Sarah Marshall is a visiting lecturer at City University and head of audience growth at Vogue Global. Prior to Vogue, she was a reporter at the Washington Post. Marshall regularly hires for Vogue and Conde Nast and has seen hundreds of CVs over the course of her career. Here are her tips for making your CV stand out from the crowd.
How long should my CV be?
“I have 15 years’ worth experience – and my CV is one page,” says Marshall. “Keeping it succinct is key. You’re a journalist – it’s about writing clearly and only including relevant points.” Especially, if you are just getting your first role, your CV should not be longer than one page.
What should my CV look like?
Marshall’s own CV starts off with her latest position, with bullet points below listing achievements and responsibilities in that role. Anything to do with use of data is absolutely vital to prove success. If you haven’t got anything yet, start using data! It’s everywhere. Lasso it and make sense of it, and improve your product because of it.
If you have an impressive social media profile, be sure to add that too. And if you’ve proven you can ensnare audiences with a post, you’re going to be on the shortlist. If you have doubled the following of a social media account, state that. Add links to articles you’ve had published, as well as how you’ve used social media and data in the process. That’s what you’ll be doing in the job, so get going now. If you’re in need of inspiration, there are plenty of data and visualisation accounts to follow on instagram.
And which format is best?
“I would send it as a Google Doc and also include a PDF download. I personally don’t like receiving Word docs,” advises Marshall.
Another housekeeping tip is to keep your CV on a Google doc. It’s a living page. Google docs can be accessed and synced on your laptop and phone, so you’re never far away from it. Like that, you can easily edit and export to pdf and attach to that job application.
What is required of an entry-level journalist working in social media?
“I would expect any graduate to be able to write a 600-word article. But in 2020, I want you to understand audience, social, analytics, video and communities. And how to create an Instagram story.”
Should I include a photo?
If you want. Marshall says, “I don’t mind when people include a photo. I personally don’t add one.”
Can I add things on my CV that are not journalism-related?
“If things are interesting, but not about journalism, add that,” says Marshall. “Things that will make you stand out as a journalist.”
If you’ve lived in different countries, that will make you stand out. Marshall is always on the lookout for people who have lived in other cultures and speak other languages, people who can bring something to the workplace – different experiences and backgrounds. It’s not about tokenism, it’s about creating a more well-rounded team.
If you speak additional languages, don’t hesitate to put that in your CV. Marshall says she tries to hire people who speak at least two languages. Again, diversity and experience is always attractive to employers.
Over 500 people have applied for this job. Do I have a chance?
Marshall says many people may have applied for a job but the number is quickly filtered down, as many people don’t follow the application rules or state that they have the job criteria as listed in the job advert.
“You’ll often be against people who haven’t fulfilled the criteria,” she says. “List your knowledge and achievements. And if you’ve been on a reputable journalism course and list your experience, you should stand out.”
“Getting your first journalism job is harder than getting your second job as everyone is looking for some level of experience,” says Marshall. “What recruiting editors really want to know is that you are newsroom ready and that you are a self-starter who can come up with ideas and who has good judgment, whether the job involves writing stories, producing videos or posting to social. So find a way to demonstrate that in your CV.”
And when you finally get that first job, here’s what to do next.