With prospective employers receiving a multitude of approaches every year as Graduates seek employment, it’s important that a considered approach is made to ensure your chances of getting that all important first interview. In this blog Julian Gratton gives some tips as to how you can ensure your approach gets noticed for the right reasons by prospective employers.
Julian has worked in Manchester’s Advertising scene for over 20 years and has a track record of developing Graduates across a number of agency disciplines from Account Handling to Creative. His extensive experience covers TV, Branding, Advertising, Digital and Social. His work has been recognised and awarded by the likes of Cannes Lions, D&AD, New York Festivals, The DMA and the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising. Julian also lectures globally on persuasion, behavioural science and response psychology in marketing as well as idea generation techniques that help marketers find disruptive and market leading creative concepts.
Like many other prospective employers, every year I get bombarded with emails from Graduates seeking a job or looking for placement. And I love the fact that we get such approaches. The kinds of CVs and approaches I get are from a diverse set of people… but strangely enough the mistakes they make in these approaches are the same.
So, to make sure you don’t repeat the mistakes they make and to help you stand out from other Graduates when approaching myself or any other prospective employers, I’ve compiled five essential tips for you.
1. The cover letter and common pitfalls
Whilst working at Red C I received a letter that is quite possibly one of the best cover letters I have ever received. As well as being well researched the author of it had cleverly related his skills to the kind of work Red C do and made it absolutely clear how he could benefit the company.
The letter must have taken him a good few hours to write and his reward for making such an obvious effort was a four-month paid internship.
The point I want to make here is this. Always think about the efforts others will make to get a job. A well-constructed and well-researched cover letter is key to showing prospective employers how hungry you are to work at their company. Below are a few points to check your letter against:
- The templated letter: Prospective employers can tell them a mile off and they basically say you just want any job you can get. Make your cover letter bespoke to each approach you make.
- Don’t just talk about you: There’s nothing more boring than having someone just talk about themselves and their skills. Relate them to the company you want to work for… sell yourself.
- Get the person’s name right: This may sound obvious but it happens a lot. I’ve lost count of the times I’ve been addressed as Julia, Julie-Anne, Jeremy, Justin and even Sarah. These approaches immediately end up in the bin.
- Don’t try to be clever: I once received a limerick as a cover letter. It was bad. Really bad. If only the person who’d written it had taken time to do the above points rather than trying to be clever. The best way to stand out is to cover off the above points.
2. The importance of your spare time and keeping a well-furnished mind
Your time away from your work or study is important. It feeds your head and revitalizes your mind and body. All too often I find that a lot of people I interview do not understand the importance of investing in themselves… usually I find the ‘interests’ section of their CV gives these people away. Here’s the common type of thing you see in the ‘interests’ section:
‘Interests: Music, cinema, socialising, travel and keeping fit’
Communicating that you live a rich and varied social life is as important as communicating your achievements in the work place or in your studies. The best CVs talk about, in detail, the types of things people do to better themselves… if you keep fit, talk about the goals you set yourself in keeping fit. If you travel, talk about where you have been and the things you have seen, tasted and experienced (a week in Ibiza does not count as travelling… that’s just a holiday).
Reading books, learning new skills, finding a new challenge in life, being involved in community groups… all portray you as a proactive person who is interested in self-improvement and making the best of yourself. And remember, reading often and widely is the key to keeping a well-furnished mind, which is massively important in any walk of life.
Always remember, never lie or make things up to make yourself sound interesting.
3. English
Text speak, spelling mistakes, bad grammar, misuse of words… I’ve had them all. Sometimes I’ll forgive the odd spelling mistake as I know sometimes mistakes happen. What I won’t forgive are the following:
- Text speak
- Using complex or long words to make yourself sound clever
Remember; keep your writing simple, clear and concise.
4. The design of your CV
The look of your CV is as important as the words on it. I agree with Paul Rand’s comment that ‘Good design adds value of some kind’. And the value the design of your CV should be adding is clarity of communication. It delivers the important words that you have written in a clear and stylistic way that is not destroyed by clip art or crazy typography.
Whatever your background, designer, writer, accountant, secretary… there is no excuse for not having a simple and clearly laid out CV.
5. The importance of a contact strategy
I’m going to begin this section with another quote. This time it’s a German proverb that states ‘What’s the use of running if you are not on the right road’.
Last year a student sent me an email. Which I ignored.
A week later I received a letter from him, which started with him mentioning the fact he had sent me an email. It ended with him saying he would give me a call.
Two days later he gave me a call.
Which I answered.
Two days later we had a face-to-face meeting.
Ultimately I decided he wasn’t right for us, but I had to commend him on his approach. It was very well thought through.
Too many students these days just rely on email.
Communication can happen in many ways… make sure you know your audience and how to reach them in a multitude of different ways.
It will really help you stand out.
Don’t forget to contact a member of our team if you need more help.