ignore a Request for a Freelancer
If the ads specifies “freelancers only,” chances are I’ll ignore your company. If I wanted to hire a company, I’d contact one.
4. Don’t Try to Sell Me Something
I have actually received this in an application: “P.S. Ask me how you can process credit and debit cards for your business for as low as 1.65%”
5. Don’t be Stingy with Your Intro Text
For example, don’t write “see my attached CV” or worse “see my attached cover letter.” Those replies often go directly to Deleted Mail, no passing Go, no collection of $200.
6. Don’t Make it Difficult to See Samples of Your Work
If I have to log in to Facebook, a portfolio website, or any other site to see samples of your work, your application will be deleted.
7. Don’t Send Emails Complaining About Craigslist Job Postings
These are quite annoying and if you don’t like something about the jobs being posted, then look elsewhere! It’s your choice – no one is stopping you from going to other job websites. I run a legitimate company with competitive pay and don’t care to hear about how other companies are ripping you off with low wages.
More Advice
This is just an FYI for people applying for jobs on Craigslist.
1. Watch Out for Bogus Claims
Be aware of job posts that claim “we’re the #1 whatever” as these are sometimes sketchy companies with bogus claims.
2. Be Watchful of Gimmicks
Be wary of job listings with unusual ideas such as “we’re asking everyone to send in a logo sample and we’ll give $100 to the best one” from an anonymous company. That is complete garbage. Stay away from those.
3. Who Gets Hired? The BEST Candidates.
Many people complain that they never get hired on Craigslist. The people who get the jobs on Craigslist are frequently the same people who are very talented and in demand elsewhere. Most web designers, SEO technicians, and others in the field of Internet marketing and website development are average (by default). If you want to get hired, you need to stand out with your work and application. Create amazing samples, take advanced classes, and show off your talent.
Most of the applications I receive fail in a number of ways but mainly it’s the shear lack of demonstrated talent that prevents me from hiring candidates (not to mention the points in the list above).
Finally, some companies will post who they are, others won’t. I tend to post jobs anonymously because I can! I don’t care for the world to see that my company needs someone new. One of Craigslist’s main strengths is the level of anonymity it allows and I take advantage of that when it comes to hiring staff.
Comments
Great post!! As a professional recruiter I encourage people to follow this advice. It will surely translate into a more fruitful job search.
Too many qualified job candidates don’t take the application process seriously. I sincerely hopes this helps a lot of job seekers get their foot in the door.
This post has been incredibly helpful. I would add that some people hesitate to give their phone numbers out because they’re sending it to an anonymous company.
I agree with you but if you’re worried about giving your phone number to a prospective employer, then you may not want to apply for any jobs posted anonymously at all. If you’re a freelancer, you may need to take a bit of “risk” to get worthehile work (if you can call giving your phone number a risk in this context).
Is it ok to call companies who are posting jobs on craigslist? Should I follow up with them by phone to see if they received my cv or should I just wait it out?
I’ve called companies after sending a cv through CL. Sometimes they tell you to just wait and see (and bug off!). Other times they look for your application. If you think you are very qualified, it may be worthwhile to call so you can have your info stand out.
Hi! Thanks for all the useful information! I wondering if you could answer a question for me. I don’t have outlook (or anything like that) functioning on my computer. When I click on the reply address that’s what comes up. So, my question is, when I copy the “reply to” address into my email (I am using a Gmail account) will the correct person still get my response to their ad?
Yes, if you use the anonymous email code as the email address, it will get to the person who wrote the ad. You can send it from other email systems (webmail, hotmail, gmail, etc).
Yo everyone! I began searching everywhere for some way to get help and found that the government gives free grants. What I would like to know is… do any of you know what website I can find government grant application at?
Hi there,
Your blog is da best. Keep it going!
I’m don’t comment often, but I do like your blog.
You’re kidding about trying to shrink files below Craigslist’s limit, right? Do you have ANY idea how absurd of a demand that is when you’re trying to send someone a nice-looking resume?
