Grads who demonstrate persistence will get the best jobs


This is a guest blog post by Heather Baker, MD of TopLine Communications, and editor of the B2B PR Blog

As the class of 2012 graduates and starts looking for jobs, PR will no doubt be among the top career choices again, and agency heads and HR departments will almost certainly find ourselves inundated with CVs. Some will be so indisputably excellent that they’ll be interviewing within days and enjoying the luxury of choosing between multiple offers too. But sadly, the vast majority will fall somewhere on the scale between underwhelming and downright horrendous.

For grads finishing their exams and about to embark on a tough job search, take it from me, standing out from the crowd is not going to be too difficult. There are some very simple steps you can follow to land yourself that great first PR job.


First, you need to make sure your CV is flawless. That means it should be easy to read, provide a clear overview of your strengths and successes to date, and it should be grammatically sound. Resist the temptation to use multiple fonts, or to go overboard in your use of bold, italics and underlining – from a reader’s perspective, the simpler the better.

Once you’re happy with your CV, you need to start looking at your social media accounts. You should be keeping two things in mind: firstly, they should be consistent with your CV – i.e. if you say you worked at a PR agency for June-July 2011, this should be identical on your CV and on your Linkedin profile. Secondly, you need to consider what your public profiles say about you and how much of this you want prospective employers to see. My recommendation is to err on the side of conservative here.

Your next step is to start approaching employers – a long and arduous process. For each one, you should be conducting detailed research looking up their website, social profiles, and blogs so that you can tailor your covering email to really catch their eye. As an employer, if I receive an email in which it is clear that the candidate has done their research then I will always read on.

One way to ensure your covering email is spot on is to keep abreast of industry news. Follow magazine and blogs such as PR Week, PR Moment, the PRCA blog and the B2B PR Blog, and you will be able to develop a better understanding of the PR industry and the employment landscape.  This should make it easier to spot opportunities, and to make the most of them when you do.

I started my search for my first job in 2004. I had to make over 100 applications and received a depressing number of rejection emails and letters before I got my break. Yes, it was soul destroying, but I learned a lot in the process and persistence paid off! I’ve subsequently learned that persistence is a rare and valuable quality in this industry, so if you can demonstrate it in your job search, you will reap the rewards throughout your career.


Topline Communication's B2B PR blog is available here.

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