Shaun Demmer and Juliette Verhoog, account managers at Tribeca Public Relations
Finding the job of your dreams can be challenging especially as a young graduate with little to no experience under your belt. At Tribeca, we receive so many internship applications every month and, as much as we would love to hire everyone, we have to be discerning when it comes to choosing the right people to join our Tribeca team.
To help you in your job search, account managers Shaun Demmer and Juliette Verhoog, once interns themselves, share some of their top tips in CV management and etiquette for interns who are applying for learnerships or jobs in our industry.
1.Get the basics right
First impressions are extremely important when applying for a job, which is why the first and most important step in any job search is to pay special attention to your CV. Include relevant information that shows why you should be considered for the job you’re applying for – sift through your education, work experience and awards and identify the highlights that would be most relevant to the job you’re applying for. Next, scan your CV for spelling and grammar mistakes at least three times, and get a friend or family member to have a look at it for you too. If you don’t know where to begin, Google has some great CV templates that you can replicate.
2. Cover letters or emails create lasting impressions
A cover letter or email is your opportunity to show a potential employer that you’ve done your homework on the company, so it’s a good idea to mention one or two of their clients you’d hope to work on, while highlighting why you think you would be a great fit for the company and the best person for the job. Be sure to address the person you’re emailing by name, and make sure your cover letter is unique and to the point – no waffling and straight to the point.
3. Blanket emails leave us cold
Blanket emailing is when applicants send out the same application email to a number of different employers at once. In the PR industry, we call this the ‘spray and pray approach’, and it’s considered a lazy and impersonal way of getting the job done. The biggest problem with blanket emailing is that it’s also easy to miss important details – for instance, we’ve received many job applications addressed to other agencies, which makes us wonder how much thought the candidate has really put into their application, and indeed how much they value this opportunity. Remember, you’ve only got one shot to make a good first impression, so make it count.
4. We want you to be yourself
We, like many other companies, are looking for people who stand out by just being themselves. In applications and interviews, don’t feel like you need to embellish your achievements or lie about your level of experience so that we’ll be more impressed, and avoid overly rehearsed answers. At Tribeca, we’re looking for competent graduates who can do the job, but finding people who fit our unique, warm and fun culture – and ensuring that we are right for you too – is just as important to us.
5. We don’t expect you to know everything
Don’t pretend to know something if you don’t. At an intern or junior level, it’s understood that you don’t have much experience yet. You will gain skills and knowledge on the job, but we want to see that you have at least a basic idea of the industry we operate in, that you are driven and committed to working with us to learn and grow on the job. That being said, having a qualification is important – more than showing us your academic capabilities, it shows us that you are able to engage tasks from intellectual, social, creative and ethical perspectives to bring value to our agency.
We hope these tips will help you to engage more effectively with hiring managers and potential employers, and wish you all the very best for your job search going forward.