If you send someone a jpg of your resume, it looks bad. If you try to shrink a PDF to below 150 kb, it looks bad.
Sigh.
I understand what you mean and acknowledge your point. I would use the 150kb limit as a way to limit your application to just a few samples of your best work. Think of it as a teaser to get the employer interested. I’ve hired people on the basis of one outstanding sample and a couple of mediocre ones. Either way, I suggest having a larger portfolio to send (or a link to one) for the follow-up email.
I’ve never written flame is my life, but you have really angered me.
Below is a direct quote from a recent post by an employer on craigslist using a CL email address:
“-Please send portfolio in the following formant. Only responses that are in correct format will be considered.
*Each page should be an 8 x 10 inch JPG file
* Each page must have your Name, Phone Number and E-mail”
I have seen some seriously daft employers asking for five or more samples via email. I am sorry, but as a PRINT designer I would never send a low quality file. Anything below 1.5 mb for a print portfolio (even just a few samples) looks like garbage. Asking a print designer to do this shows me that:
1) The employer asking knows NOTHING about print design, or
2) This employer didn’t bother to note the 150KB limit when asking for a print design portfolio, or
3) This employer isn’t worth my time if they cannot think of these things when hiring a print designer.
Maybe web jockeys don’t mind anti-aliased, or over-compressed garbage, but as a print designer I do. Any reputable print design employer should care too.
Moreover, why is it that I should bother to note that you have posted your job twice, when half the posts don’t even give a company name and provide NO identifying information. Do you think I have all day to sit there and check duplicate posts? Get real.
What I’ve seen so far is a bunch of resume fishing. I have found one great job via Craigslist in the past, but honestly most of the design jobs come across like junk posts.
As graphic designer with 15 years experience do you know what repeated posting of the same job on Craigslist (or any site for that matter) says to me:
1) The employer has poor management skills, is a pain to work for, or abuses workers and thus has a high turnover rate
The employment market is bad enough right now for us job seekers who have suffered from lay-offs and are one step away from living on the street. Frankly, your kind of cavalier, unconscious posting is the salt in our wounds. Employers who ask us to jump through further hoops like dogs have no morals. You might be a nice
person and mean well be this post. I really don’t know. But, you need to think before you post that perhaps portfolios for different design mediums have different standards.
Margot, thank you for commenting and I hope you feel better now that you’ve gotten that out! I hope other people reply to your comments as well.
I think that you misunderstood some of what was written in this post. I know that many companies post the exact same position twice in a day or several times per week. I don’t. When I place an ad for a graphic/web designer with photoshop skills and then another for an experienced web programmer, I often get an email from the same person twice (and in most cases, they aren’t qualified for either positions). It’s interesting to hear things from your perspective. As an employer, I sift through dozens to hundreds of CVs and people are rarely qualified for the jobs they apply for. Ask any job recruitment company and they’ll agree with that statement. As such it may be necessary to re-post the ad from time to time.
I understand what you mean about print design and admittedly most of my hires are for web-related design positions. On the other hand, sending a small teaser file to generate interest is not at all a big deal.
Next, the web is a place where privacy is typically not an option. One of Craiglist’s strengths is to offer anonymous emails. I don’t necessarily want my competition knowing that I’m hiring or the positions that I’m looking to fill. If you’re a Fortune 500, you boast about it but if you run a small business, you may want to be more discreet about it. I fall into the latter as do many other companies.
In addition to my own Craigslist job posts, I would like to believe that most companies posting job ads are legit and not just phishing for info. Still, I do recognize that it can be issue. However, when you consider that people have no problem posting many, many details of their personal lives on linkedin.com, Facebook, MySpace, and other sites, this really isn’t that big of a deal. Keep in mind that anyone can find you and dig up info on your background without Craigslist.
Finally, I have little sympathy for people who complain about sifting through job posts. Most people probably spend more time deciding on what clothes to buy or wear than looking for a job. Times are tough and searching for a job is a job in and of itself. I’d also like to add that for the longest time in my field, it was the job seekers who had all the say. These days it’s a more level playing field.
