The title sounds harsh  for those desparately looking to break into PR, but I have had another e-mail requesting work experience / job from a “student” that has not bothered to check his or her spelling, conducted, at a push, cursory research or even said why they are interested in “photography” and what he or she can offer – I mean, have you taken a picture, what do you like taking pictures of, can I see one?

Moreover, “experience” was spelt wrong on the e-mail and I am an anonymous “sir” or “madam,” (lower case on opening) -  I obviously don’t have a name as everyone I know in PR is actually is called “sir” or “madam” so it makes perfect sense.

I was asked for work experience in photography, I know professional photographers but there is not one reference to me being a photographer although I do like taking the occasional snap, so well spotted.

If I had been called I could have made a call to photographers I know, should I be impressed (as I was by a little initiative last week).

Now I have to take pity as this e-mail was from a parent – I attach no blame to the high school student.

So with that in mind I will refer all requests that cannot get past GCSE level to the following:

Things not to do, and a few things you should do, when approaching a PR agency for work experience /work

Thing to do when approaching a PR agency for work

I am getting fed-up – in the last 6 years I have had one really good speculative approach.

When I have given pointers to other agencies that might be able to help or advice given with genuine empathy (as I was once looking for opportunities) I have had a few acknowledgments of thanks but not many.

Is this really the standard one expects of students or indeed more mature adults?

If you are looking to break into PR, one of the most sought after careers, then make sure you get the basics right.

It is more about quality of applciation than sending it to everyone with any distant relationship to the PR profession.

Well, getting a start would be ideal for most graduates or school leavers.

It is not easy to get a career; it is not easy to get a job at the moment, and a sought after career: forget it.

Even in good times things are not easy, so what do you do if you want to get started in marketing or PR in such a discouraging market?

Here are a few tips that I hope helps:

Social media – If you want to get into marketing or PR and you do not know about social media then you are letting yourself down.

You are not taking the opportunity of building relationships with professionals that could help you.  You are not noting opportunities as they come up.  You are not showing that you have the skills and intellectual curiosity to succeed.

Flexibility – It is tempting to wait for the right job.  But the right position rarely comes along.

Make a start, if you get offered an opportunity – a placement or junior role – think seriously about taking it even if it is not perfect, you can still look for your dream job in the meantime.  You might find the role you get offered turned out to be what you wanted or was much better than you imagined.

CV and applications – I have received CVs with grammatical errors!!  Really, do I have to say more?

Cultivate opportunities where none present themselves – I have received speculative CVs and reply and get no word of thanks when I offer advice.  I understand that if you want a job you have no time to dwell and you move on as quickly as you can.

But if only they called me or asked for leads or pointers, I would be happy to reward a little bit of initiative, so would many other people.  Yet my efforts to reply are never rewarded – if I was recruiting I would not employ such individuals although this might be unfair.  This one example where initiating a quick conversation might really help reduce that job hunt’s length.

Networking – following on, look for people that can help you.

Do not be afraid to ask: it is not cheating to ask contacts to get introductions that can lead to work experience or even, dare I say it, work.

Have a real think who might be able to help, ask those who you do not think could help, you might be surprised who they know.

Determination – it is a difficult road for many and one that I do not want to travel again.  But if you really want it, you are most likely going to get you dream job.  So have courage and keep at it even though it is a miserable process.

Today it has been officially announced that we are out of recession!!

Well if you are looking to start a career this news will make scant impression on you.

The 1990 recession ended when you had a “proper” job – I still think many people who graduated in the early 90s are still feeling the affects of their bad timing at being born some 20 years earlier.  Can do better next time if he applies himself.

The 90s recession ended in about 1997 if truth be told for many people.  Bill Clinton, new technology, the Internet easing communication and attracting investment, the start of de-regulation of US banks (which had been put in place by FDR in the 30s that helped create the worst recession since the 30s) all had a role to play.

The fact for many is that careers were missed, and why?, because in the case of the marketing industry there was a reluctance to develop people – give them a chance.  Of course some made it nevertheless, but the industry was unwelcoming and expected 21 years experience and candidates to be 20 years old.

I can only hope that the recovery does not exclude vast swathes of able people, but it will.

It is time for business to recognise that talent does not come from doing a marketing degree or experience only.  There is a lot to be said for determination, personal characteristics such as being sociable, open to learning.

For professionals that have lost their jobs who are on the other side of the age divide, there is no reason why some businesses should discriminate – it is the person, not the age that counts.

What am I saying: the world is unfair?

It is true.

What I am saying is:

Treat people with respect – there will be too many graduates wanting a career where there are too few openings and some HR departments will enjoy thinking they are of a higher power.  It is the personal characteristics that I think make a good marketer, but can you spot these and are they developed when you are a new graduate?

If you want a career in PR or marketing, the chances are you will succeed if you are determined and what might seem a bleak age now will dissolve away in time. Give yourself time and accept support when going through the often bleak process of finding a job.

