vox-popPRcareers

This cover letter below is a real cover letter by an anonymous applicant, who applied for a job at one of the most well-known PR companies in the UK, which is an industry standard for its work.

This cover letter won the applicant the job last year so read it to know what works in cover letter writing.

To protect the graduate’s identity, certain details such as the respondent and university name have been blotted out.

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Dear XXXX,

I have just finished a postgraduate diploma in magazine journalism at XXXX. I would like to apply for the position of media assistant at XXXX. I would like to work at XXXX, as it is a successful and growing brand in the PR and Journalism industry. It is a name that is regularly mentioned by people in the media.

I worked as a marketing executive for six months at XXXXX, a company that does marketing for restaurants, which involved organising trade shows and festivals. Here I had a largely administrative role with varied tasks ranging from taking charge of distribution teams to organising what was required for the venues. The role also involved coming up with marketing strategies and cold calling hard sales. As part of the sales team, I learnt to motivate my team members, which was crucial to success in sales. Even those with the strongest tenacity sometimes get disheartened.

I have also had experience working for magazines and newspapers. I completed many researching tasks while working for different magazines. While at XXXX, I rang all the PCTs across the country to find out who they had tendered their GP-led health centre and if they hadn’t the reason why not, as the deadline had passed. I put all the information I gathered into Excel. At XXXX, I used the phone to find out what different supermarket stores’ locally sourced products were. I’m confident in carrying out research tasks and have done many vox-pops for articles as part of the diploma. Every placement requires some sort of internet research. One example is that while at XXXX I researched calorie counts for takeaway meals .Completion of the statistics module, as part of the magazine course, means that I’m comfortable and adept with figures. In terms of administrative packages, I have used Excel and Access and I have an AVCE (equivalent to an AS) in ICT.

My work experience placements have taught me to multi-task and prioritise, as many staff members, all at the same time, gave me different jobs to do. So I am confident I will be able to maintain a solid level of support to PR clients. Working on news teams, for B2Bs and a national newspaper in Kenya, has developed a shrewdness that enables me to execute a task quickly and efficiently. I worked to deadline producing a few news stories each day. In journalism circles, accuracy has been heralded as a pillar of journalism. This and my meticulous nature ensures that I am precise at all times. Also, as a journalist I’m accustomed to working with other journalists and so I understand their personalities and daily pressures. I’m confident I will be able to build good relationships with editorial staff.

Yours Sincerely,