Your comms career guide - how to land the right role and hire the right people
Regardless of the time of year, there will always be people on the hunt for their next comms role, or for the next person to fill a comms role in their workplace. It will always be competitive as the job landscape changes over time, but with plenty of smart, capable comms professionals eager for roles where they can add real value and more organisations recognising the importance of good communication - it’s more frustrating than ever when the organisation isn’t entirely sure on how to hire for it. Great talent gets overlooked, and great opportunities are wasted.
So, what can we do better? If you’re planning to switch roles soon, or you’re responsible for bringing comms pros into your organisation, here are some practical ways to avoid common pitfalls and land the right match.
For Job Seekers:
How to stand out (for the right reasons)
1. Show your impact, not just your tasks
One of the biggest mistakes I see on resumes, especially in communications, is the endless list of duties. Anyone can write ‘Managed internal newsletter and social media calendar.’ But what was the result? Did engagement increase? Did you help drive action or awareness that supported a bigger business goal?
Don’t just tell us what you did, show us why it mattered. Highlight tangible outcomes and achievements and remember: your ability to learn and adapt is also an asset. Demonstrate how you took initiative, spotted trends, tested ideas, or improved a process.
Also, keep your language clear and ditch the corporate fluff. If a sentence is so full of buzzwords that it could describe anyone, rewrite it until it actually describes you. Also, be truthful. Overstating your role in team results or inflating your achievements is a sure way to lose trust fast.
2. Craft a memorable introduction
So many resumes either skip an opening summary altogether or stuff it with generic lines like ‘dynamic and results-driven professional.’ Those words tell us nothing about you.
That top paragraph should give hiring managers an instant sense of:
Who you are,
What you love doing,
And what unique mix of strengths you bring.
Picture it like a Venn diagram: the sweet spot where your core strengths intersect is your ‘signature combo’. Maybe it’s content strategy plus stakeholder engagement and crisis comms. Or internal comms plus training and behavioural science. Whatever it is, make it obvious.
Write it in first person because you’re a human, not a robot and please, make it easy to read: simple layout, clean font, no tiny text or distracting colours. Unless you’re auditioning for a modelling gig, skip the headshot because it only adds unnecessary bias.
3. Tailor it for every role
One-size-fits-all might work for umbrellas, but not resumes. Recruiters and hiring managers are time-poor so if your resume doesn’t clearly connect your experience to this role in this company, you’ll be overlooked.
So, start with the most relevant experience and not just a straight list of every job you’ve had. Group or highlight your key achievements that matter for this position and adjust your opening statement to mirror what that company needs most. Yes, it takes longer than firing off the same file every time, but it also gets better results.
For Hiring Managers:
Stop shooting yourself in the foot
1. Know exactly what you’re hiring for
Does your team need a big-picture strategist? An execution powerhouse? Or that elusive hybrid — a do-it-all generalist?
If you don’t know, your job description will reflect that confusion and talented people won’t apply for a role that sounds unrealistic or unclear. Strategists design the roadmap and build trust with leaders, align comms to business goals and think long-term. Doers roll up their sleeves and make things happen like social posts, newsletters, campaigns, events. If you expect one person to do everything, be honest about the workload and adjust the scope if it’s too much for one pair of hands.
Also, please don’t advertise for a ‘Change Comms Manager’ when you really want a Change Manager and a Comms Manager in one person. These are different roles that need different skills.
2. Offer more than just a job
Good comms people are in demand so don’t just list duties, you need to make the role appealing. What makes your organisation a great place to work? Do you offer hybrid work? Interesting projects? Opportunities to grow? A positive, respectful culture?
Check the market before you post and see: what are other employers paying? What conditions are they offering? If you can’t match the biggest salaries, maybe you can offer flexibility, extra leave, or other perks that matter just as much to candidates.
Don’t forget: the right person will get you better results and cost you far less in the long run than constant turnover does.
3. Don’t fixate on degrees
Yes, a communications degree shows commitment to the craft, but many brilliant comms pros come from other fields. Think law grads who write with clarity or ex-analysts who simplify the complex, or marketers who understand digital audiences inside out. Look at what people can do — not just what’s on their parchment. Skills are transferable, and diverse experiences make for stronger teams.
Whether you’re applying for a job or writing the ad for one, the same rule applies: communicate clearly and honestly about what you want, what you offer, and what makes you stand out.In a field built on great messaging, we can’t afford to let our own messages fall flat.
