The Final Year Scaries
During my time in academia, March is the month of the ‘scaries’. I first experienced them during the final year of my Undergraduate degree, it was the time when suddenly I could see the end of my course in sight, when my thoughts turned to what next? Flash forward to my Masters and again the March ‘scaries’ reared its head.
Making the decision to get a head start, I began to keep an eye on job boards, polishing my CV and even creating a running Excel sheet tracking jobs that I’ve seen, applied for and where I am in the application process.
As March progresses I can feel a sense of despair begin ‘will I ever get a job?’ ‘Is there something wrong with my CV?’ ‘When will someone take a chance on a kid like me?’ When I notice an email on my university account. There will be a talk given by Robert Taylor-Minton on employability within the PR industry. This quickly became my must attend talk.
The Most Important Lecture
Naturally, I took a look at Robert’s Linkedin page. It made for some impressive reading; 50 years experience in PR, fellow at Leeds Beckett University, serving on the Council of the Public Relations and Communication Association. I realised that if I wanted advice on my future, then he was definitely the man to get it from.
I arrive at the class, laptop and CV at the ready. I felt like a sponge, ready to absorb everything that he had to say. He spoke of his own experiences in the industry, how he got his start, the importance of being intellectually curious and how his biggest lesson was to not take anything for granted.
I was typing away diligently until something he said struck a chord… What makes me special?
Standing Out From the Crowd
What sets me apart from everyone else? Am I doing as much as I can? These questions made me pause because it prompted some self reflection. What am I doing that is going above and beyond?
Robert talked about employers not just looking at the degree applicants hold, but instead they are more interested in what other activities students do, how do they go above and beyond what is required of them?
“That may be a harsh thing to say… but just because you have an MA in PR doesn’t make you employable.”
Robert Minton-Taylor
I instantly start to compare myself to others in the class. Sure, I’ve got an internship, but I’m not the course rep, I’m not organising talks for my peers with guest speakers.
As I’m mulling this over, Robert hits on another point, experience. He tells us that to be successful in PR you don’t need to come from a PR background, but you need to be able to mould the experience that you have in other areas to be applicable to PR jobs. It’s at this point that I begin to realise that my CV is full of different experiences. Perhaps I wasn’t the star student but nobody could take away my soft skills and experience in other areas.
Putting Scaries to Rest
Roberts talk made me realise that I am proactive and I have a CV that is full of experience that is essential to successfully working in PR. I left Robert’s talk with the March scaries feeling less pressing and more confident that my experience is extensive and has left me with some strong soft skills and that if I can spend a bit of time crafting my CV to match the requirements of each job that I’m applying for then I will find work soon.