image courtesy of Zach Klein

Advertising agencies receive hundreds of CVs a year, so how can you make yours stand out and land yourself an interview? The answer (funnily enough) is not coloured paper, strange typefaces or pictures of you in a wacky hat!

Your CV is an opportunity to sell your ‘brand’. Think about how your want the reader to feel about you when they get to the end of your CV; will they want to meet you? Will they feel that you are right for advertising, for their company?

A good CV will give the reader all the information they need to know about your education, your experiences and skills, and your talents and passions. It will be well presented and skilfully crafted. If you invest the time in putting together a really good CV, supported by an engaging covering letter (Tip 2) it will pay off.

DO:

• Make a good first impression
  Space and order, clear headings, simple typeface, two or three pages (on quality paper if sending a hard copy). Good presentation is not rocket science

• Keep it brief
  A well written, succinct CV will impress. Waffle will irritate

• Start in the present
  List your job experience from present to past. Same with your education

• Be focussed
  Outline your role in any jobs or work experience, but focus on the value you added, the skills you gained. Draw out any examples of creativity, problem solving or entrepreneurialism

• Give a rounded impression
  Include ex-curricular activities and interests to give a rounded view. Agencies are looking for people, not just a set of qualifications and work experience.

• Check, check and check it again
  Then ask someone else to read it too. Spell-check is not enough. Grammar, flow, construction and layout are important too.

DON’T:

• Don’t put photos on your CV – the impact is rarely positive

• Don’t use elaborate typefaces or borders. Clipart? Noooooo

• Don’t go on. Would you want to interview someone whose CV bored you?

• Don’t embellish your credentials. If you lie and are found out, it will count against you

Author: Jenny – H.R.

image courtesy of LarimdaME

If a CV is your opportunity to sell your credentials, a cover letter is your chance to give the reader some insight into who you are. Your cover letter is the first thing that people will read – and you only have a short time to engage them.

You have provided a CV with your cover letter, so don’t spend half the letter recapping on your CV. Draw out a few key points and direct the reader to the CV for the detail.

If you were applying for an accountancy role, you would probably write quite a formal letter but this is advertising, so you have to be wacky and creative to stand out, right? Not necessarily so.

Wacky is quite hard to pull off and if you are not that kind of person, it will probably fall flat in a letter. Your letter should reflect what it would be like to have a conversation with you, so if you are a funny person, by all means use humour to sell yourself. Think about it – your letter will influence the decision about whether to offer you an interview and it should reflect the person who will turn up to that interview if you are successful.

Whatever your style, your letter has to convince the reader that you are really hungry for a job in advertising.

DO:

• Create a good first impression
  As with CVs, the way you present you covering letter influences the overall impression you make. Keep it simple and clean

• Do your research
  Put yourself in the reader’s shoes. They are going to feel more engaged by a letter that is addressed to them personally rather than ‘Sir’ or ‘Madam’

• Keep it brief
  No more than one page, ample margins all round

• Make them want more
  Don’t give too much detail. They should want to interview you to hear more

• Check, check and check it again
  Careless mistakes? Black mark

DON’T:

• Don’t oversell yourself – arrogance is a big turn off

• Don’t get too personal. A few insights is good – a whole family biography is boring

• Take a look at the ‘DON’Ts’ under CV writing’ – they all apply!

Author: Jenny – H.R.

image courtesy of Scott Ableman

Sometimes it's just not enough to read a person's CV and a few paragraphs about their personality.

To complete the picture, advertising agencies will often ask you also to flex your creative-thinking muscles before they decide whether or not they want to meet you. This tends to, but doesn't always, take the form of a question or a series of questions.

These questions can vary greatly from agency to agency but generally speaking they're designed to test your mettle when it comes to problem-solving, creative writing, and an understanding of business and of brands.

So, it could be:

- In 50 words, tell us what you'd do with a million pounds

- In 100 words, what else could Coke make apart from soft drinks?

- In 500 words, what would you do to save the Britney Spears brand?

Whatever the challenge, bear in mind that it's just another chance to prove that you're interesting, bright and passionate enough to merit an interview.

DO:

• Decide what you're going to say and deliver it with conviction 

• Give yourself plenty of time to craft your answer(s) - a couple of hours isn’t enough

• Carry a pad and pen with you everywhere. The best ideas tend to materialise at the most unexpected moments

• Be concise. The shorter the sentences, the better 

• Make sure your bigger, more interesting thoughts aren't lost amongst supporting detail. If it's a longer answer (depending on the stated word count), you could top and tail it with your big thoughts

• Constantly remind yourself that someone's going to have to read what you've written  

• Ask a friend to read over what you’ve written and play devil’s advocate

DON’T:

• Sit on the fence

• Overrun the word count – it’s there for a reason

• Plagiarise your answer – it sticks out like a sore thumb.

