Help with Blizzard Cover Letter

PROX

I'm applying for Blizzard as an artist, but I need help with my cover letter. Can you guys take a look:

Dear Art Recruiter at Blizzard Entertainment,

My name is Jeff Chuang and I have the skills, experience, dedication and passion to become the next amazing artist on World of Warcraft. Blizzard is the company I wish to work for above all others. It is a place where undeniably great games are made and where artists are pushed to their limits and grow exponentially. There are many things I can contribute to your art department.

I am skilled digital artist who is obsessive about form and color, applying knowledge of composition and silhouette to both 3D models and the textures painted on them. As a concept artist who is able to wade deep into 3DS Max I have a unique grip on design for games.

I have a large volume of experience working with groups of artist. For two years as an instructor at Art Center I lead daily critiques where I encourage constructive feedback and ask questions for the benefit of the group, and graciously accept feedback from my peers on my own work.

I am dedicated and passionate about working for Blizzard. I have been been meeting with your artists since the 2008 Game Developers conference. When Kevin Griffith recommended taking his environment class, I did. At Blizzcon 2009 Kenny Carvalho told me to improve my painting and learn 3DS max. I learned 3DS Max in two days and spent every waking moment (and some un-waking) in Photoshop honing my skills. At GDC 2010 Kenny told me to add more diamonds. I will tell you now that I have a fever, and the prescription is more diamonds.

My mage, Sandoiichi, has been traveling the fantastic lands of Azeroth for over 5 years, battling the most wicked monsters and befriending legendary heroes. To help shape the future landscape of this world is my greatest wish. To this end I have pushed my artistic skills to their utmost limits, because I am a true Blizzard fan, and wish to contribute to this game to the farthest extent of my ability. Samples of my artwork can be found at www.jeffrey-chuang.com. My resume has been attached to this online submission. If you feel that I am good fit, I would be more than happy to go forward with an art test and interview. Thank you very much for your time and consideration.

For the Alliance!

Jeff Chuang

Stuartenhaffen

Just to start things off, find out the name of the recruiter. Be it via the internet or phone, makes it a bit more personal and shows you had the initiative to find out their name.

Take out "for the Alliance" Blizzard is a professional company that will have professional standards, this really shouldn't be there.

Figgy

There are some grammatical problems with your letter, and I suggest you find out who you should be addressing it to, rather than sticking to a general salutation. Sometimes they prefer it remain general, but it takes a 5 second phone call to determine that. If there are 25 submissions that day and yours is the only one addressed directly, it will stand out.

I also find your ass kissing a bit jarring. You open and close by blowing sunshine up Blizzard's ass. I also don't think they really care all that much how big of a fan you are of their games or what your WOW character's name is.

To be honest, your letter has you come off as a fan of the game who happens to like art.

NotYou

I like it. The only thing is that are you sure the position you're applying for is as an artist on the WOW team? Not diablo or one of their secret projects?

Monoxide

PROX wrote: »

I'm applying for Blizzard as an artist, but I need help with my cover letter. Can you guys take a look:

Dear Art Recruiter at Blizzard Entertainment,

My name is Jeff Chuang and I have the skills, experience, dedication and passion to become the next amazing artist on World of Warcraft. Blizzard is the company I wish to work for above all others. It is a place where undeniably great games are made and where artists are pushed to their limits and grow exponentially. There are many things I can contribute to your art department.

I am skilled digital artist who is obsessive about form and color, applying knowledge of composition and silhouette to both 3D models and the textures painted on them. As a concept artist who is able to wade deep into 3DS Max I have a unique grip on design for games.

I have a large volume of experience working with groups of artist. For two years as an instructor at Art Center I lead daily critiques where I encourage constructive feedback and ask questions for the benefit of the group, and graciously accept feedback from my peers on my own work.

I am dedicated and passionate about working for Blizzard. I have been been meeting with your artists since the 2008 Game Developers conference. When Kevin Griffith recommended taking his environment class, I did. At Blizzcon 2009 Kenny Carvalho told me to improve my painting and learn 3DS max. I learned 3DS Max in two days and spent every waking moment (and some un-waking) in Photoshop honing my skills. At GDC 2010 Kenny told me to add more diamonds. I will tell you now that I have a fever, and the prescription is more diamonds.

My mage, Sandoiichi, has been traveling the fantastic lands of Azeroth for over 5 years, battling the most wicked monsters and befriending legendary heroes. To help shape the future landscape of this world is my greatest wish. To this end I have pushed my artistic skills to their utmost limits, because I am a true Blizzard fan, and wish to contribute to this game to the farthest extent of my ability. Samples of my artwork can be found at www.jeffrey-chuang.com. My resume has been attached to this online submission. If you feel that I am good fit, I would be more than happy to go forward with an art test and interview. Thank you very much for your time and consideration.

