Write in plain English
Marketers may have their own trade language, but recruiters say it is best to leave out the technical jargon until the interview.
Tailor your application
A generic one-size-fits-all approach just doesn’t cut it any more. Consultants recommend tailoring both your CV and covering letter to the specifics of each individual position for which you apply. Copying and pasting may well be easier but putting in the extra effort is vital in order to secure an interview.
Make sure there are no typos
Triple-check your application and get someone else to read it before you send it. Recruiters will tell tales of copywriters and marketers boasting about their 'eye for detail' in applications littered with simple errors.
Sell yourself online
Make sure your LinkedIn profile is up to date and check that the privacy settings on your Facebook account prevent strangers from viewing embarrassing pictures taken on nights out, for example. After all, you want to make sure pot-ential employers see your best side, not your backside.
Do your research
There is no point in claiming to be passionate about a sector and then turning up to an interview knowing nothing about it. You must be familiar both with the brands you are seeking to work for and their key competitors.
Avoid the scatter-gun approach
Don’t apply aimlessly and register with every recruitment consultancy under the sun. This can make you appear desperate, which means recruiters will be less inclined to take you seriously and put you forward for plum roles.
Use your contacts
Being out of work or disenchanted in your job can be isolating, so get out and talk to as many people as possible. It is always good to get another view-point and expand your network.
Show some personality
This is clearly a tricky area - while some potential employers may be drawn in by quirky style, others may find it a turn-off. A candidate who lists her interests with the one-word explanation, Beyonce, may well be limiting their appeal.
While it has never been a traditionally British trait, ensuring you assert ownership over your creative ideas and campaigns is crucial. Many marketers' careers have been built on taking the credit for the ideas of others. Make sure you don't end up on the wrong end of this.
Never underestimate the importance of good manners
Pity the team of creatives that found itself pitching to a client who had, in a previous incarnation, been at the sharp end of its agency's sorry excuse for a graduate.
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