Wednesday 7 July 2010

Have Faith Fellow PR Graduates!

Students all over the UK have been terrorised by shocking news stories surrounding graduate jobs in the last few days. Headlines such as 'British job market bleak for fresh graduates', 'Nearly 70 graduates for each job vacancy' and 'Bar rises as graduate job squeeze tightens' have had us all sick with panic.

The obvious truth is that giving up faith is not the way to become the 1 graduate in 69 who gets the job. I am writing this for fellow PR graduates who, like me, have not yet landed themselves their dream jobs.

Ok, admittedly it is healthy to have some perspective and understand that getting a job is a little more difficult than usual. So here's a little perspective for you from M&C Saatchi Sport & Ent­ertainment CEO Steve Martin commenting on the launch of the brand new PR agency, 'M&C Saatchi PR', in PR Week today:

"The PR market is in growth and we feel the time is right to step up our offering in the broader consumer PR space. We just feel that there is an amazing opportunity in the PR sector now and hence we are launching the new agency to make the most of this from both consumer and corporate points of view"
I hope this makes you all feel a little better. It may be that we graduates have to work part time for a while (like I am doing) until we find the jobs that we want, but patience is a virtue. Possess it if you want to succeed, and don't lose sight of where you want to be.

3 comments:

  1. I was out visiting clients yesterday so got the opportunity to hear this on the radio. Somebody who graduated a couple of years ago phoned in and made the comment that you will need to stand out from the crowd if you want to get a job in these tough times. He said, and I wholeheartedly agree, that the way to stand out is to tailor every single job application to the position being offered. Show that you understand what is being asked of the succesful applicant, show that you understand the company, the clients and the sort of work that they do, and then very clearly show what skills and qualities you have that will match.

    Do not just send the same CV for every job you apply for.

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  2. Great post Beth. I would stress that graduates should also consider applying for internships, which is also a realistic way to start getting your name out there. True that internships are not financially beneficial to young graduates as most of them are unpaid however they should be considered as alternatives. Tailoring your job application is very important. Yes it is time consuming but it's worth doing. Graduates should also use social media platforms such as Linkedin, Twitter or Facebook in order to spot employer's offers and build up their 'e' reputation.

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  3. Thanks guys, some really great comments and I completely agree with both of you! Another advantage to tailoring applications is that you are forced to fully consider what the job is likely to involve. It encourages you to apply for jobs that are more suited to you, which has obvious benefits for you if you get the job as well as increases your chances of getting it.

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