6 Seconds To Secure A Placement

As regular readers of this blog will know, I'm a big fan of social media and an even bigger advocate of using it to support job searches. A few years ago, I was very excited to see a student securing a placement with RateMyPlacement, having gained a spot at their assessment centre through a single tweet. This week, I couldn't help but notice an opportunity for students to gain a summer internship, through submitting a #6SecondCV.

The role in question is a 10 week joint internship programme between Nestle and Twitter. Any budding marketing students or social media whizz should check it out, as the focus 'is to understand how Twitter and social listening can be used within Nestlé to help support and drive key business priorities. You'll also work with Twitter to develop a better understanding of user behaviours and other audience metrics.'

That all sounds pretty cool to me, but not only is the role catching my eye, the application process is something very different from your typical online form. Interested candidates are being asked to pitch themselves for the role using Vine, a social media platform that has grown in popularity in recent times, which allows users to upload short video content and share with friends via Twitter and Facebook.

So rather than spend hours slaving over a CV, checking cover letters for grammatical errors or tapping away at endless competency based questions, one lucky applicant will find themselves at an assessment centre next month, on the strength of a single 6 second video clip. The big question is, how does one go about scaling back all the words and detail from a traditional CV, and manage to sell themselves in a such a limited timeframe?

I'd love to be able to answer that, but as my feeble attempt at a #6SecondCV below demonstrates, I'm clearly not going to be the creative marketing guru that Nestle will be looking for!




So my future does not lie in creative marketing, but perhaps yours does. If you want to find out more about the role, check out the job description. You need to apply by 24 March and when posting your Vine on Twitter make sure to include the hashtag #6SecondCV

Here is a little bit more info

Applicants have the opportunity to impress and demonstrate their digital skills by creating a six second video through the Twitter platform Vine outlining why they are the best person for the position. The Vine entries, which will be judged on their level of creativity, will be considered when the applicants tweet their creations using the hashtag #6secondCV. The best Vine entry will secure a spot at the assessment centre, which will take place on 14^th April.

Time to get creative and who knows, this could be the most productive 6 seconds of your life.