I think I will tackle how to give yourself a real head start in an entry shortly – keep tuned

Oasis Academy, a specialist media school, is holding a career fair for companies and agencies interested in talking to its Year 11 (fifth year in my day, I think) and sixth form.

I am sure there are opportunities for creative media and marketing organisations to take on students for placements as well.

Oasis Academy has strong links with the new Media City and the students are schooled in IT as well as media skills, so they are better equipped to enter a creative media opportunity than my generation.

The fair is on Wednesday 3rd February 6.30pm-8.30pm at the school (formerly Hope High School), Prestwood Road, Salford, M6 8GG

If you are interested in attending or learning more please contact Paul Andrews: paul.andrews@oasismediacityuk.org

Please also contact Paul if you are interested in the free digital photography courses starting on the 28th January; other courses include yoga and Spanish (some are free others carry a small fee).

Northwest Vision and Media is offering the opportunity to gain some valuable experience in marketing in the games industry.

The paid placements are available to North West graduates in marketing and digital disciplines.

The deadline for applications is Friday 24th July at midday, so if interested contact ianw@visionandmedia.co.uk for an application form.

It looks like a good opportunity to get some valuable experience and get a career going – so what are you waiting for (if indeed you are graduate starting out)?

Tom Cheesewright of AND Partners left the following comment after I posted a piece about an enterprising graduate:

“When it comes to graduates looking for a job, any effort is welcome.

I get shed loads of letters and emails from grads that start ‘Dear Sir/Madam’.

How difficult is it to look up my name?

From there on in it is clear that the applicant has no clue about my business and has sent the same letter to a thousand other people. If I do bother reading on, I generally (more than 80% of the time) find the letters to be riddled with typos, spelling errors and general nonsense.

Worst of all though, on a few occasions I have taken the time to respond – politely – and point out what they are doing wrong and how to improve their chances. Out of three times I have done this, how many times do you think they have responded? None. Which just proves to me that they were never going to be worth employing. Rant over.”

Now two things before I get started: there will be a terrible typo here that undermines my authority for writing this entry and secondly I have had similar experiences although surprisingly I am not the number one destination of graduate career aspirations.

So here are a few simple tips, which somehow are not followed as often as they should, that is they should be all the time:

Do some research – I have a blog and a Twitter account and lots of references about Artisan on the major search engines.   It is not hard to find out some interesting things about the company you want to work for. Use that research to show you are keen and have some resourcefulness.

Find out the name of the member of staff you are applying to – personalise your application.  A quick call will give you the name you want if it is not online or not clear who the best contact is.

No spelling errors - I reckon a CV takes at least four hours to write and much longer to proof, edit and amend.  Make sure there are no mistakes.  The latest application had this mistake “Daily mail” on the CV.  We all do it but that’s no excuse – get someone to proof it.

Social media – Use Twitter.  Read blogs.  Make some contacts on LinkedIN.

Follow up -  Even if it is a “no,” it might be a “yes” next time.  Initiate contact, generate a rapport if possible, ask advice.  You never know what might happen, maybe a nod towards someone that can help.

Be prepared to accept that job searching can be a thankless task that takes time unless you are lucky or stupendously good – Rushing off / spamming every agency you can find with cut and paste covering letters is easy to see through and generally does not work.

Some people will be rude.  They are probably not working for if it is indicative of their general attitude.  But many employers will not.  They might have been in the same situation.  But if you want them to help at least show you are displaying the respect you want them to show you.

I, like many, struggled to get into a career in marketing.

It’s not easy and the recession makes an attractive career in PR or marketing even harder to come by.

If you are not a marketing / PR / business graduate it becomes even harder, and no experience, well….

So what can you do if you feel that you could grow into this type of career?  How can you invest your time to build a platform to build a career?

Here are a few tips that I hope will be of some help.  They derive from my experience and as you know experience can be described as a collection of mistakes – peppered by a few successes – that helps you learn how to do something proficiently.

Resilience – you are going to get knocked back unless you are very lucky, well-connected or brilliant.  It is not easy to get a letter like this if you feel that you are perfect for a job: “Even though you are an excellent candidate we felt your skills were not quite right for our organisation on this occasion….”

You need to have a thick skin and move on, and don’t look back.  It’s not easy.

Give yourself a range of options – You might want to work in fashion PR, it is your ambition since you were 17.  But be flexible, so if a job in consumer PR comes up consider it carefully.  You can always move to other sectors at a later stage (although HR can have a habit of pigeon holing people).

Make a start and do not wait for the perfect job – You have to start somewhere.  The first job might be far from perfect but does it get you to the place you want to go?

A note of caution:  Sometimes an opportunity comes up but it is not right because it will not develop your skills, you don’t have the right attributes to build on in the first place or the boss or environment is not for you.  It takes real courage to turn something down when you are desperate to get a career started.  However, it is often the best option, so think carefully before accepting a position that you have a bad feeling about.

Desperation – the enemy of job seekers.