Perhaps Margot should save more money during the good times and not complain during the bad times. If your industry can’t support your lifestyle then change jobs.
As it says above, it’s the best people who get work. Rather than complaining about the 150k file sizes, just send your best work.
Why is someone who repeats job listings automatically a pain to work for or abusive? Her conclusions make no sense.
I found this post to be very helpful – thank you.
The problem with anonymous postings I run into is the response rate is quite low or the people that do respond are generally not the type of people who are aware of (or even care about) professional relationship ettiquette. Now some of this is due to the fact I’m still breaking into the field, but that’s changing. If I reply to an anonymous posting, it has to sound fairly legitimate, and I’ll generally throw a link to my portfolio and an offer to discuss résumé, hourly rate, bid, etc. once we know who each other are. Craigslist is not really any much different from putting an ad in the newspaper. Now it is nice to use the anonymous feature, and we all have our reasons for it, I’m just saying I generally won’t share more than a portfolio link (which I’m debating whether or not to password and require a valid email address to see it) just in case it’s some bot on the other side just collecting email addresses to put on a Viagra list or something like that.
This is just a wonderful post! Thank you very much for your time and perspective! Just a quick reply and question here regarding this comment:
“As an employer, I sift through dozens to hundreds of CVs and people are rarely qualified for the jobs they apply for. Ask any job recruitment company and they’ll agree with that statement.”
I will often times apply for a job if I know I am fully capable of excelling at the work, even if I have no experience in a similar job. It frustrates me as a job seeker that employers seem to overlook a long history of excellent performance in a wide variety of industries. In every job I have ever taken I have always been in the top 5% of the industry, but I started off with NO experience. My IQ qualifies me for membership into the Triple Nines Society, and I have worked full time throughout my entire time in college (Georgia Tech, a pretty difficult school)… and I’m not a nerdy know-it-all, I was an orientation leader at my school for years, and I’m an outgoing and pleasant person. I have recommendation letters from all of my previous employers that say the same thing… so why can’t employers take it on faith that I will do the same for them?
I’m a very quick learner, who isn’t afraid of working 80+ hour weeks, and I’m a pleasant person to work with… what’s the downside of at least trying me out. I’ve never failed anyone else, and in fact I’ve always significantly exceeded their expectations.
In other words, I’m mainly wondering why employers are so insistent on hiring an employee with an existing skill set. Wouldn’t you rather have the workaholic genius who went from bottom rank to VP at his last job work for you? I can be just as proficient at the work within six months, but the difference is that after six months I’ll be there helping you to grow your business exponentially.
Mainly I’m just upset, because I’ve lost plenty of sleep, chances to party, and just generally have fun, because I was working so hard to be the best at everything I do… but employers don’t seem to care even a little bit about that unless I have the exact experience they are looking for. Isn’t there any room in employment for drive anymore? I’m just simply not happy doing what I’m doing if I’m not the best at it… I learned that from my parents. I don’t cut corners, even if no one will ever know it happened. When you’re frustrated with the number of applicants without relevant CV experience… well, you’re overlooking me. Do you ever give that a second thought? When you read a great cover letter, but the CV isn’t what you’re looking for, why not give that guy/girl a phone call. I know most of this was a vent, but I really really really am interested in hearing what you have to say about that. Is there anything an “unqualified” applicant could ever do or say that would sway you to at least give them a second look?
Thanks for your advice!
J. Harper
J. Harper, thank you for your post.
First, let me tell you that I know exactly where you are coming from. An analogy to your situation is when companies call me for a website and ask if I can show them an example of a website in their specific field. If I can, all the better (we’ve built hundreds of sites). Once in a while, someone will go on about how they will only hire a company that has built a website for their industry and insist on seeing an example. My team provides top of the line web design, SEO, and Internet marketing services. I try to explain to these types of potential clients that we can adapt our extensive skills and apply them to their website, taking into account customizations for their industry. Some people just say no. This type of person obviously found our website, was impressed with what they saw and was motivated to call or email us, and then walked away out of ignorance. Those are among the biggest frustrations for me (and you, in your environment) because people aren’t seeing the tremendous value we could provide them with. I have a “helper” type of personality and it pains me to see people walk away when I know I could help them if they would consider hiring us.
