What do conservation employers really think when they read your application? With hundreds of conservationists applying and little job application training or feedback shared, it’s no wonder conservation job seekers are left guessing – and feeling frustrated.
In this candid guest post, Biodiversify’s Communications and Marketing Manager Sara Kenny shares what she learnt from reviewing 200 job applications, offering rare, behind-the-scenes insight to help you stand out and succeed.
Does landing an interview (or even getting feedback from conservation employers) feel like mission impossible? Then this article is for you.
She advertised, she posted, she recruited
(… and she suffered because she had nearly 200 applications to read and she read them ALL – no shortcuts here).
I’ve been harping on about our new comms hire at Biodiversify for a while now, and I recently sent my last bit of application feedback. In July 2025, our new comms person will finally be joining us, and I’m super excited.
This was my first time leading a hiring process, and my goodness, have I learned a lot. I spoke with Nick Askew recently. He kindly had me onto the Conservation Careers podcast, and he used a phrase I really liked:
‘Throwing the ladder down’
Conservationists who’ve achieved career success can “Throw the ladder down” – helping others attain similar opportunities.
I try to find different ways of doing this where I can because I’m aware that while I’m good at what I do, privilege and luck have made my career journey easier at times.
Don’t get me wrong, it doesn’t mean I didn’t work my socks off – I very much did, and there were times when I felt utterly lost as an early graduate.
But, I was fortunate to have met some pretty decent people along the way who were generous with their time and expertise, who gave me the little lifts I needed to keep at it. So when it came to this hiring process, the answer was never no when people asked for feedback, no matter what stage they were rejected at.
In this article I’m going to go through the most common reasons people didn’t make the shortlist and some of the things I think made the shortlisted applicants stand out.
Amidst 200 job applications, what makes conservationists stand out?
The reasons people didn’t make the shortlist
1. Not being based in the UK. This was in the job advert; some people missed it. I saw lots of great applications from people based outside the UK, so it wasn’t your skills; this job just wasn’t for you, based on location.
2. Not doing the application task. This one shocked me, but we had some people submit some very random documents to get their application sent, so they could bypass this element being a required field.
3. Not engaging with the reference information for the task. Some of our applicants didn’t read, or maybe did not understand, the reference material for the task, and it showed. Applicants who showed a clear understanding of the topic they were writing about stood out to me.
4. Using AI. YES I CAN TELL.
5. Sending application documents with typos. A few people who requested individual feedback were given feedback about typos, words missing from sentences and getting the company name wrong. One applicant sent a cover letter clearly written for another company, as their name was mentioned in the second half of the letter (repeatedly). I get it, job applications make me want to pour bleach in my eyes and after a while, even I stop seeing typos and grammar mistakes but when I, as a hiring manager, have a set of applicants who are all competing equally with one another, I have to be really picky and typos and mistakes like this need to be considered. Use AI for things like this, not for writing your content.
6. Being over-qualified. This is a controversial one, I know. I’m not against hiring people who are over-qualified for a role, but if I have someone who is applying for an entry-level role who has worked with huge clients and has 8+ years of experience, I want to know in their cover letter why they’re choosing to apply for an entry-level role. When I first started on this process, it was really important for me to create an entry-level role for entry-level applicants who are so often overlooked because they end up competing with people who have many years of experience. Everyone we shortlisted had roughly <3 years of experience in a similar role and who could fit that criteria of being entry-level.
7. Not clearly explaining why they were applying for the role in their cover letter. This came up a lot, and it’s one of those things where people might think they’re doing this correctly but actually they aren’t. Telling me you’re applying because your values align with Biodiversify’s values simply isn’t enough – show me you understand Biodiversify’s values; tell me what they are. When it comes to your cover letter, over-explaining is better than under-explaining but that said, keep your cover letter to 1 or 2 pages maximum.
8. Cramming too much into their CV. If you send me a 4-page CV, I will shudder. I’ll read it – but I won’t be happy about it. Your CV should be no more than 2 pages – this is a non-negotiable. You need to tailor your CV, and like the cover letter example, based on feedback I gave individually, I can see that applicants think they are tailoring their CV, when actually they aren’t. I can’t do a guide on how to do this properly here but I will do this as a follow-up if there is interest.
(In the meantime you might want to check out this Conservation Careers free guide to writing a winning CV/resume and application).
