A video letter helped me to land my dream job at Adobe

This sentence is based on a conversation with Curtis Ying, a 30-year-old user experience designer at Adobe, who lives in California. The following was processed for length and clarity. Adobe did not respond to a request for Business Insider's comments.

In January 2023 I was released by my product designer job. I had a few months of severance pay and a few savings, so it didn't feel that the world would collapse.

Instead of applying to various employers immediately, I decided to concentrate on landing a job with a company in particular from a company: Adobe.

About a month before I was released, my friend, who works at Adobe, gave me a tour of the company's headquarters in San Jose, California. I fell in love with graphic design after my cousin taught me how to use Adobe Illustrator and I have already used the company's products regularly. Working at Adobe became a dream job of mine. After I was released, it became my top priority.

I thought the best way to achieve this was to do something unique in my application that would help me to stand out: create a video letter. For about a month I only applied for a position – a role at Adobe that I didn't get – when I worked on the video.

After I finished the video in February, I kept an eye on Adobe's jobs postings. Over a period of six months, I have applied for 10 Adobe jobs-in one person for which I was probably underqualified and rejected by everyone. Then, in December 2023, I applied for my 12th Adobe role of the year – a user experience designer position – an interview. After going through the process, I accepted an offer for a full -time contract role with a six -digit salary. I had reached my goal for thirteen months after my release.

Video letters can “humanize your application”

I was first fascinated by video letters after seeing a YouTube video in which someone sang about why he wanted to work in a certain company. In the end they got the job and the video left a strong impression on me. I decided to create my own video letter that was recorded with my Adobe applications.

In the video, which lasted about one and a half minutes, I talked about how I was interested in graphics and UX design, my training and professional experience, the design tools and techniques that I knew well, a few funny facts about myself and why I wanted to work on Adobe. Although I didn't have a professional microphone, I took up with one Canon DSLR camera set up on a tripod. I edited the film material with Adobe Premiere Pro.

I used two different methods to include my video letter in my application. First I uploaded the video on YouTube as a not listed video and with the text “Watch my video letter” above in my CV Hyperlink. I also embedded a snapshot of the video in a PDF entitled “Video letter”, added the same hyperlink and also added this document.

Some people told me that I shouldn't just concentrate on Adobe – that I shouldn't put all my eggs in a basket. But I hesitated to change my approach. Application for other jobs felt a bit like admitting that landing a job at Adobe may not be possible.

A few months after my job search, I started to apply to some other companies as Adobe by a second video letter that I made was more generally. But Adobe remained my target employer.

In addition to creating an adapted video letter, I followed a second strategy: networking with Adobe employees. In June 2023 I posted my Adobe video letter on LinkedIn. I was not sure how it would be received, but it turned out to be a good decision because it helped me to expand my Adobe network. Even when the rejections occurred, I had the feeling that I had built up so many connections in Adobe that it was probably easier to land a job there than somewhere else – and that motivated me.

I think my video letter definitely helped me get a job from Adobe. The attitude manager with whom I interviewed told me that there was a feeling for my personality and helped me to take a canceled among other applicants. Posting the video on LinkedIn also led to some connections that I think they have increased my application.

I don't think that a video letter must be as high as mine in order to be helpful for job seekers. It does not have to have a beautiful background or the perfect lighting, but if you can be precise and of course speak, it can work.

One of the reasons why I am very advocated for video letters is that you humanize your application, which is usually only text lines in a CV and cover letter. If you compete with sometimes thousands of applicants in a challenging job market, it can help you to be of a video letter. I see absolutely no disadvantages.