 Author: Nick - Planner and former Fellow

image courtesy of transCam

The fact that our world is becoming more and more virtual also means that it’s becoming increasingly transparent. The upshot is that the trace we leave online (our Internet-Self) is often available to anyone who may want to see it within a matter of seconds.

There have been plenty of stories in the media emphasising the negative side to this transparency, e.g. people being fired or turned down for jobs because of what employers have found on their facebook/myspace profiles.

However, it’s not all bad news. Just as it’s easier to find the dodgy stuff, it’s also much easier to find out the great stuff about you too.

If managed effectively, your Internet-Self can be a very powerful force for good in your pursuit of a career in advertising.

POSITIVES:

• Upload all the things you’re proud of having done to a virtual space (e.g. essays to Google Docs; musings to a blog; photography to Flickr; film to YouTube or Vimeo; music to MySpace)

• Create a LinkedIn account. LinkedIn is an online version of your CV. The fact that it’s online means you can create hyperlinks to all of the stuff you’ve uploaded (see above)

• Put the web address for your LinkedIn account (www.linkedin.com/in/yourname) on your CV.

PITFALLS:

• Check that stuff you’d only ever want your friends to see is in fact viewable only to your friends!

• Don’t contradict what you’ve said in your application on your LinkedIn profile

Author: Nick - Planner and former Fellow

image courtesy of Jonah G.S.

Advertising is an ideas business. Therefore, agencies look for people who know a good idea when they see it.

Ideas are best understood when executed and out in the real world. Actions speak louder than words, after all. So being creative within the confines of an application form is certainly a challenge. A challenge which if executed successfully can set you apart from other applicants. Your application should demonstrate not only an understanding of the creative nature of our industry, but an insight into your creative ability.

However, some words of warning:

1. Creating something extra is not always permitted and in the vast majority of cases the standard application process is enough to gauge whether it’s worth meeting you or not.

2. The act of making something alone is never enough. If poorly-executed your creation could just as easily do you a disservice.

DO:

- Be totally true to your personality and skills when creating.

- Execute it to a high standard.

- Leave your audience curious and wanting more.

- Make it easy for your audience to see your creation - if it’s extra hassle then either they won’t check it out or it will frustrate them!

DON'T:

- Do it for the sake of it.

- Rush it.

- Over-complicate things.

Author: Nick - Planner and former Fellow

massively inspirational image courtesy of google images

It’s the big day. Nerves are jangling, palms are sweaty – all good signs if you have done your homework. If you haven’t, be prepared for a rollercoaster of an interview as you try and steer your way through the minefield of questions that get thrown your way.

Do your research

Your interviewer wants to categorically know that you want to join their company. If you reel off a list of the company’s clients, only to find that they belong to an agency down the road, it won’t do you any favours. So research the company in great detail. Thoroughly dissect their website – if it’s any good all the answers should be in there. You should be familiar with their philosophy, list of clients, award winning work, who runs the company, scale and so on. These nuggets are great to lob in every now and then, and they will arm you with the few questions that you will be expected to ask.

Prepare for obvious questions

Be prepared to talk about advertising. What do you like, what don’t you like, what works, what doesn’t, who the advertising is trying to appeal to. It can lead to an awkward silence if you’re asked what your favourite ads/brands are and why and you aren’t ready with a response. You’re interviewing for a unique sector and you will be expected to have a point of view.

Ask some of your own

Don’t feel the need to save the questions until the end of your interview. Don’t forget that the agencies should sell themselves to you as well as you selling yourself to them.

Know what makes you different

These days it’s not just your CV that needs to stand out. You will be one of many being interviewed for those few precious places, so you need to stand out on the day too. Agencies are looking for people with that special ‘something’. It might be that you just seem a naturally good fit for the company’s culture, it might be that you seem adept at understanding the business but it also might be that you mentioned on your CV your keen interest in DJing. Remember before this face to face meeting all they know is what you’ve written on your CV. By the end of the interview ensure that you’ve piqued their interest enough for them to remember you and to ensure you get to the next stage.

