Curriculum Vitaes, resumes, work histories – call them what you will. I looked at mine not long ago (no, I am not looking for another job, boss, I promise) and it took me back on a long traipse down memory lane of past clients, pull-your-hair out events, gleeful client victories, the odd award win, team bonding sessions, colleagues, bosses, clients, and all those who have been a part of my career over the years.
I’ve been employed a handful of times and in turn I have employed dozens. Many more CVs cross my inbox nowadays than my desk, so I feel I have some authority on the subject of how to get your foot in a PR agency door.
As a prospective employer, the number of CVs to arrive in my inbox in the past year must account for about a fifth of all the emails I received. Yet only one or two of those hundreds actually ever led to a phone conversation or a call in for a job interview.
So let’s take a look at those who did and didn’t make it.
For the sake of anonymity we will call Candidate A The Historian. He chose not only tonot only to write his CV in the third person, but he went on to include a photo of him as a six-month-old baby. Needless to say, he didn’t get a call back.
Then there is the esteemed fan club of people who use every opportunity to drop their favourite word in every paragraph, and pepper their CV with flowery waffle and introductions not even fit for a queen – PR or otherwise Continue reading this article
