How do you get a job as a copywriter in Cornwall? Part Two

Part Two – What are people looking for in a copywriter? 

Last time I discussed the places I’ve been staking out with the potential to find work as a copywriter. This post is all about what prospective employers are looking for, focussing mainly on finding work at an agency. 

So it’s all well and good being the right place at the right time but if you don’t have the relevant experience to back up the skills then what’s the point? Of course I’m talking about this in relation to my quest to understand just how you get a job as a copywriter in Cornwall.

Surprise surprise, the main thing employers want is writing experience. Rhona Gardiner at Excess Energy says they would ‘never employ someone with no experience and expect Grads to have gone out into the world and gained work experience or internship experience’. Fiona Campbell – Howes at Radix Communications says they look at portfolio work and ‘evidence of personal writing’ such as blogs. They believe that the ‘best writers are natural writers who also write for pleasure’. Freelancer Anna Clarke also suggests that her blog, The Cornish Life , has really helped her build a profile.

Now, or course this didn’t come as a shock to me. Of course I’m looking to write for a job so I need to building a portfolio to show off my skills. But seeing it written down like that has made me just that little bit more aware of how important it is in helping me secure the role that I want.

So what else are prospective employers looking for? Fiona says they look for ‘people who are calm under pressure and can deliver to deadlines’. This is similar to Rhona who lists attributes such as ‘the right attitudes, willingness to learn and commitment’. She also goes onto say ‘comms is tough with long hours and lots of deadlines so we need to know people are resilient as well as super keen’. All of this sounds just as I was expecting. The main thing I take away from it all is that whilst the creative skill set is important, so is the ability to be motivated and work hard under pressure. These are qualities I feel I do already have.

Looking at a job profile for a communication assistant at Excess Energy shows me just what the role entails. Duties split across six different categories and include Business support, which is day to day office jobs, as well as PR and Design and Photography. I can see why flexibility is listed in the competencies for the prospective employee. Work looks like it would be fast-paced and varied, but this also keeps things interesting. The competencies list also says the person needs to be ‘an absolute team player with a clear sense of drive and ambition to go much further in the exciting world of communications’.

Could this person be me? Well unfortunately this specific role had already been filled, but yes I do think if a similar one came up I could be the person to do it.

How do you get a job as a copywriter in Cornwall then? Well this analysis has shown me you need to be positive and persistent, with a good portfolio to support you and a willingness to succeed. There are jobs out there in Cornwall, it’s just knowing where to look and who to be connected with. But you also need to match this with a certain amount of skill and ambition.

So, for the foreseeable future I’m going to be networking, searching through job alerts and making sure I have a strong portfolio of work to show off my talents.