Next, I actually do hire people who are under-qualified for a given skill set more often than not. It wasn’t always that way. I use to require exact experience, qualifications, and availability but I found that as my team grew, it became increasingly difficult to find these individuals. As with many small businesses, I often hire people who have been able to demonstrate at least minimal skills for what I need them for. They get some on the job training but most beneficial is their exposure to many clients who have varying needs. If these recruits are independent thinkers, motivated doers, work well within a team, and are conscientious about client needs and deadlines, they will learn a tremendous amount and thank me when they move on to found their own company later on (if that is their choice).
You say that you bring certain skills to the workplace but that doesn’t mean you’ll automatically be an asset to a work group.
Take this as an extreme example to make a point: I could go back to university and become a physician but according to this way of thinking, I could learn to be a physician on the spot at any hospital that recognizes my abilities to learn quickly. Well, hospitals want qualified specialists who can come in and do the job, not people who have great histories and can learn on the spot.
Finally, as is the point of the original article above, far too many people don’t know the first thing about applying for a job and demonstrating their skills. I’ve hired some great talents who didn’t have much experience but had clear applications which, if you read between the lines, tells me they are more “with it” than not. That’s the kind of staff I want to hire.
Thanks so much for this informative post. While I am not in the graphic design business, the information was so helpful.
I disagree with sending your resume right away to Craigslist job offers who only display an anonymous email address. I know that this is the way Craigslist started with their classifieds and it makes sense there, but not in the employment section.
If they only give you an anonymous address, then email them and ask if the job is still available. If they reply and still have not given you their true company email address and a company website to reference, then do not send your resume!
I would expect (at least this use to be the norm) that legit employers would want you to do your research on the company first, before asking for a job or sending your resume…I dont understand why people dont enforce this…
Hello… Similar to the previous replies, I do not reply back to blogs all that much. I like reading them, but never really had the urge to write a review. But I have to be honest, your blog is very, very helpful and insightful! 🙂
I have a few questions that were not answered, and hopefully you will be able to answer them…
1) You did mentioned about compressing work samples down to the 150kb size requirement for photos, but I sometimes have a hard time sending the required materials to job postings, because of the size limit. For example, I recently saw a job posting that I really, really want to apply for. It asked us to send over our resume, cover letter, salary history/requirements, references, and a link to our work sample. I tried to send all of those as PDF files via attachment, but sadly, the size was overwhelmingly over 150kb. My resume alone is 104kb as a PDF. There are no designs on the resume whatsoever. Just a two-page report on my experiences and skills. Is there an alternative way to send all of those required materials? I think I did one of your “What Not To Do” items. I sent them an E-mail about the 150kb limit, and was curious if it was alright if I sent my attachments to another E-mail address that was not a Craigslist E-mail address — they have not reply…I just find it weird that they asked so much of us, yet the size limit on Craigslist limits our ability.
2) And my last question is do most employers prefer if we sent attachments or copy and paste them into the E-mail itself? For me, I prefer attachments — especially for a Web and Print Designer. I’m anal on how I should present myself, and I have worked hard on creating a perfect resume, cover letter, etc., and I do not want an E-mail to screw it up, so that is why I always prefer sending PDF attachments.
…Thanks for taking the time to read this! 🙂
Take care, later!
Google led me to your site. Very professional. I tried to find info about job searches and this was by far the most informative.
Thank you very much for this well-written post.
I do all of this, and I still cannot get a job. I hardly even get replies. I have solid experience, a good portfolio, and a degree. If people want the BEST designers, then why do they offer such crappy pay? Job hunting is total game-playing BS.