For the Alliance!

Jeff Chuang

I would revise these parts, and by revise, I mean throw out entirely. You sound desperate and overwhelmingly excited, and you went from telling them why you're qualified for the position to just rambling about how much you want to work at Blizzard. They know you want to work for them, that's why you're writing the letter. You need to tell them more about yourself, your talents, and why they should hire you. This is a professional relationship you're trying to cultivate with a hiring manager, not a fan contest.

NargorothRiP

yeah take out any references to how awesomesauce blizzard is. it comes across as you being a teenager with no professional poise.

PROX

This is specifically for a 2D artist position on World of Warcraft.

Alright Ill make some changes.

I know the name of one recruiter, and met with him for the past 2 years. But I do not know if this email will be sent to him.

I guess I will address this email to him and changed the whole attitude. But I don't know how I should write it. Like I don't want to seem so twofaced...

Deebaser

Everything Monoxide said. Blizzard is looking for an artist, not a #1 fan.

You've met the same recruiter more than once. Send him your resume and samples.

Serpent

Personalizing cover letters is good -- it makes them stand out. Your ass kissing is a good idea, the implementation is really really bad.

Pesonalize it with a simple thing like:
PS. It is my dream to work for blizzard! Make me an offer and I will accept.

Although note that with the amount of ass-kissing blizzard already gets, this could backfire. Plus, a dream to work for blizzard isn't very personal as tons of people have that dream...

Sentry

Make sure you address all of the required and preferred qualifications Blizzard lists in their job posting. The cover letter gives those people a chance to know why you are qualified for the job without combing through your resume. Address as many as you can as specifically as you can.

And, as everyone else said, make it way way more professional. You aren't applying for a guild.

VeritasVR

Monoxide wrote: »

You need to tell them more about yourself, your talents, and why they should hire you. This is a professional relationship you're trying to cultivate with a hiring manager, not a fan contest.

Yup. Hiring an employee is a business transaction. You are giving them your time, expertise, and skills in exchange for compensation regardless of whatever they do/make/produce/develop/create/consult. The content of the company could be explained in what you can offer them in the business sense. They ultimately exist to make money. How can you help that process? Sell yourself professionally with hard skills and give examples. Don't oversell yourself like "my only weakness is that I work too hard" or "I am the only one who can do this" without being able to back it up (and no one can do that, silly).

Once you get your foot in the door, then the content of the company will make itself clear.

Nylonathetep

Stuartenhaffen wrote: »

Just to start things off, find out the name of the recruiter. Be it via the internet or phone, makes it a bit more personal and shows you had the initiative to find out their name.

Take out "for the Alliance" Blizzard is a professional company that will have professional standards, this really shouldn't be there.

The last paragraph is a nice idea but it sounds too unprofessional. What if they assign you to a non-WoW related project? Will you still be enuthaistic about it? I would probably just include the first two line as a throwaway somewhere.

Try googling cover letters, the usual format is in 3 paragraph.

Opening paragraph: State why you are writing; how you learned of the organization or position, and basic information about yourself.

2nd paragraph: Mention what you are currently doing and then tell why you are interested in the employer or type of work the employer does (Simply stating that you are interested does not tell why, and can sound like a form letter). Demonstrate that you know enough about the employer or position to relate your background to the employer or position. Mention specific qualifications which make you a good fit for the employer’s needs. This is an opportunity to explain in more detail relevant items in your resume.
Refer to the fact that your resume is enclosed.

3rd paragraph: Indicate that you would like the opportunity to interview for a position or to talk with the employer to learn more about their opportunities or hiring plans. State what you will do to follow up, such as telephone the employer within two weeks. If you will be in the employer’s location and could offer to schedule a visit, indicate when. State that you would be glad to provide the employer with any additional information needed.

Thank the employer for her/his consideration.

P.S. Also... we all know Blizzard is Pro-Horde.

bowen

Also, numbers stand out hugely in cover letters.

If you start showing what you've generated other companies price wise, that's a great attention grabber.

PROX

Now I dont know what to write at all! I'm applying through the site. It's a regular submission form. So I might not get him, since he's on the Diablo team.

Improvolone

A cover letter is a tool to help you get an interview. I read this as if you're trying to get the job without the interview.

Willeth

While you might be their biggest fan, they don't care. It's nice to have an interest in their work, but I've met people who had very little interest in games themselves and yet were fantastic artists and programmers in the games industry. They're not looking for a player, they're looking for someone who can do they job they want.

