This time of year we receive a lot of emails inquiring about advertising internships or full-time branding/marketing jobs.
We talk to a few, and we bring a few in to meet with us. Often we’re asked why we chose them or what has us invite someone to the next stage of the process.
There are all kinds of things we mention. Frankly, there’s no magic thing to do. Of course, everyone we contact is smart – that’s just table stakes. But there are a lot of smart aspiring marketers out there. Sometimes it’s the attention to detail they used in choosing what color folder and paperclip to use! Seriously! Why? Because it demonstrates a match to our Movie in the Mind.
The idea is if you really want to work somewhere and you really want to impress the hiring manager, find out what’s important to the company. You’ll have to be a little bit of a detective.
· See if you can find their Core Values – if those are important to the agency, they’ll likely have them posted. (Hint: they are VERY important to BrandTuitive.)
· Look up the LinkedIn profile of the company and the employees – see if you can get a flavor for the culture from how things are written.
· Think about what they are conveying in their tagline – ours is Unexpected Thinking. Look for examples of how you’ve demonstrated the promise of their tagline.
· Check out their social media – determine what seems to be important to them. Then speak to that Movie in the Mind.
· Consider the generation of the recipient - are they more likely to appreciate something arriving in the mail or via email?
We consider our clients’ customers’ Movie in the Mind all day long so we’re used to looking from that perspective. But candidates who can incorporate that into their marketing job searches will improve their odds of breaking through the clutter.