This information is well written, yes. But, I have recently been laid off, and am a graphic designer of almost 18 years experience. Pay today is bad, and I’ve found the craigslist (Atlanta) job postings to be nothing at all worthwhile. I get NO responses, EVER. I’m not sure why I keep coming back, suffice to say it may just be the off chance one might be legitimate. If it is a good and real opportunity, why not put the company name? Most of the other job search sites do this. I will note that I get almost no response from anywhere else either. A man of almost 18 years experience, a large list of excellent references, online and printed portfolio, a wide range of experience, and not responses? What is going on out there? I recently ran my stuff through Creative Group, and they said my resume and portfolio was good, and I took a few good suggestions from them. Still, not much response, especially from craigslist. I have never let an employer down, yet now no one will get back to me. I’ve thought about a change in careers, but to what? Nothing else is stable out there now, and the only jobs that seem to be hiring are paying a LOT less than unemployment. I can’t support my family this way, and it’s a shame. I’ve put a lot of work into my career.
I have successfully found jobs on Craigslist in the past and have followed your guidelines without even realising it. Good to see a confirmation that my methods are worthwhile!
What’s up? Thanks a bunch for the info. Google lead me here – good for you I suppose! Keep up the great information. I will be popping back over in a few days to see if there is any more info.
In today’s job market, it’s important to spend time to customize both your resume and cover letter for each Craigslist position you apply to.
Thank you for your very insightful post.
One comment:
Please note that some companies are owned by one or two freelancers such as myself and my partner. Please don’t hold the “company” association against us.
If you have a suggestion for how freelancers who also own a small company should respond to posts that require “freelancers”…please share your insights.
Many thanks.
MLB,
Some people are looking to hire a freelancer because they assume that they will be cheaper. While that’s probably true more often than not, you have to consider why its cheaper. Less experience, lower quality of work, and so on.
When you apply and point out that you’re a freelancer and a more serious one at that (as shown by you having a company and not simply make a few sites on the side with your spare time in your apartment), it could work for or against you.
It’s been my experience that people who insist on freelancers typically have tiny budgets and expect the world from you. They take advantage of your lack of business sense and when you break it down, you may make $5/hour after all of the work is done. I hear about these cases all the time.
If you promote yourself as a company and apply for a job on CL as a one, then someone in my position likely wouldn’t hire you, either. If I expect you to come into the office at least part-time but I know you and your partner are busy running your own company, I know that you probably won’t be here long.
So, I suggest that when you apply, tailor your reply to what the company is looking for and really show that you can do the job. That can go above and beyond the fact of you being a freelancer or in a company.
Your post is pretty spot on except your comments about how an expert Photoshop person can find a way to shrink a sample file to within Craigslist 150k limits. I disagree. I AM an expert at Photoshop and Acrobat and am able to reduce the size of files below that limit. The problem is that any image becomes so degraded due to sizing down/JPEG compression that it becomes something that can not be used to properly judge the work quality. Add to that the fact that most employers want at least three samples and it really does become an impossible way to show your work.
There are plenty of places where people create online portfolios. Would you follow a link to one if it was provided in the email or reject that email as unqualified?
If an employer is truly interested in finding the right person, it shouldn’t be asking too much to follow a link provided in the return email, should it?
Rod – Thank you for the comment. I have no problem with linking to a portfolio and often give people that option when I post an ad. All I ask is that I do not have to log in to see it. If your samples are posted in your Facebook account, I don’t want to be forced to log into Facebook to see it.
Thanks for that clarification.
For anyone reading this and has their portfolio only on facebook or something like that, GET IT OFF OF THERE!. There are plenty of online portfolio sites you can use. Many of them are free. I use the portfolio feature on deviantart.com. Carbonmade and Styleapple are a couple of others that come to mind. Use what works for you then give out that link and also post it on your facebook if you want. The bottom line is that you should have a link that will take prospective clients directly to you portfolio without any additional work.
