Being new and original among the tower of applications for a new job is important if you want to make your name stand out. From a icing your CV on a cake to handing in a shot labelled ‘give me a shot’, there’s plenty of quirky ways of getting that dream internship when everyone else has the same qualifications. MA PR and Communications student at the University of Gloucestershire, Lauren Fletcher, took the alcoholic approach to make her CV heard.
After taking creative advice from her lecturers at university, Lauren Fletcher talked about what made her come up with her unique idea.
“I initially thought about putting it on a puzzle, but I thought by the time you put the puzzle together it’d be ages. I went with this because it’s something sweet and simple and who doesn’t like a bit of Prosecco.”
Lauren took the same approach when applying for a 3 month internship with Rich Leigh at Radioactive. However Andy Barr, PR speaker and guest lecturer at the university, was the first to jump at the chance to take on the MA student and looks forward to her taking on the role.
“It’s all too easy to send an email to a generic address so it’s good to stand out, obviously Prosecco is the world favourite drink so it’s always going to go well. It was a great move. Having the confidence to go in and do it was a clever thing.”
Andy has received a wealth of interesting CVs, including a cryptic message on a USB stick, and he encourages his students to stand out among the crowd.
“We’ve had someone who iced a CV on a cake which I remembered, we invited them in for an interview. The other one was on an air-fix plane, one of the planes you make up, which was really good but annoying because I had to put the thing together.”
So what can you do to stand out when applying for a job or a placement?
“Be original and try and get a bit of your personality in there as well. Just do something different, it’ll stand you apart from others who’ve just sent an email.”
Lauren Fletcher
“Try to doing something wacky, especially if you’re going in to a creative industry it shows you have the skills. The more creative the better. If you’re applying for a dull and serious industry I don’t think it’d work but if you need to stand out and show originality I think it’s a smart move.”
Andy Barr
When applying for a less creative role, it’s sensible to be a bit more wary about quirky applications, but with the growing industry of PR it’s important to stand out and show your true potential with your CV.
