The job market is in a weird place at the moment. Employers are struggling to recruit talent while the current unemployment rate sits at a high 4.6%. Graduates and starters are struggling to get their foot in the door with their chosen careers despite the opportunities being out there.
As someone who is all too aware of the trials and tribulations of job hunting in the uncertain times we live in, I thought I would share the realisations and lessons I learned that helped me land my dream role at Resonance. Hopefully, by the end of this blog I’ll have solved the employment crisis.
This may remind you of teachers trying to cajole revision out of their students as GCSE exam season approaches, but the mantra still holds up.
At some point in the candidate process, you will need to demonstrate you have a solid understanding of tech PR. What it is, what are its variants and how it differs from other forms of public relations? Showing you thoroughly understand the industry you are wanting to break into will convince prospective employers you are taking the opportunity seriously and haven’t simply clicked the ‘Easy Apply’ option on LinkedIn.
To quote the great leader of our times, Gareth Southgate, “confidence comes from preparation.” Belief in yourself inspires belief from others and having a solid understanding of the basics is the first step towards this.
PR is a vast and varying industry but it’s all about conveying image. Whether it be Lil Nas X’s recent billboard stunt, KFC’s glib social media posts that they had in fact run out of chicken or the humble press release, the strand that binds all these together is the aim of conveying a positive image.
This translates to individual candidates in the application process. To be frank, if you can’t sell an image of yourself as a viable PR candidate how are you going to convey a large multinational in a positive light to a tech savvy audience?
An honest self-assessment is required. Analyse the job description and match your attributes to it. If you find yourself lacking in this department, fear not. There are plenty of online courses you can do to beef up your qualities and enhance your capability.
Ultimately, taking the right steps to land a role will help you get up to speed faster when you secure your position. I spent longer than I care to admit hunting for my start in PR which gave me plenty of time to understand what was needed of me when I began at Resonance.
Not to be overly self-congratulatory but my first two months here have started rather strongly. I have secured coverage in the Financial Times, a feature interview in Computer Weekly and have internally won Resonance’s coverage of the month award.
The time I spent trying to break into PR was exhausting, stressful and at times bad for my self-esteem, but it’s paying off now.