I'm looking for a job in the ski Industry

loganimlach

loganimlach

Active member
Staff member
I figured the first thread in this forum should be dedicated to those of us that are looking for a job in the ski industry.

Please use this to post your cover letter and resume for searching employers, and try not to clutter it up with bullshit.
 
I'm all for this idea, but I don't really like the idea of having my resume/contact information/entire life readily available on here. Plus, what sort of cover letter are you going to write if you don't know what job you're applying for? If there was a better way to embed a resume I think this could be a great forum addition to NS.
 
If anyone wants me to read their resume/cover letter, I'm potentially willing to do so.

Used to work for malakye.com I've seen hundreds of action sports oriented resumes as well as been to multiple workshops and used to work the shmoozapaloozas and such.
 
I wouldn't put my address and shit up in here either, but I wanted to create a place where you could drop a resume and/or cover letter with minimal contact info.

Tbh, if you don't know what job you want, then you're already a step behind.
 
I liked the format you used. Good example. I know very well what I want to do, I was speaking in generalities as 99% of the NS population is clueless as to what they want to do.
 
I guess I'll start it off.

To whom it may concern:

Are you a ski company looking for an innovative mind to bring your product line to a new level? Are you seeking an individual with a work ethic that would make normal humans shudder? Maybe you’re looking for someone that not only has proven themselves at skiing’s the highest level, but has a solid background in engineering?

Look no further. My name is Logan Imlach and I want to be a design engineer for your ski company.

I have been skiing and snowboarding since I could walk, and after my friends and I got our first video camera around the age of 13 we were obsessed with capturing images of us sliding around on snow, metal, and anything else that looked fun. This ultimately led to my “professional” career working with Level 1 Productions, which I have been actively doing for the past 5 years. I put “professional” in quotation marks because somewhere in the middle of all of that I received my Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Alaska – Anchorage and was forced to get a real job when real life bills came around. After working as a heavy civil design engineer for a stint, I was blessed enough to find a rotational job working in Alaska’s oilfield. This job not only provided me the opportunity to be able to afford flying around the world to film with Level 1, but it also taught me how to work under pressure and on serious deadlines.

For the past two years, I have obsessed over the idea of building my own skis. Finally, after countless hours of planning and research, my ideas came to fruition in the summer of 2013 with my first pair of skis, building all of the necessary equipment and that first set in my 3 weeks away from work. After that, I was hooked. I immediately stocked up and did my first run of 6 pairs on my following time away from work and decided after 5 long years with Moment, a company that I loved, that I would design, build, and film solely on my own skis. If you’re interested in checking out my process, search for #diyskis on Instagram.

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Being a ski design engineer is my dream job. I’m not the type that you’ll pay to sit in front of a computer all day every day, but the type that would excel splitting my time between the desk and the workshop. I love working with my hands, and have a history as a finish carpenter, a job that I had while working my way through college. On top of that, I was heavy into structural design throughout my engineering curriculum, making me the double threat that your company has been searching for.

If you are interested in reviewing my resume, please send me and email at loganimlach (at) gmail.com. Thank you for your time, and I very much look forward to hearing from you.

Regards,

Logan Imlach

 
I thought about sending this as a PM, but realized it will probably be of greater assistance to everyone if I go through it here.

First off, it's pretty good. You seem enthusiastic and show you really do love the sport. As a generic starting point, it's decent.

First things first, it's too long. You have some excessive stuff in here in which youre resume should be enough. Also, you should just include you're resume anyway. Most positions you will be applying to will give you the option to fill out an online application and either copy and paste a cover letter or upload a pdf or .doc. Always fill out every possible option and make sure to upload your resume and pdf as a 2 page pdf in which the text is selectable. This will give you're application/resume a lot more chances to be picked up by any searchers scanning resumes for key words by HR departments. It also gives you an opportunity to make you're cover letter and resume cohesive so that when printed, they match and are pleasing to the eye and more likely to be viewed as a whole.

Moving on... The questions, although good in theory, they just add length. You should start off with a power statement, not asking them the questions in which they clearly are looking for. A second option is to play to the company, but this would be company specific.

Your "professional" statement comes off as a bit arrogant. The sort of, while you only did this over 5 years, I did all this and still had a "professional" job in the ski industry. You could shorten the paragraph dramatically by saying something like while com pinging your Civil Engineering degree, your passion for skiing motivated you to maintain an amazing position with level 1 in which you... list the things you did.

You then have a strange transition. You did all this shit... then you built skis. Perhaps this would be a better time to correlate your degree with your passion. How through your degree, time in Alaska, and position with level 1, you wanted to apply your engineering skills to what your passion is. Thus begun your affair with ski making. You then state that you've switched from moment to only working with your own skis. You shouldn't mention the ski company you were on. Bad taste if you're applying for another company. Also, this again has a sense of arrogance where it should be passion. So perhaps something more on the lines of, "after my first run of 6 pairs, I realized there was no better way to progress, improve, and build upon my own skills than solely building, skiing, and filming my own skis. Since I have learned x,y, and z about building and feel that blah blah blah would do x, y, and z for your company.

