When Colin Fish, business manager for Reed Marketing & Creative, recently received a CV stating “I had sex jobs in the last year”, he did a double take. In fact, the applicant had mistyped – she meant six – but it didn’t leave a great impression. “When it comes to CVs, grammatical errors, spelling mistakes and typos are unacceptable – and yet they are more common than you might think,” says Fish.
In today’s competitive marketing job market, the one tool that will make you stand out from the start is your CV. So besides accuracy, what makes an outstanding CV – and how do you follow it up with a killer interview?
Fish says your CV should do four things – demonstrate your understanding of the specific requirements of the job and show that you possess the specific skills, the right sort of experience and the right personal qualities. “This,” he says, “enables employers to immediately see exactly what values you would bring to their company.”
CVs should never exceed two sides of A4, adds Tim Gilbert, managing director of marketing recruitment company EMR, even if you’ve got oodles of experience. If you are long in the tooth when it comes to experience, he advocates listing each role followed by two subheadings – “responsibilities” and “achievements” – with bullet points of pertinent career information. “This will ensure a sharper, more focused document that the reader can assess quickly. Keeping it punchy is essential.”
But don’t forget any specialisms. “If you have financial or team management responsibility, for example, ensure this is clearly highlighted,” says Gilbert. “It is also important to give a good idea of any ROI figures and increase in customer numbers or usage as a result of your marketing activities.”
Experience counts
Clear examples – and a use of the word “I” rather than “we” – are crucial at both CV and interview stage. “The examples you give should be both commercial in content and give a good indication of creativity and innovation. Often companies will want to feel that the marketer they are employing can challenge the status quo – within reason,” says Gilbert.
But don’t go over the top. “Sometimes I get CVs where the list of experience appears so extensive that I feel they should be running the country rather than a marketing campaign,” says Dawn Baker, head of marketing for Sage’s small business division.
Conversely, Emma Carey, team leader at Blue Skies Marketing Recruitment, says she gets CVs – particularly from in-house marketers – that simply list the campaigns applicants have worked on rather than the marketing skills that these campaigns demonstrate.
She adds that some marketers seem to be applying for “any job” rather than “this job”. “I had one who applied for a music‑related marketing role whose CV said ‘I am dedicated to a career in health and beauty’. In a blind panic, she’d sent it out to everyone. Someone else applying for the same role had researched which musicians the company represented and listed the bands among them that she liked, with reasons. It got her the interview,” says Carey.
Another applicant for a role on a baby brand took a picture of herself with her baby and listed why she wanted that particular role – again, it got her the interview. “Another time, there was a guy who wowed his prospective employer by bringing a PowerPoint presentation called, ‘Why me?’ to the interview,” says Carey. “So my advice is to really think about the particular role and be innovative in demonstrating why you think you suit it.”
Be prepared
Use the web to research the business, advises Joanna Douglas, managing consultant for Nigel Wright Recruitment. “Spend some time looking at both the employer’s website and external search engines to see recent news stories,” she says. Once coupled with the job description, it will also help you see the bigger picture – what problem is the job there to solve?
But don’t go into interviews with prepared answers. “People often listen to half a question in interviews, think they know what they’re being asked and give the answer to a totally different question,” says Douglas. “You must also be able to talk informatively and with passion about everything on your CV. Know where you’re heading and have clear goals.”
For John Lees, author of Take Control of Your Career, the most essential part of the interview is the moment you walk in the door. “An interviewer is making a decision about you in the first 30 seconds. The way you dress, sound, and move are all taken – quite wrongly – as indicators of your job performance.” He says you should focus on your overall message. “What does your CV, your application letter and your interview performance say about you?”
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