I actually read a complaint from a Craigslist poster who was trying again to post a job but didn’t want anyone sending him links. He complained it was too much for him to click around the web all day. In my mind, he wasn’t very professional and I wouldn’t want to work with him anyway. He was a headache waiting to happen.
However, when a prospect asks for samples and I send a link, I explain the limits of replying through Craigslist as the reason for the link instead of attached JPEGs. A little education can go a long way to keeping you in the running for the gig.
Craigslist being a free site, they shouldn’t be the ones burdened with increasing the server space just to accommodate a larger portfolio. Requesting an alternate email to send more than just a text pdf is perfectly legitimate, if not a standard practice for any employer who expects a sample of work.
The standard CV size for most job recruiting firms is usually requested for >5MB, which is good enough in most cases.
You can embed a flash movie within a pdf in order to enhance and reduce your portfolio. It is a great way to show small samples of your work and keep the file size down.
Along with a cover letter, the CV, and the sample project page, I was able to reduce several samples into a nice 2d/3d composite swf animation; This from an original 45 MB print sample down to a 17 MB web version and down to a scaled resampled CV version for a PDF as small as 2.6 MB.
It is possible to send decent portfolio samples that are compact, just not for Craigslist email servers.
Hello,
I’ve read the comments on this page and I’m happy that I’m not the only one having issues with sending portfolio samples through Craig’s List.
I really need some good advice on shrinking file sizes please. Just my resume, designed on Illustrator, is 53KB, but once I add my 1 page portfolio with 2 examples on it of 200KB (I usually send less samples then they ask because I don’t think I can send more than 1 page), it doesn’t go through Craig’s List. Compressing them doesn’t help.
The jpegs I use are small, 72KB. I don’t know what to do. If anyone has good tips please help.
Love the post! I was searching for free classified advertising and classified related articles when I came across your website post on Google. This is exactly what I was looking for. Thanks for the share. I’ve bookmarked this post for future reference 🙂 Nice comments – Thanks
Patricia,
You could always send more than one email. Make sure you label them (e.g., Part 1 of 2).
Patricia,
Thank you! I forgot to mention that when I wrote the article. Once in a while someone will in fact send multiple emails with clear labels in the title as you mentioned.
#3 is super important. The most important by far. Too many bots that reply to CL ads that you need to make sure you tell the employer you read the ad.
First off I’d like say thanks for writing this article! Plenty of great advice. I’m even happier that the article is written by someone in the web design / development area.
I’m a newcomer to the industry having just graduated and received my certificate for Senior Management in Web Design & New Media and so far haven’t had much luck on the job hunt. The part I found the hardest about looking for jobs is it seems that 95% of them are in demand for people with 3-5+ years of experience.
So as an employer, when you get a response for a position you’ve posted from an unexperienced *yet qualified individual do you automatically hit the delete button when you read that I have no previous work experience in the industry or that my portfolio work mainly consists of projects from school? Or do you let the work I have done in my portfolio speak for itself?
When it comes to my CV, since I don’t have any job experience in the industry is it of value to include unrelated previous jobs (e.g XYZ construction company) in my resume or am I just wasting your time and kilobytes?
And finally, many of the ideal job positions I have seen on Craigslist ask for a variety of skill in web design and development ( eg. “candidates must have skills in: HTML, CSS, Jquery, WordPress theme customization, Photoshop, Illustrator etc.”). If you were looking for someone to fill a position with all of these skills, would you expect to see examples of work for each? Or would you rather see a few great pieces just of HTML/CSS and photoshop work if thats where the individuals strengths were?
If you get the chance to read & answer my questions I greatly appreciate it! and thanks again for the great article.
