Blue Skies Blog

‘You need experience to get a job, but without a job how do you get any experience?’

Creating an exceptional CV

When taking those first tentative steps towards a career in marketing it’s easy to become frustrated when receiving little or no response when sending out your CV.

The trick to getting your foot in the door, is to make your future employer sit up, put the other CVs to one side and re-read yours again. In other words your CV is the single most important tool to getting you noticed and securing that all important first interview.  Your CV is the perfect opportunity to talk up your skills, list your USPs (Unique Selling Proposition) and explain what you’ll be bringing to the role. If other candidates have exactly the same qualifications or level of experience, you’ll need to stand out as the best person for the job.  Ask people from within the industry what they would look for in a good CV – get their advice; pick their brains!

There are many dos and don’ts when it comes to writing an excellent CV. We’ve listed a few pointers, which should give you a head start.

• Adapt your CV to mirror the key aspects of the job description
• Include a short profile outlining your key strengths and experience
• Try to keep your CV to two pages
• Use bullet point where possible – paragraphs are harder to read
• List the most recent position you’ve held first. Always show your job title
• Bullet point responsibilities and key achievements
• Use months and years to show how long you held a position
• If a recent graduate put the education section first
• Double check spelling and grammar – attention to detail is crucial
• Cover letter/email:  State current salary and what you’re looking for; use personal email address not a work address NB check your email address is professional,  not rude e.g. goodtimegirl@hotmail may not make the best impression on a future employer

Interview tips

If your skills and experience are deemed a match for the position and you get an interview, you’ll need to prepare thoroughly. First impressions count so make sure you are on time and dressed appropriately. Ensure you know your CV inside out and be prepared to elaborate on what you’ve written.  Can you prove your passion for the industry, company and role?  Do some research into the latest trends and news affecting the industry.

When you’re in the interview, try to relax, be friendly, open and honest. The first meeting is a chance for the interviewer to ascertain if your personality would be a good fit for the company/department culture. Be yourself; remember, people recruit candidates who they feel they’d enjoy working with.

Although you will be asked several questions, you should have some of your own to ask your interviewer. Visit the company website to get a feel of who they are, what they do and the type of work they have produced in the past. Questions you could ask might relate to training opportunities, career development or the company’s plans for the future.

If you managed to impress and are invited back for a second and possibly third interview, this is when your interviewer will dig a little deeper, trying to ascertain your level of expertise, asking more probing questions about your recent experience and qualifications. You may even be asked to do a presentation, where your presentation style, confidence, understanding of subject matter and creativity will be assessed. At the end of these interviews there will probably be an opportunity for you to ask a few more questions regarding the agency and its future. You could ask about the level of interaction between departments, frequency of performance reviews, how they rate their closest competitors or even what they thought were the potential threats to the business.

The interview process might also involve tests at some point including any of the following: aptitude, psychometric, personality, numerical and written tests. Sample tests can be found on sites such as www.ase-solutions.co.uk.

Now that you have the job you wanted…it’s time to make your mark

In his timeless piece, How to get your first job in advertising, Dave Trott, Creative Director at CST, wrote ‘You are not doing everything right at present. Therefore, the quicker you learn what you are doing wrong, the sooner you can correct it.’  Whether your job function is advertising or marketing, when you first step on to your career ladder, you’re starting at the bottom and as such have much to learn from your seniors, your colleagues and your clients. Act like a sponge and ask questions. Ask what you’ve done wrong and learn by your mistakes. Keep up to date on what is happening in your industry- read trade press magazines and visit online portals.  In order to grow within your profession, you need to be good at what you do, no matter what your level of responsibility. It is the skill of observing and learning that will stand you in good stead for your next step up that ladder.

Tags: CV tips, marketing jobs