If you change the tone through the letter to how skiing has influenced everything, you won't need the ski design engineer dream job paragraph. They will know that you are willing to put in every single effort needed to perform the job.. even if some days you do spend 40 hours at a desk (because that will likely happen on occasion).

Then you thank them for their time and say "I look forward to hearing from you" is spot on. It shows confidence and instantly puts the idea of contacting you into the reviewer's mind.
 
woah, thank you! i guess throughout school i was always told to write confidently when creating a cover letter, so I can see as it coming off as arrogance because of the fine line. points noted, and thanks a bunch.
 
I entirely understand the writing with confidence thing, but exactly as you said, there is a fine line between being confident and being arrogant.

I'm getting better every day.

I can hold my own.

I'm a good skier.

I've skied every run on the mountain.

Last winter I dropped Corbet's on my second run of the day.

I'm the best skier on the mountain.

I'm working on triple corks.

Well, my sponsors....

 
When I want a job, I just helicopter my dong at them and they throw wads of Hamiltons at me.

...but really, I like this idea.
 
Is that how a resume is done normally or is this a way specifically for the ski industry? I was taught way differently on what a resume was.

Am interested in customer service, rep/sales. Thinking doppelmayer because I love the product and they are my favorite lifts to run and would like to sell them to resorts but the lack of a college degree is going to make that difficult.
 
That was definitely not a resume. It was a cover letter that I intentionally made a little "querky" because most of the people in the ski industry are fun, and I wanted to have fun with it. My "engineering" cover letter is much more rigid. Maybe we turn this thread into a resume and cover letter workshop instead?

I don't know I just really want to have this section succeed so I want to give everyone some tools to get themselves out there and be visible to the companies looking.
 
I am not currently looking for a job, but I plan to go to college next year to become a mechanical engineer. I'm doing this in a pursuit to design skis and possibly mountain bikes. Ski is basically my sole focus on where I want to go in my career. Does anyone know if mechanical engineering/physics would be he proper field and how big is the field for such a career anyways?
 
Selling ski lifts sounds like a really difficult job.

Then again, the commission from one new lift sale can probably be enough to live for a year.
 
It's exactly what you should be taking to get into the industry for said position. It's also a very small field and I haven't even seen an opening for such a position. I think most jobs are earned through internships at companies, and then you'll either be picked up directly by who you're working for or you'll end up somewhere else by word of mouth.

Education is really everything though. It's probably tougher to even get an internship without being in the engineering or design field. And I don't think many, especially large brands would be willing to pick anyone up without some form of education for a job. Ironically, many of the best ski designers aren't educated engineers...

 
Hey Rachy!

Any tips for someone who would like to snag a design job in the ski industry?

I have two questions that have been rocketing around the inside of my skull:

How much does a cover letter matter in an application for a design position?

Does it pay off to use LinkedIn to message a hiring manager or art director?

In case you're curious, here's my work:http://www.behance.net/jessj

And my visual blog:http://jessjaime.com/

 
Design jobs are probably some of the most difficult to get unless you already know someone. Soooo many people are great at design, you really need that extra push. Having a degree and a great portfolio isn't always enough. There are people who know the right people that don't have a degree that will get hired and there are artists that will be scouted because the company is looking for something specific. It really is challenging, but not impossible. Developing a second skillset will make you far more valuable. Photography, marketing, web design and development, copywriting... Start adding something like that. Any easier position to start in is Marketing Coordinator/assistant. Often, the marketing and art departments are pretty close or even one in the same. Check ski resorts and see if there are openings there. Another idea is check what creative agencies also do ski oriented stuff. I believe The Wexley School for Girls is one. seshn used to be, the distellery in Austria. There are a lot more. Overall, it's becoming important to have a profile and certain information public in as many places as possible. Being searchable and having a great portfolio can set you apart. Another thing that I see too many designers not do is design your cover letter and resume to fit what the company is looking for. This almost instantly sets you apart and shows them you know what they are looking for. In which case, yes, your cover letter is very important. It will be read. Probably by multiple people.
 


Oooo oooo oooo another question!

Any recommendations for schools/places to learn apparel design for outerwear?

I've found it difficult to find the right resources to get better at apparel design. I took apparel construction classes at a community college, but frankly, they were slow and shitty. I interned as a costume designer, but the theatre did mostly shopping, not designing. I looked into attending FIDM, but they require you to sign up for a two-year degree (cha-ching!) up front. I toured Parsons The New School for Design (twice, because it was so awesome), but they require a portfolio of design for you to enter their masters program (so I need to know apparel design to learn apparel design?) Despite having the skills necessary (I can sew, knit, make patterns, etc), I'm finding it difficult to chart a path forward.

If you have any thoughts or ideas, I'd love to hear 'em!
 
I actually looked into this a tad and the best masters I found was through LIM. It was brand management and part of the program is an internship in your industry. It's also a 3 term program +internship. Undergrad... Not too sure.
 
Really like this idea.

The one thing i will note for some of the people on here is that it is going to be difficult to just jump into a job in this industry. It is kinda the type where you are gong to have to pay your dues and know the right people. I have realized this from recently being brought on at evo. Its kinda all about who you know and who knows you.
 
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