– Bryce
Came from google after searching about the 150kb limit. Enjoyed the article, and all the comments. Though everyone here, including the author, may want to re-evaluate their skills if they’re compressing as jpegs. Compress using png-8 for small color palette, png-24 if it has transparency, and gif for something like a 2 color logo. Jpeg should, in most cases, only be used if it is a photo, or involves a photo. On a different note I’m having trouble finding work as well, and much more so on craigslist. You’ve got some nice quality comments on this article, you should definitely add a subscribe to comments plugin. E-mail me if you need any freelance work. ;P
I suppose employers can require what they want if people out their are willing to comply, but I really wish they would be more consider it of the applicants privacy too! You talk at length about avoiding scams, so certainly you understand that a lot of CL postings aren’t real. I’m just not willing to send out my address, references or non-public work samples before I know that YOU are real. You ought to understand that people who say “available on request” are just trying to ensure that you are indeed a real company. This seems to a point of misunderstanding which is why I always explain in my email that I don’t give certain things out to anonymous posters due to privacy concerns. I have had several employers contact me from their business email to follow up.
It’s a shame that craigslist hasn’t really taken off in Europe, as it seems to be so versatile.
craigslist provides local classifieds and forums for jobs, housing, for sale, personals, services, local community, and events. It is a good place to apply for jobs. Thank you for your professional Guidelines.
Hi there,
To al those who are referencing this 150 K limit on craigslist.
There seems to be some confusion here.
The email address that craigslist provides is simply a cover email that forwards emails onto the person posting the ad in order to protect identity.
This means in practical terms that the person posting the ad can receive emails far larger than 150 Ks, – It depends on their persons personal email allowance .
IE GMAIL can receive very large files, other emails like yahoo , hotmail are generally smaller.
THUS- if you are applying for a job and want to send an email with your Resume or portfolio attached – to the person posting the ad- You don’t have to worry about shrinking your email attachements down to 150K , they can receive larger .
So even though it looks like your sending your email to –
jobs-p4w4e-2434349720@craigslist.org
You are actually sending it to the posters personal email, And they receive it in their inbox – which allows emails of a greater size -generally up to 500k or more. This is so that their personal email address is concealed.
I’ve tried this out and tested on myself by posting an ad.
So don’t worry – email larger files away – Just be aware that they shouldn’t be too large -as the person posting the ad personal email
will have some sort of limit to the size of the files they can receive.
Thanks kindly
Stephen
Excellent post and comments that I’ve enjoyed reading. I have four years of high-level production/project management experience for a major publisher, additional experience with high-level customer service, small business management, and have never been able to receive a response to any job that appears legitimate. This is whether it’s in the publishing business, or in a related field where my skills match, say advertising, design or marketing. Regardless of whether I’ve used a chronological resume or hybrid skills resume. A traditional cover letter or a more bold alternative. Whether I’ve applied for work in Los Angeles, Boston or New York. Whether I’ve used my personal email address or my junk email address with links to my LinkedIn resume.
You have some excellent points that I will follow. Treat the Ad like your interview for an ideal job is interesting. I had always been taught to leave something for your interview when writing a cover letter. Maybe this is an area for improvement.
Still, I find that many CL ads don’t have pertinent information. The other day, I saw a detailed post listing, An Assistant to a Project Manager with no industry. This could be working projects in anything from ceramic manufacturing to the arts to finance. How can I write a cover letter, or even decide to apply, when I don’t know what I’m actually applying for. The tease was it was near my home. I can’t understand how these companies or small-business hire people when they can’t describe what it is they want. Why should I waste twenty minutes of my life drafting a cover letter and tailoring my resume, when I don’t have any idea what I’m applying for, and stats say I won’t get a response anyway. It’s employment lottery.
It’s also ridiculous when one of these employers ask for references along with a resume. I’m sending out my personal information and I’m doing the same for my former executives who have agreed to recommend me. Employers should have some common sense when making requests beyond a cover letter, resume and salary requirements. They shouldn’t be asking for samples of work, portfolios and such when CL isn’t built for it. Designers, photographers and such, should have professional websites with samples of work and employers should accept it. Everyone else should have a Linked In profile with recommendations, etc.
But wait. There’s more. You also wrote about job candidates having resume only email address. How about employers? An auto-response thanking the candidate for applying and explaining what the process is going to be.
There should be a little more understanding.
