Careers advice with Julia Yates

by Julia Yates

"Hello Julia, I’ve applied to a number of

companies for a work placement, as it is vital to my course. However I haven’t had a single reply.

It is making me feel like I am not good enough for my chosen profession and I don’t know what to do. Is there anything I am doing wrong? If so, how can I go about changing this?"

Concerned

 How frustrating for you! Well there are two possible problems: either you are applying for the wrong kinds of jobs, or there is something wrong with the way you’re applying.

If it’s neither of these, then you just need to carry on as a lot of the time it is down to chance!

So let’s tackle the initial problem: how do you know if the jobs you are applying for are suitable for you?

The first thing you could do is think about what you can offer the organisation you’re applying to: what experience have you had and what are you good at? Be honest: are you what they’re looking for?

If you’re still not sure, you could try to call the organisation and see if you can arrange to have a chat with someone involved with recruitment.

Advice

 You can ask them what they’re looking for, and see if they could tell you about the person who got the job. The next thing to consider is whether or

not you are selling yourself properly in your CV and covering letter. Your application needs to be specific to the particular role, so put yourself in the shoes of the person reading the CV and ask yourself what they will be hoping to see.

Is it really obvious from your CV that you have everything they want? Does the CV look professional? Jobs in the creative industries can be so oversubscribed that even one spelling mistake can cost you dearly.

Make sure too that the covering letter states clearly why you are interested in working with that organisation.

It takes time, but tailoring each application is a very sound investment.

If you need help with any aspect of your job search, do please ring up for an appointment with a careers coach at Davies Street on 020 7514 6165