How to market yourself through your PR CV
Laura Sullivan at TopCV, the largest CV-writing service in the world, shares her advice on how to ensure your PR CV captures the attention of your dream employer.
As businesses embrace their new year plans, top employers are on the lookout for candidates that can make a difference in 2018.
They want their brands to become bigger, better, and more recognisable, so they’re looking for quality PR professionals to bring on board. Want to persuade them that you’re the one for the job? Here’s how to market your skills through your PR CV.
Identify who you’re selling to
As a PR professional, you’re an expert at pitching to different types of audiences. Draw on this ability when tailoring your CV.
The person reading your CV will be trying to identify the skills and experiences most relevant to the vacancy they’re trying to fill. As a result, you need to make yourself look like the perfect match.
Look at the job description and highlight the essential requirements that you fulfil. Also, pay attention to the description of the employer. Visit their website and conduct some top-level research to get a feel for the brand and tone of voice. Then mirror these elements throughout your CV to show you’re a fit.
Focus on the features and benefits
Once you have identified the relevant information to include, you must phrase it in a way that markets your capabilities in the best light.
For this, adopt the successful sales technique of showing the features and benefits of a product to prove its usefulness. In this case, the product is you. The features are your skills and knowledge, and the benefits are the value you can bring and the impact you will make.
Draw on as many numbers and statistics as possible when explaining your worth as they add weight to your claims.
Craft a flawless appearance
Any document marketing a product should be pristine and polished. Your CV is no exception.
Ensure your CV has consistent formatting throughout to give it a professional feel. Choose a couple of easy-to-read fonts (one for your headings, the other for the body) and keep them somewhere in the range of 10 and 14-point font.
Proofread thoroughly for any grammatical or spelling errors. Your word processor’s spellcheck won’t be enough. For example, you may have written ‘manger’ and meant ‘manager’ and spellcheck wouldn’t catch that error. If you have enough faith in friends or family, ask them to give it a once over in addition to your beady-eye checks. Alternatively, invest in a more intelligent grammar and spelling checker, like Grammarly.
Then save your CV in a .pdf file which will lock in your formatting. If you save your CV as a Word doc, the formatting can alter if the recipient has a different version of Word to you.
Add a little extra
You’ve addressed the right audience, you’ve identified your key selling points, and you’ve shown you’re suitable for the role. But how are you going to give prospective employers that little bit extra?
Since your CV should only be two pages long, it can be difficult to market every single one of your skills effectively. If you’ve got a range of achievements you want to show off, don’t be afraid to include links in your CV – recruiters will click on them!
You may like to include a link to your LinkedIn profile to show off your impressive PR network, or you might like to link your portfolio or big scoops you’ve secured on national platforms. Including that little bit extra might just give employers an offer they can’t refuse.
TopCV offers a range of CV-writing services including expertly-written and keyword-optimised CVs, cover letters, and LinkedIn profiles. It is currently offering a free CV review to help you land your dream job in public relations.