Applying to a job or project

How you apply depends on what's listed. A job is applied to on the company's own side — its careers page, an ATS link, or an email address. A project (a one-off commission) is applied to right here on FOOH, as a message to whoever posted it.

Applying to a project

Open the project and click Apply to this project (in the company card on the right). Projects are for members: if you're not signed in, the page shows only a teaser of the project, with Sign up to read and apply and Log in. Either brings you back to the same project, now with the full brief, who posted it and the Apply button.

Write one message to the poster: why you're a fit, and links to the work that shows it. Press Send application and you land in the conversation in your Messages — the poster gets it in their inbox, with the usual email to let them know. The thread says which project it's for, and you carry on there like any other conversation. Neither of you sees the other's email address.

• One application per project. Once you've applied, the button reads View your application and takes you back to that thread. Something to add? Write it in the thread.
• Applying never counts against your messaging. An application is invited — the poster asked for it by posting — so it doesn't use up any of the unanswered first messages FOOH lets you have open at once. The usual safety checks still apply to what you write, as they do to every first message.
• Your own project shows no Apply button.

Applying to a job

Open the job and click Apply for this position (in the company card on the right). If you're not signed in yet, you'll be asked to sign in or create a free FOOH account first; once you're in, the poster's external apply link opens in a new tab. Follow the steps there — every company's process is a little different.

On most jobs, Apply first asks one question in that same card — Want new creative jobs by email? — and whichever you answer, the application opens on that click. See Job updates, if you want them below. A job a company advertises with FOOH directly asks nothing: the application opens straight away.

Once the application has opened, the card says Application opened in a new tab, with an Open again link in case your browser blocked the tab or you closed it.

Some posters use a mailto: link, so the button opens a pre-addressed email instead. Either way, you're applying directly with the company; FOOH doesn't collect or store job applications.

If you had to sign in first

For a project, you sign up or log in from the project's teaser and land back on the project, ready to apply. If you signed in some other way while the full project was open — in the popup the Apply button shows when your session has run out — the application form opens right away; if you had already applied, you're taken to that conversation instead.

For a job, creating the account doesn't cost you the application. If you signed in in the popup, you're straight back in the job's card — with the job updates question, where the job asks it, or with the application opening. If you signed in some other way, FOOH remembers which listing you were applying to, and when you land back on the site a small panel appears: the same job updates question (either answer opens the application), or Continue to the application on a job that doesn't ask. Either way the employer's link opens in a new tab.

On a phone, signing in with Google sends you to Google and back, which reloads the page — the panel is how the application survives that round trip. It waits for you wherever you land, not just on the job page.

A few honest edge cases:

• The listing closed while you were signing in. The panel says so and points you at the jobs that are still open. Your account is made either way.
• The employer changed where applications go. You get the current link, with a note that it changed — never the old one.
• You changed your mind. Press Not now and the panel goes away. It also forgets on its own after about half an hour, so a tab you left open yesterday won't ambush you.

Signing in through Apply doesn't sign you up for anything else: no newsletter, no job emails, no forced profile setup. You can fill in a profile later from your account, and it's worth doing — see below.

Job updates, if you want them

On most jobs, pressing Apply asks one question before the application opens: Want new creative jobs by email? — job updates, weekly or as jobs go live. Both answers open the application on the same click, so saying no never costs you a step.

• Yes, and apply uses your account's email address, at the frequency you picked (Weekly is preselected). If your account's address is verified, the updates start straight away; otherwise we email you a confirmation link first — and send nothing else until you open it. The card tells you which.
• No thanks, just apply opens the application and nothing else. We won't ask again for 30 days, on any device you're signed in on; after that, Apply may ask once more.
• Already getting job updates? Then Apply doesn't ask — it just opens the application. The same if you said yes recently and your confirmation link is still on its way, or if you unsubscribed in the last 30 days. Applying never changes your job updates settings.
• Something went wrong starting them? The card says so and offers Try again. Your application has already opened either way.

You can always sign up, change how often or stop from the job board or the link at the bottom of every job email.

Stand out

Before you apply, make your FOOH profile worth a click — published work, a clear bio, your specialities, and a working contact. Posters often check your profile alongside your application, so link it where the company's form allows.