That said, your knowledge of the game is definitely an asset. It proves that you can realise a texture or a piece of work that fits with the style. Emphasise how familiar you are with the universe, not how often you play.

PROX

I have been studying the art intensely to mimic the style. I sent off an email to the recruiter last week to show him some of the new pieces I've made. I wonder if I should submit via the site. Htat would require a different email.

Im worried that if I submit an email only highlighting my skills and not my knowledge of the games, I will lose out to the guy who does both.

But then I might win in the fact that my email is shorter and more concise.

Improvolone

We're not saying don't demonstrate your knowledge of their product.

Sipex

A couple things

I am skilled digital artist who is obsessive about form and color, applying knowledge of composition and silhouette to both 3D models and the textures painted on them. As a concept artist who is able to wade deep into 3DS Max I have a unique grip on design for games.

Holds a negative connotation, find something which sounds positive but means the same thing.

On your mage, I would keep it in if you...say, have 2D art of him in your portfolio, good 2D art...maybe even 3D re-models too. Then you can include a quick blurb about how you'll be able to show them the alternate work you've done based around him among with many other pieces found in your portfolio.

Don't worry about sounding a bit like a fan, it's not too harsh and many gaming companies like to know that you like their product. I learned something. No matter what business you're going into you have to sound like you know and like the product you will be supporting. Someone who likes what they do does a lot better than someone who doesn't care.

PROX

Man conflicting advice! What I do if I've met with the guy before? How do I know Ill get the same guy.

Sipex

You need to make the choice on your own, obviously, but I will say you sound naturally enthusiastic and a fun loving. I feel that if your cover letter doesn't reflect this (ie: too professional) then it won't seem like you actually wrote it.

PROX

Yeah i feel that way too. Hmm any art recruiters in here?

Willeth

Yeah, but there's a difference between showing enthusiasm and gushing praise.

Sipex

Eh, I wouldn't say he's hit the gushing praise part yet, he throws in bits and starts off with how much he respects the company. The "For the Alliance" bit is a bit over the top though, I might remove that.

Dropping Loads

Sipex wrote: »

A couple things

I am skilled digital artist who is obsessive about form and color, applying knowledge of composition and silhouette to both 3D models and the textures painted on them. As a concept artist who is able to wade deep into 3DS Max I have a unique grip on design for games.

Holds a negative connotation, find something which sounds positive but means the same thing.

The word you want instead is "meticulous".

PROX

Oh that is a good word.

Yeah I'll probably take out that last part. Or just tell art director I updated my blog. maybe i will wait a week.

Willeth

FWIW, I have missed out on jobs I was ideally suited for because I waited a week.

PROX

Thats why I need to do it noooow.

Deebaser

The purpose of your cover letter is to let the company know that you can do the job. I'm no art recruiter, but a lot of companies use their HR departments to screen applicants before the hiring manager even sees your resume.

HR generally doesn't know dick about what the job you're applying for actually does, so all they can do is scan your resume & cover letter for the keywords in the job req and filter out applicants with dealbreaking typos / spelling mistakes / crazy.

Seeing as how this is being subbed through a form, your cover letter will likely land at HR first as described above. The question you have to ask yourself is: does my cover letter sound more like it was generated by a professional artist that has valuable skills that Blizzard should pay me for, or does it sound like the couple dozen joke submissions they must get every other week?

Monoxide

Sipex wrote: »

You need to make the choice on your own, obviously, but I will say you sound naturally enthusiastic and a fun loving. I feel that if your cover letter doesn't reflect this (ie: too professional) then it won't seem like you actually wrote it.

Injecting personality into the letter can be done without it sounding unprofessional. Companies generally would like to know that their employees are capable of having a professional conversation or writing professional sounding correspondence, and starting off on the wrong foot with a cover letter that is probably a bad idea.

metaghost

My name is Jeff Chuang and I have the skills, experience, dedication and passion to become the next amazing artist on World of Warcraft. Blizzard is the company I wish to work for above all others. It is a place where undeniably great games are made and where artists are pushed to their limits and grow exponentially. There are many things I can contribute to your art department.

1 - This is a bit excessive, simply "experience and passion" conveys the same amount of information.

2 - These sentences can be joined for greater effect: "...above all others, a place where great games are made and artists are pushed to their limits."

This level of "ass-kissing" seems perfectly suitable for a cover-letter.

I am [a] skilled digital artist who is obsessive about form and color, [capable of] applying [advanced] knowledge of composition and silhouette to both 3D models and the textures painted on them. As a concept artist who is able to wade deep into 3DS Max I have a unique grip on design for games.

