作者：Simon Roth

在上周寻找美工协助我制作《Maia》的过程中，我把约40份的求职信弃置一旁。为什么？它们糟糕透了，我觉得自己阅读这些简历完全就是在浪费时间。

我从十几岁就开始从事自由职业，在低迷时期每天会发送数百封邮件，但我总是确保简历保持高质量水准。

令震惊的是，我所收到的简历的表达水平竟如此逊色。很多美工的从业时间比我还久。这完全没有理由。

job applications from ehow.com

标点

若你没有在求职信中使用标点，那么我相信你在非正式场合中也多半不会运用。格式不完整的句子读起来令人颇为不快。这是你的第一印象，你在此犯下错误。

大写

真的？若你的基本英语技能没有达到标准水平，你就不会在句子开头和专有名词中用大写字母书写；不妨参加英语课程。我在游戏开发沟通中花费的时间最多；这是项重要技能。

人际交往能力

在邮件中对我的称呼。若你是在回应我发布的招聘岗位，那么多半会采用我的名字。“尊敬的先生/女士”只能说明你没有阅读广告信息。我如何能够同无法阅读和吸收信息的人士共事？

礼节

我不是银行机构。不要以奇怪的正式口吻给我写邮件，让我觉得你是个机器人或是正在参加外语书信写作课程。礼貌、友善的邮件总是能够脱颖而出。

格式设置

若你不怕麻烦地在微软word中打出申请信，然后将其粘贴至邮件客户端，要确保它们具有兼容性！我收到若干包含不可读字符的邮件，这非常可怕。

附件

突然向某人发送超过10MB的内容有些鲁莽。发送50MB的内容，你会发现我在尚未打开邮件前就对你心生不满。你觉得这是好主意吗？

耐心

若我有一段时间没有回复邮件，礼貌询问我是否收到申请信是个明智选择。不可取的做法是，每天纠缠我或是采用我没有在原始招聘信息中标注的沟通渠道（游戏邦注：例如个人邮件）。

表现出兴趣

若我已清楚表示职位涉及哪些工作内容，你要表现出对此感兴趣。提及我的作品，以及你对它的看法，查看我的网站，迎合我的自我意识。

挑灯夜战

普遍情况是，创意人士在午夜中工作状态最佳。我有时会通宵熬夜，但这带来这样的问题，我是否会在标准工作时间期间同你联系。

Adobe Flash网站

若我无法在你的网站标记页面，那我就不会这么做。创建基于Flash的作品集网站有失妥当。

“不要向他人展示此内容，这属于非公开信息！”

若你如此轻视你之前的雇主，我如何将敏感工作托付于你？

在发送邮件前仔细思考上述要点。这并不困难，愉快的邮件能够让我心情愉悦，将你纳入旗下。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，拒绝任何不保留版权的转载，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

How to Apply For a Job With An Indie Developer

by Simon Roth

Last week I binned around forty job applications whilst I was looking for an artist to help me with Maia. Why? They were so terrible that I felt I was wasting my time even reading them.

I’ve been freelancing since I was a teenager and would send hundreds of emails a day in dry spells, but I always ensured they were high quality.

I was shocked to find the standard of communication on offer in the applications I received was so poor. Many of the artists have been working for much longer than I have. There is really no excuse.

Punctuation

If you don’t use punctuation in an email asking for a job then I can be pretty sure you don’t use it in less formal settings. Poorly formatted sentences are horrendous to read. This is your first impression and you have already stumbled.

Capitalise

Seriously? If your basic English skills aren’t up to the level and you consistently fail to capitalise the start of sentences and proper nouns; take an English course. I spend more time in game development communicating than anything else; it’s a critical ability.

People skills

Address ME in the email. If you are responding to a job post I made, then I probably used my name. “Dear sir or madam” just goes to show you didn’t read the advert. How am I supposed to work with someone who can’t read and absorb information?

Formality

I am not a bank (Notch may be). Don’t write me an email in a weird tone that is so formal that I think you are a robot or doing a foreign language letter writing course. A polite, friendly email will always stand out in my inbox.

Formatting

If you go to the trouble of typing out your application in Microsoft word and then paste it into your email client, make sure they are compatible! I received several emails that appeared to be walls of unreadable characters. It was horrendous.

Attachments

Sending more than 10MB to someone unannounced is rude. 50MB and you are going to find me angry at you before I even open up your email. Do you think that’s a good idea?

Patience

If I don’t reply for a while, it’s a good idea to politely ask if I received your application. It’s not a good idea to pester me daily or to use means of communication, like my personal email, that I didn’t list in the original job posting

Show some interest

If I’ve made the effort to say what the job involves, show some interest in it. Mention my game, your opinions on it, have a look on my website, appeal to my ego a bit.

That midnight oil

It’s common to find that creatives do their best work in the middle of the night. I sometimes do the odd all-nighter. Just don’t email me at 5am: First of all it might wake me up, but secondly it raises questions about whether I will be able to reach you at all in standard working hours.

Adobe Flash Websites

If I can’t bookmark a page on your site, I wont. It’s never been acceptable to have a Flash powered portfolio site.

“Don’t show this to anyone it’s under NDA!”

How am I going to trust you with sensitive work if you show such contempt for your previous employer?

Please think of all the above points before you email me or any other indie. Its not hard, and a pleasant, cheery email will always brighten my mood and put you on a great steadying.（Source：gamasutra）