Have an opinion

Silences are not always golden – sometimes they can be toe-curling, but it’s better to consider your response to a question rather than blurting out the first thing that comes into your head. If you need time to think about an answer, tell your interviewer so and then think fast. If you really don’t know the answer to a question, be honest but then try to steer the question area into something you do have an opinion on.

Look the part

The interview is not the time to turn up in low slung jeans and a beanie. If you’re aiming for a client facing role you should dress relatively smartly, but if you are trying for a creative role you probably have more licence. Once you have joined a company, you will soon see what the acceptable dress code is.

If you are remotely concerned about what to wear to an interview there is no harm calling up the company’s HR department to give you a steer.

Play the part

Your manner is key to a successful interview. Your frame of mind as you walk into the interview should be ‘quietly confident’, with quietly being the operative word. A limp handshake is not a good start – keep your energy levels up throughout the interview and make sure that you look your interviewer in the eye. There is nothing more distracting than interviewing someone who is looking out of the window, or who has negative body language (obvious, but crossing arms is a no-no), or even doodling on a pad (it’s been known to happen!).

Above all, try to enjoy yourself. It’s a good measure of how well things have gone if you have enjoyed the experience.

Author: Milly – Learning and Development

image courtesy of volvidejapon

The job is yours, contracts are signed and you’re starting on Monday. Hard part over? Not really. Day one can be an incredibly daunting prospect not least because all eyes will be on you. If you are going to make a lasting impression on your first day, how do you make sure it’s the right one?

Here are some key (and seemingly obvious) pointers to getting it right from day one:

- Look smart
You never know what you are going to be doing or who you will meet on your first day. By the end of your first week you’ll have an idea of what you can get away with in the style department.

- Be on time
It’s inexcusable to be late on your first day. Leave plenty of time to get there and plan your route. It’s better to sit in Starbucks for half an hour than the panic of sitting on a delayed train.

- Be yourself
They want to see the person they met at the interview. This is the person they’ve been telling everyone about and like you, they’re hoping that they’ve made the right choice.

- Be humble
You may have got a first from Nottingham, or had interest from the BBC about a screenplay you’ve been writing but this is the start of a new career and you can learn a lot very quickly by listening to others.

- Be respectful
Start as you mean to go on. No doubt you will come across difficult characters as you work your work up in this or any other industry – try not to be one of them. You’ll get a lot further if you treat others as you’d like to be treated yourself.

- Be keen
There is no doubt that your head will be fried by information overload by the end of your first day. Don’t worry – it will probably take a good couple of months to get your feet firmly under that desk and you’ll be given leeway as long as it’s evident that you are pushing yourself. No one minds being asked questions, so ask away.

- Immerse yourself in the company
This industry is not just about hard work, there is plenty of play too. Try and make time to have a drink with your colleagues – you’ll find life a lot easier when you are dealing with friendly faces.

Author: Milly – Learning and Development

image courtesy Bright Tal

It’s hard to get your first break into advertising and if you have opened the door even a little bit, it’s very disappointing to have it closed on you again. But if you have the requisite passion, the energy and the creativity, you will pick yourself up and start knocking on the door again straight away.

Do some self analysis. Sometimes you just know where you went wrong – you couldn’t answer a question in an interview or you froze in a presentation. If you didn’t even get a first interview, take a critical look at your application – is it really up to scratch and how could it be improved?

Ask for some feedback from your interviewers or assessment observers. There are usually one or two pointers that you can improve on the next time, whether it’s energy, interpersonal skills, intellectual rigour or another area.

Getting yourself some work experience is a good idea but is easier said than done. Agencies are inundated with requests for work experience so give some careful thought to your approach and how to differentiate yourself. If you just send a stock ‘Dear Sir’ email or letter without tailoring your approach to the individual agency, you may just as well not bother. If you hear back at all, it will be with an equally stock response. You should also consider whether you have any friends, family or other contacts who could effect an introduction.

Some agencies run regular training programmes – often called ‘Summer Schools’ or 'internships'. These are a good way to get some exposure to advertising and can often lead to future employment opportunities. The competition for places is always hot, so all the rules for applications and interviews apply equally here.

Be persistent, but don’t be a pest. If you establish any sort of rapport with an industry contact, try to keep it going by whatever means appears to work – humour, charm, providing useful information. You need to read the situation and pitch your communication accordingly.

In the meantime, keep yourself informed and involved. Read the industry journals, do your own critiques of new campaigns in all media, read some books. All this will stand you in good stead in preparing for your career in advertising.

Above all, don’t give up.

Author: Jenny – H.R.