In the above paragraph you make one claim that has no real bearing on my opinion of an artist ("obsessive...") as it seems like something that would apply to all applicants, even if you change it to a more positive tone. I highlighted "silhouette" just because I wondered if it'd be better to claim knowledge of the more broad concept of "lighting". You then insert a somewhat awkward use of figurative language, making things something more abstract, when it would be better to state that you're a concept artist whose depth of understanding into 3DS Max extends to X, Y, and Z aspects of the program. Be specific and direct, bullshit is bad. As has been mentioned, it'd be better to connect your claims of capability with a greater demonstration of those claims (such as the subsequent "I'm an instructor...") though you always have be careful about simply turning the Cover Letter into a Resume: Prose Edition.

I have a large volume of experience working with groups of artist. For two years as an instructor at Art Center I lead daily critiques where I encourage constructive feedback and ask questions for the benefit of the group, and graciously accept feedback from my peers on my own work.

1 - I'd just cut the first sentence.

2 - The tense of the second sentence is all fucked. You start by suggesting the past but then continually use the present. Is this a job you currently hold? If not, make it the past. If yes, you need to put "have" before "lead".

3 - Connecting the remaining sentence to the previous paragraph.


Monoxide and the rest have covered the other two paragraphs.

Wassermelone

Willeth wrote: »

FWIW, I have missed out on jobs I was ideally suited for because I waited a week.

Yep, happened to me too.

PROX

metaghost wrote: »

My name is Jeff Chuang and I have the skills, experience, dedication and passion to become the next amazing artist on World of Warcraft. Blizzard is the company I wish to work for above all others. It is a place where undeniably great games are made and where artists are pushed to their limits and grow exponentially. There are many things I can contribute to your art department.

1 - This is a bit excessive, simply "experience and passion" conveys the same amount of information.

2 - These sentences can be joined for greater effect: "...above all others, a place where great games are made and artists are pushed to their limits."

This level of "ass-kissing" seems perfectly suitable for a cover-letter.

I am [a] skilled digital artist who is obsessive about form and color, [capable of] applying [advanced] knowledge of composition and silhouette to both 3D models and the textures painted on them. As a concept artist who is able to wade deep into 3DS Max I have a unique grip on design for games.

In the above paragraph you make one claim that has no real bearing on my opinion of an artist ("obsessive...") as it seems like something that would apply to all applicants, even if you change it to a more positive tone. I highlighted "silhouette" just because I wondered if it'd be better to claim knowledge of the more broad concept of "lighting". You then insert a somewhat awkward use of figurative language, making things something more abstract, when it would be better to state that you're a concept artist whose depth of understanding into 3DS Max extends to X, Y, and Z aspects of the program. Be specific and direct, bullshit is bad. As has been mentioned, it'd be better to connect your claims of capability with a greater demonstration of those claims (such as the subsequent "I'm an instructor...") though you always have be careful about simply turning the Cover Letter into a Resume: Prose Edition.

I have a large volume of experience working with groups of artist. For two years as an instructor at Art Center I lead daily critiques where I encourage constructive feedback and ask questions for the benefit of the group, and graciously accept feedback from my peers on my own work.

1 - I'd just cut the first sentence.

2 - The tense of the second sentence is all fucked. You start by suggesting the past but then continually use the present. Is this a job you currently hold? If not, make it the past. If yes, you need to put "have" before "lead".

3 - Connecting the remaining sentence to the previous paragraph.


Monoxide and the rest have covered the other two paragraphs.

Silhouette is different from lighting. It is a specific term referring to the graphic outline of a specific design. In game design silhouette is very important because most game objects appear very small and so need to read from a distance. It has very little to do with lighting.

Thanks for the feedback. Making changes.

PROX

Hmm but you are right, in that sentence that word does not make sense.

witch_ie

For the website, a general salutation is appropriate. If you do send this letter and your resume to your contact within the company, feel free to address it to him personally. You may also need to change it a bit to reference your ongoing communication with him. Good luck.

L Ron Howard

I think the best advice I can offer is if you replaced 'Blizzard' with 'Company A,' and reread it, you'd get a totally different meaning. I would say treat it as though you are applying to any other company in the world. For instance, the exposition on your mage doesn't belong there at all, like others have mentioned. Imagine if you sent it off to any other company, how would they view that? They'd likely throw it out immediately. Despite the fact that Blizzard does games, and games you play and have played and will play, I don't imagine that they're looking to hire gamers as much as people who do what they want to do. If you happen to play games in your spare time, good for you. If you happen to play their games in your spare time, all the better, but I don't see how that has any bearing on this at all. Again, imagine it as though you're applying for any company anywhere else.