Hi Teddy,
Thank you for the in-depth discussion. You certainly make some valid points. An auto-reponder is a good idea but it would take Craigslist to set it up. Also, as an employer, I like the anonymity aspect as I do not want to the world to know when I’m looking for new talent. That’s just a personal preference.
I understand that giving up a phone number can be an issue for some people. On the other hand, many of those same individuals will gladly post every aspect of their lives on Facebook and other social media platforms without any hesitation.
I agree that references shouldn’t be an absolute must for anonymous ads.
The idea of an employment lottery is interesting. In fact, if one is to take that perspective, they must see it from the job market in general, and not just from Craigslist.
Hello. I am having a hard time. The post on craigs list says they are looking for an apponintment setter from home. Then it says for more info email me. There is no name nor any info about the job or address Would that be a good job to apply for is it a scam and if not a scam, How do I reply to that ad.
Thank You for your time.
Joanne
Joanne, you might want to write from a separate account (like JoanneSecondAccount@gmail.com) and send in your credentials. When they write back, send in your full name, etc.
If you don’t have the decency to reveal who you are, you don’t deserve the decency returned.
What about the privacy concerns of the applicant? There are a lot of scammers out there that are using the info to rip you off. I say never give out to much personal info. Pics of your work first name and phone #.
I just wanted to say thank you. I have was googling how to answer Craig’s List adds and you summed it right up for me, clearly and concisely. I am writing a cover letter at the moment and want to make sure I follow the format, if there was indeed one. I am a student who hasn’t been in school in 20 some odd years and busy with internship too, I sure haven’t had to do a cover letter in years and I’m trying to keep it simple, yet incorporate my transferable skills that might grab an employer’s attention. I’ve done alot. However, thank you again, and any feed back is most welcome. Funny, I was going to pursue Graphic Arts, which was a dream, but I’m settling for Digital photography and my drawing and writing to fill my creative outlet.
You’re welcome Kimberly. Best of luck in the job search.
Tremendous. Thank a lot for writing this.
Here are my rebuttal to your points:
1. Don’t Ask If the Job is Still Available
When you, the employer, doesn’t even take the time to send us, the job-seeker, an automated email saying whether the job app has been received or posting has been filled, be sure to expect more of these.
2. Don’t Apply to Every Single Job Posting
If the employer took the bare decency to give the job-seeker bare bone feedback, you’d get less mass applications.
5. Don’t be Stingy with Your Intro Text
You contradict yourself: you state that you want quick and to the point replies, yet you get antsy when someone gives you exactly this. Its not like you have to write a letter to your congressman to view the CV, its already attached to the email!
6. Don’t Make it Difficult to See Samples of Your Work
Really? You cant take a second to click a link to an online portfolio?
7. Don’t Send Emails Complaining About Craigslist Job Postings
I understand you don’t have the same concerns the rest of us mortals do, but understand this: If you wont give us feedback, you’re gonna keep getting the same crap. I’ll give you credit for writing this blog.
To top it off, your comments under “Who Gets Hired? The BEST Candidates” really symbolizes the arrogance that most employers approach the job seeker with. If job seekers don’t get hired, its because its something is faulty in their abilities, not in your decision making or talent gaging. That statement is crap. What you want is zero investment in the employee, zero commitment to them and zero responsibilities to them. History has proven people that think that way you do wrong so many times, it’s not even funny. Its not a lack of talent, but an unwillingness for those in charge to give opportunities.
At least we’re in the right field. Jobs in tech are still in demand.
People are frustrated for not getting a job. Look at big business and tell me it’s going to get easier. I don’t think so. I’ll make my portfolio and send it out to many places and hope that I’m lucky enough to get noticed and called back. Many of us are going back to Starbucks to pay the rent. Sad but true.
Very nice post. I just stumbled upon your blog when I was looking for info on applying for jobs on Craigslist. I can see why this topic gets people angry but I agree that the best candidates will work their way up faster than non or less qualified candidates. It’s getting tougher and tougher to get a job and this is going to get worse and worse. You have to really stand out and show that you stand out.