The art of reaching out
Written by Jasmine MacPhee, founder of Find Your Intern
Published 9th September 2021
Aside from applying to roles, reaching out to brands and professionals is a certified way to find opportunities in industry. It’s how I got my first piece of industry experience at Cosmo Magazine, which then paved the way for the rest of my career... If you don’t ask, you don’t get Honey! Put yourself in front of someone, show up, say HEY.
It’s like dating, if you don’t put yourself out there — you ain’t gonna get a date. So make yourself known to industry! Us professionals and biz owners are busy people, so when things (information and people) fall into our lap — we love it! If we need an extra pair of hands, we think AH HA, I know just the person. I would much rather bring on board someone who has reached out to me and made themselves known. One; because it’s a lot easier/quicker than putting up a job role and two; it shows me you really care. 3/4 of the staff I have hired for FYI have been from conversations in DMs, networking and events.
So, start a conversation with industry and unearth some potential opportunities. You truly don’t know what opportunities could arise. Remember, even if they aren’t hiring they have a huge industry black book with contacts that might be... So it’s time to get your best Catfish spy mode on. Here’s how:
Step one ✅
Let’s say you would love to work at The Arena as a Graphic Designer. Take a look at the company website, LinkedIn etc. and find out the team infrastructure. Find the most relevant person to speak to — for a Graphic Design role this would be someone like the lead designer or Art Director. Find out their name and contact them via these methods:
01: Pick up the phone ☎️
This is the best way to make an impression and works every time! Be brave, pick up the phone, ask to speak to the most relevant person to obtain their details and to start the convo. There are two ways in which you can attack this method — if they have a role advertised or not:
If there is no role advertised — introduce yourself and tell them you would love to shoot your CV and folio over for reference and ask what the best email to get them on is.
If they are actively hiring — if you have applied for a role at the company, do the same as above. Find out their email and shoot them your CV and folio. An organic reach out email, along with a personal call is SO much better than just relying on an online application. In fact, everytime you apply for a role try and shoot the employer an email, DM or LinkedIn too.
02: The simple reach out email 💌
Once you have found the people that you need to speak to — shoot them an email. Your job here is to provide the most vital information and make the reader's life as easy as possible. Here’s what to include:
Who are you?
What do you want from them?
What is your availability?
Why you?
Why that brand?
What can you bring to the table?
How can you make their life easier?
What is your USP?
Make sure you attach your CV, folio and hyperlink to anything relevant that you want to show them. This could be your online folio or a piece of work you have created. The key here is to keep it clean, concise and professional.
03: LinkedIn Magic ✨
Just like the email method — find the most relevant people and slip them a little In Mail on LinkedIn. This is great for when you have applied for a role and you can just mention you have applied or if it is just a reach out, start a conversation and ask for their email address. Before you do this make sure your profile is up-to-date and stamped with your personal branding.
04: Insta Baby 📸
My favourite way to get someone's attention is to send them a cheeky Voice Note. Brands ABSOLUTELY love this. It’s bold, it’s brash and super sneaky because I don't know about you, but if I get sent a VN I am so intrigued that I have to open it! You can also see if they have read it too. So send a VN, introduce yourself, cause some excitement, ask if you can talk further and get their email address. It may feel a little scary at first, but the more you do the better. Practice on your besties first. As well as VN’s — a little DM is also a great way to get the attention of brands and I find this works the best for the smaller/indie brands.
There is no set way to successfully reach out. Everyone is different and will react to different things, methods and messages. Give all of these methods a try and see what traction you get. Don’t get downbeat if you don’t hear back, it happens to us ALL — just learn from it and keep going.
There is nothing more magical than putting yourself out there and getting a reply, but it will happen when it’s the right fit… The key with reaching out is consistency with following up. So make sure you log who you have reached out to and when so you know when to follow up. My fave way to keep track of this is on a Spreadsheet, Notion or Trello. Good luck Honey!
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About the author
Jasmine Graduated from Ravensbourne in 2015 with a First-Class BA in Fashion Promotion and a CV showcasing brands such as Cosmo, Harper’s Bazaar, and Marie Claire Runway. Dreaming up FYI as her FMP, Jasmine set out to bring the project to life after critical acclaim from Vogue and winning the Graduate Fashion Week New Media Award. Working simultaneously in industry as a Graphic Designer for fashion brands, Jasmine launched FYI in 2019 and went full-time with FYI in 2020 after moving out of the city to Bath, Somerset.