What you can do, is when you plug your webpage, is mention how that applies to Blizzard, how you've done a lot of things akin to their style in WoW, because you like the game. I wouldn't go into any real detail about how much you like the game, or how often you play it, or anything.

I'd also recommend you say a bit more about yourself and what you have done, and what you can bring to the table. An example is that you've mentioned you learned 3DSM in 2 days. Well, good for you, but I'm failing to see how that offers anything. I would expand on it and show that you take that same dedication towards learning new things.

At GDC 2010 Kenny told me to add more diamonds. I will tell you now that I have a fever, and the prescription is more diamonds.

I fail to see how this adds anything at all.

As I and others have mentioned before, it sounds like a fanboy applying to the position, not a professional graphics artist applying.

PROX

New draft:

Dear Kenny,

Thank you very much for your help in understanding what it takes to be a Blizzard artist this past year. I feel I have the skills, experience, and dedication to become the next concept/2D artist on World of Warcraft. There are many things I can contribute to the art department.

I am skilled digital artist who is meticulous about form and color, applying this knowledge to both 3D models and the textures painted on them. As an expert polygonal modeler and painter I have a unique grasp of designing for games, and understand the need for strong silhouettes and bold textures in World of Warcraft's art style.

As an instructor at Art Center I have lead groups of artists in constructive critiques and fostered environment of collaborative thinking. At J&F Design major milestones on projects are marked by asking my art director for feedback. I am a member of the Polycount forums and enjoy receiving and providing feedback in those communities and have been very grateful for yours and other Blizzard employees comments. As a professional artist, mentor, and educator my priority is to deliver results.

If hired I guarantee an approach to any task with focus and dedication. I am truly passionate about World of Warcraft and furthering the artistic development of that game. I have updated my website at www.jeffrey-chuang.com with new artwork based on your feedback and my resume has been attached to this online submission as well. Thank you very much for your time, consideration, and continued help.

Respectfully,
Jeff Chuang

I'm going to address to the recruiter I have been in communication with. Also if I go the generic route it'll feel like I posted a form letter, and that's terrible.

Anyways as for the more diamonds its shows I listen to feedback.

The corporate culture of Blizzard is always about the community and loving the property. I am going to stick by this point. I am both a fan and a professional artist. If I weren't a fan I wouldn't have spent the last 3 years learning the Blizzard style.

riz

PROX wrote: »

Man conflicting advice! What I do if I've met with the guy before? How do I know Ill get the same guy.

What I did when faced with a similar situation (job posted on company website for online submission, but I had a contact in HR): I sent the online forms as I would if I didn't know anyone there, and then shot a direct email to the person I did know, saying basically "Hey, I just applied for such-and-such online with Company..." It got me through an initial HR screening (though unfortunately the hiring manager didn't think I had enough experience to proceed after all).


Also yeah I've always been curious where the line is drawn at Blizzard. The people who work there are generally huge nerds and fans of their product, but at the same time, you have to think that they do have HR office types who really don't give a shit if you have a mage, and that's probably the first line of defense against the billions of resumes they receive.

witch_ie

PROX wrote: »

As an instructor at Art Center I have lead groups of artists in constructive critiques and fostered an environment of collaborative thinking. (need transition or someway to show revelance of this sentence) At J&F Design major milestones on projects are marked by asking my art director for feedback. I am a member of the Polycount forums and enjoy receiving and providing feedback in those communities and have been very grateful for yours and other Blizzard employees comments. As a professional artist, mentor, and educator my priority is to deliver results.

If hired, I will approach all tasks with focus and dedication. I am truly passionate about World of Warcraft and furthering the artistic development of that game. I have updated my website at www.jeffrey-chuang.com with new artwork based on your feedback and my resume has been attached to this online submission as well. Thank you very much for your time, consideration, and continued help.

This is a much better letter, but there is still room for improvement. Specifically, in the third and fourth paragraphs. I've highlighted some suggestions/comments above.

Also, I agree with your assessment regarding Blizzard's culture - however you could potentially address that directly somewhere in your letter rather than emphasizing how much you like their product. Something about how you would love to work for a company that is committed to delivering quality products to their customers and responds to community feedback.

bowen

Make sure he goes by Kenny.

velcroshoes

Your latest draft is spot-on in my opinion.

As an artist, your cover letter is such a small consideration. It's purpose is to say what area of expertise you have. "modeling and texture with a focus on texture". And then straight to your work samples. And as you know, if your work doesn't speak louder than what it says on paper... you're dead. It doesn't have to be as engaging or creative as other letters are, your work is what matters.