Here are five useful pieces of advice for any of you filling in application forms right now. This advice is particularly aimed at those of you filling in the Edelman Graduate Application form (obviously!), but certain tips are universal.

 No spelling errors! Spelling mistakes provide such an easy excuse for someone reading your application to dismiss it without having given it a fair trial. They can argue it demonstrates a sloppy attitude, lack of care, attention and all sorts of negative connotations about you as a person, which really aren’t fair or true. It’s very easy to make the odd spelling error, so the best advice is double, triple, and if necessary, quadruple check your application. It’s really good to get a friend or parent to check it too – they’ll often spot what you might not have on your third read through.

 Be clear and concise: Keep your language simple and (unlike me here) reasonably formal, whilst not sounding pompous. A well-written, cogent application will be much easier to read than a long, convoluted one, especially for someone who can be reading hundreds of applications in an evening. Also, make sure you lay out your application neatly and clearly. Obviously it’s a case of filling in the boxes, but sometimes you might make things clearer by using bullet points, regular spacing, (brackets): colons… Do make sure you use the right grammatical constructs in the right place though. Not doing so can again make you a rather easy target for rejection, which is really not what you want after spending hours on an application.

 Answer the question: Again, this is a universal rule. However, the Edelman Graduate Application does have some quite specific questions, like asking you to list relevant work experience. This does not mean list every job you’ve ever had. This will not look impressive if not all those jobs were PR or media-related. If you have no PR or media-related work experience – you probably should have a little if you’re applying at all – but if not, explain that in your answer. Then, write about the most relevant, or best work experience that you do have, such as if it was for an interesting company, if you had lots of responsibility, if there was some media relations work and so on.

 Think about the angle: I was given this advice by someone who had run their own successful PR company for 20 years plus. She said that you often sound more convincing about your interest in PR if you demonstrate a particular leaning towards a specific area, be it Financial, Public Affairs, Technology… The application allows you to direct your answers to show this certain interest, why you have it, any work experience you have relating to it. If you really don’t have a clue about which Edelman department interests you the most, that’s fine, but think of other ways in which you can transmit your enthusiasm for PR and Edelman.

 Finally, do try to have some fun with your application. This probably sounds unlikely, but if you seem enthused, interested and possibly even excited about what you’re writing in your application, it’s far more likely to come across to whoever’s reading it. They’ll be convinced of your interest and the outcome is likely to be favourable. Also, Edelman’s Graduate Application is a reasonable length with questions which allow you to show off, so go for it!

Good luck with it all.

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