If you are desperate it will come though at interview and you will not get the job or as above it will cloud your judgement.  When you are starting out you often don’t have much perspective and little experience – you need to get on NOW!  Try and relax, if you are determined you will get there.

Qualifications – These can be more important in securing your first position rather than what you learn.  (I cannot remember 90% of my Chartered Institute of Marketing Diploma).

Apprenticeships – take them.  It shows employers your intent and gives you insight into your profession.  It might convince you that it wasn’t for you all along.  But remember a bad experience doesn’t mean you won’t thrive elsewhere.

Networking – If you develop good contacts it can help flag opportunities.  The least it might do is give you a real insight into the profession.  So start to attend CIPR events, ask friends who they know, can your lecturers help make introductions for you?  Be proactive, it will also deveolop your business skills and you as a person.

Social networking – It is hard to go to a business event as a wannabe PR and feel confident that you will be taken seriously.  You might think, “What can I offer the other attendees?”

These thoughts are understandable, but that doesn’t stop you using Twitter, monitoring blogs or indeed blogging yourself to start to establish a greater insight into your new profession and to initiate contacts.  If you are engaged in these pursuits at this moment in time you will probably be admired by the best professionals.  In a couple of years perhaps it will be nothing special at all.

Take control of things yourself – I have one client that could not get the summer job he wanted so he found projects for himself and by the time he graduated he had enough work to form his own business.

Not everyone is confident or able enough to do this, most people need to learn the ropes before they can work for themselves.  Saying that, if you feel you can offer something, why not do PR for a small charity or organisation?  (Caution: you might look back on the mistakes you made here and cringe, but it could be useful for your CV).

Find a mentor – someone who can help and guide you is invaluable.  Even getting snippets of advice from professionals can help, so be open and receptive.

Someone, family or friend, that can give you support can be just as crucial when you are feeling down thinking about the ridiculous odds you might encounter going for an entry level position.

If you want it you can get into marketing or PR – be proactive, focused and determined.

Some time ago – 14.1.07 – I published an entry about the need for apprenticeships for marketing and PR.

Even though I wrote that two years ago it is still a popular post.  This is of course not surprising with the current economic climate.

When Manchester Masters was launched it seemed like a promising development – apprenticeships for students and graduates wanting a career in marketing and PR.  And not only that, it was supportive and generous beyond many people’s expectation – certainly ones that had had to devote unpaid work to get on the career ladder themselves.

Why had such a scheme not been thought of before?

I was looking through The Guardian when I spotted the name of  Sandy Lindsay of Manchester PR agency Tangerine.  I was drawn into an article about selection for Manchester Masters.

Any scheme offering a real opportunity to grow (and a rent free apartment for a year) is going to be popular, in good times and bad.

But how do you select the 10 lucky students out of the 100 applications?  (This actually seems a low figure).

Well The Guardian gave the answer: Apprentice style activities such as putting a flat back together while being questioned.

These tasks were designed to weed out the “wallflowers” but as journalist Daniel Cookney observes “is it possible that the competition overlooked good candidates who were simply not suited to such a format?”  Others agreed.

It might be that the PR for this was seen as key and it was generated successfully.  After all I read about it in The Guardian.  It could be that the PR agency let its instincts take over or they took some publicity for themselves (we all do a bit from time to time).  It could be that this was seen as the best way to select, but I doubt it.

What I know is that it can be incredibly hard to get started, the recession might, I should say “will”, destroy the hopes of some graduates to attain a career in PR and marketing.

But we need to be fair as possible, perhaps this was.

The key thing is that the desperate desire to win one of these apprenticeships is taken with the upmost seriousness.  I am sure it was, but using techniques that have a touch of business reality TV gives the wrong impression.

One winner Charlotte Gush gushed, “My specialist knowledge does not lie in PR, marketing or media, but the competition challenged me to demonstrate my transferable skills, knowledge and abilities.”

How do you exactly know that if you have not worked in any of the fields?  I can’t see how the exercises did at all.

It has the ring of cliched and hackneyed CV soundbites.

For me Manchester Masters is a brilliant opportunity for 10 lucky aspiring marketers to get a real head start.  It is bound to miss talented people that make it through other means.  But it has to show that it has gone through fair and professional means to find the apprentices.  Anything less is unfair on those that missed out and on the integrity and reputation of the scheme.

Maybe I am being a bit too harsh.

I was traveling past the Manchester University student Union building and happened to see the mess of campaign banners for the student elections.  What struck me is for all their garish “look at me quality” they said nothing.

Well literally not nothing, they did not say anything that would give me a reason to vote.

One said “Rob Pinfold Mr Incredible” and another said “vote for Vicky its not tricky.”  One sounds like a night club Lothario and the other a silly schoolgirl.

I am sure this is the level I was at when I was at secondary school and I might be generous in that small appraisal.

Where is the messaging?  What do you stand for?  What commands me to spend my time voting for you and not in the pub?

I am not saying that I want them to be at David Ogilvy’s level, but you wonder when it so pathetic….