A Creative’s Cover Letter
Speaking to friends of mine that are musicians, I’ve noticed a wildly common pattern when it comes to what we find most difficult about pursuing a career in music. It’s very rarely anything to do with music at all. One aspect in particular that comes up, time and time again, is how we sell ourselves. Some of the best singers I know aren’t doing music full-time and have said it’s because they can’t keep up the momentum of constantly talking themselves up and figuring out the best ‘marketing strategy’ - it’s hard to muster up the kind of tenacious self-motivation that you have to have in order to seek out your own work.
In music and other creative industries, networking is everything. More often than not, you’ll be getting jobs through recommendations and word-of-mouth. I don’t think this should change - it saves time and you end up working with people you enjoy working with. It’s also good for the ego - how great is it that this job came up and they thought of you?! I just can’t help but wonder (alright, Carrie) how different mine and a lot of my friends’ careers would currently look like if the job hunt process was slightly more traditional.
In times of frustration, I’ve occasionally found myself thinking “if only I could just go to a job interview”. Admittedly, there’s a freedom that comes with applying for jobs that you’re not particularly fussed about, but I’ve always experienced little boosts of confidence every time I’ve gone to an interview or had to write a cover letter. As someone who can fall into the cycle of negative self-talk, it’s really nice to sit down and remind yourself of what you’re good at and what makes you valuable. I actually find it far less stressful than coming back from a gig, thinking of any new people I’ve met and agonising over whether I said enough, or too much, or the right thing; just because I’m aware that, at some point, they might know of an opportunity I’d love to be a part of. Again, I don’t want to change that - I just need to become better at knowing my worth and having a certain level of confidence ingrained in me. That comes with practice!
Currently, with lockdown, we can’t practice confidence in what we do out in the ‘real world’. I imagine that some of you might have lost quite a lot of confidence, in general, over this time. We can’t practice going up to strangers and bigging ourselves up, so I thought we could take some inspiration from aforementioned ‘traditional’ job hunt process. If you’re feeling down on yourself and need some reminding of everything you’re good at and makes you worthy of what you want, I’m encouraging you to think of your most most most dreamy dream job and write a cover letter for it. As wild as your imagination can take you - whether it’s winning a Grammy or opening for Beyonce. Be obnoxious with it. Take everything you know you’re good at and make it known. Here’s mine:
Obviously, I have no clue what Barry Manilow’s address is.
See?! If only getting gigs was as easy as that - I'd have been on the road with Barry for years by now. If only he knew my skills!
Clearly (at least, I hope it's clear), this is just a bit of fun. As I said, I don't think this should be the way for us to get jobs. Music is best on all levels when it's personable and going about it this way is just ... well, it's a little cold isn't it? Writing a hypothetical letter to Barry Manilow will never get me a spot on his BV team, but it has forced me to remind myself of the things I'm good at and present myself in a much more positive light. If you have the time (because I do realise how odd it is to spend time on something like this) and not feeling the best you've ever felt, I'd encourage you to give it a go. Sometimes it just helps to see it written down in front of you.