Sian Hughes is a Student Marketing Intern in Manchester. As well as writing a brilliant post about #raisingtheprofile on her blog, Sian has been an active participant in the last few Twitter chats. So, I asked her to write a guest post about the lessons she has learned along the way.
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As all of the PR pros in the #raisingtheprofile chats have done, Rick Guttridge offered some invaluable advice. The tip that most resonated with me was how to effectively approach a company for work experience or even a job.
I read recently Tangerine PR generally receive around 10 speculative CVs a day, and I’m sure most other companies are similarly inundated.
When there is that much competition to have your first email read it’s more important than ever to stand out.
Rick suggested to increase the chance of someone at the company making it to the end of your email, students should show that they have fully researched the company, address it to the right person, and follow the speculative application up.
The lesson I’ve taken from this is that as students who have lived the majority of our educational lives with the internet, we have forgotten the power of actual, verbal conversation. It’s time we learned to pick up the telephone!
Calling the company you are planning on applying to and asking polite and considered questions will show that you are truly interested in that specific company, and not just bulk sending identical CVs to every PR company in the yellow pages!
Speaking to an employer also gives you the chance to learn more about the company’s culture and what they might be looking for in a potential employee. This gives you the chance to tweak your email and CV to show the company what you can offer.
Perhaps sending your CV without having called the company first is a waste of your time; many employers will not read beyond “Dear Sir or Madam”. If you can’t be bothered to find out who to address your email to, why should they bother reading it?
As Stephen Waddington mentioned during Wednesday’s chat, “a well-timed phone call can cut through in any situation” and will help your first email stand out amongst the dozens companies receive each day.
As twenty-first century students we have a wealth of media at our fingertips, but that makes it all too easy to hide behind letters and emails, and not make the connections that really matter.
Rick advises that we make use of all channels of communication to create relationships with PR companies. While using social media to create a bit of a rapport with professionals in your chosen field, whether it’s through Twitter chats such as #raisingtheprofile or commenting on agencies’ blogs, might be a good way to make face-to-face meetings less daunting, social media can’t replace getting out there and meeting people.
There are a great variety of networking and information sharing events taking place regularly up and down the country which are a brilliant way to learn about different companies and make yourself known to PR pros.
I guess the lesson I learned from Rick goes against what I’ve always believed – that companies will be put off by me calling. It’s reassuring to know that doing some research, picking up the phone and asking polite and well-targeted questions may help you to stand out from the crowd and for all the right reasons.
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Great post Sian – thank you for sharing your thoughts with us. Don’t forget to check back here on Monday evening when I’ll be revealing the next PR pro to share with us their top tips and career advice.
Raising the Profile 