9. Not demonstrating a clear connection to Biodiversify’s mission. We had so many applicants. This meant the ones who had a long-standing love of nature, with evidence of that, really stood out to us. While we still kept a mix of people on the shortlist, though the people who didn’t have a demonstrable connection to nature, or some experience with natural sciences, did have a harder job making it onto the shortlist. My advice to graduates would be to find an area or a sector where you want to do comms and marketing, and focus on that. Having multi-sector experience is very valuable, but when you’re trying to make that first step onto the career ladder, subject matter expertise could put you ahead of others and make getting on the shortlist easier for you. If you are a generalist, don’t be put off. I’m a generalist too, and we just need to be mindful that we make sure we can compete with subject matter experts.
10. Not clearly explaining their academic or career history. I understand this one better than most. I studied Zoology, jumped ship and studied Human Rights and Political Science, dabbled in journalism, then ended up working in marketing. It’s a journey that has rightfully raised a few eyebrows. We had people from a wide range of academic backgrounds, and when reviewing, we remained open-minded. But as an applicant, if you have a slightly less traditional history of experience for a job, then it is up to you to make that make sense to the hiring manager. It is doable – I did it, and so can you.
11. Poor execution of the task. This came out in a few different ways. We were forgiving with this because it’s an entry-level position. But the ‘mistakes’ we couldn’t turn a blind eye to as much were (1) typos/bad writing, (2) reliance on AI which led to incorrect information, (3) not understanding the source material and writing incorrect information, and (4) showing a poor/no understanding of the platform the content was being created for.
As an applicant, it’s up to you to show the employer why you’re a fit.
Things that helped applicants stand out
1. Having a portfolio. We didn’t ask for this, but applicants who sent one did stand out. This is because, as a hiring manager, when you say you have design skills on your CV, but don’t show me evidence within your application, then I just have to take your word for it, which isn’t ideal. We planned for this, and the second task for the interview process was designed to uncover if our applicants had a good eye for design and detail, but applicants who helped me get an entire picture of their skills through demonstration of those skills got shortlisted pretty quickly.
2. Making your application documents creative. This was a content creation role, and lots of our applicants had beautifully designed CVs. This is subjective; some hiring managers like things to be kept simple, but for me, seeing evidence of creativity really helped me get a better sense of our applicants.
3. Doing exactly what we asked for the task. With a task like ours, there could be temptation to go above and beyond and do absolutely everything. Some of our applicants did do more than others and produced more creative collateral, and while some of those made the shortlist (this was never the sole reason why), as long as someone had met the basic ask and executed that well, then they scored well. Moral of the story – less is more, quality over quantity.
So, that’s it! I’ve said it in our rejection emails, and I’ll say it again – the talent level for this role was high, and we rejected strong applicants, but I’m excited to see such a talented bunch of science communicators making their way onto the job ladder. For most of you, if you review these points, see what applies to you and make a few changes, you should be making the shortlist and landing that first job.
Dos and don’ts
Do – know that a job rejection is not a reflection of your skills. Job applications and interviews are a whole separate skill you need to learn. It took me a few years, but once you’ve got it, you’ve got it.
Do – take breaks from applications. It’s pretty tiring and mentally draining, so you’re not alone in that.
Don’t – Allow that mental drain to let you send out bad applications. You’re only setting yourself up for rejection if you do that and even though you may know your application wasn’t perfect, getting that email will still feel bad.
Don’t – Lose faith or compare your journey to others. What is meant to be will happen, and in these situations, you have no choice but to trust the process.
I hope all this helps at least one graduate feel like all of this is less of a big scary monster! Good luck to everyone who reads this who is currently job searching – you got this!
You can find Sara’s original article on LinkedIn.
Featured image credit: Ed Harrison / Biodiversify.
“A job rejection is not a reflection of your skills. Job applications and interviews are a whole separate skill you need to learn… but once you’ve got it, you’ve got it.”
Author Profile | Sara Kenny
Sara joined Biodiversify in 2022 as their Communications Specialist. She has a BSc in Zoology and an MA in Human Rights and Political Science and draws on experience from both to inform her work. Sara has seven years of experience in digital marketing and communications, having come from a background in the charity sector. Sara has also worked independently as a communications strategist and copywriter.
Sara is passionate about using her skills to support our efforts to see the recovery of nature and believes that effective and honest communication is key to achieving lasting change.
Want more insights from conservation employers?
If you found this honest feedback from a conservation recruiter refreshing and want more, check out these resources:
Recruitment Tips, Careers Advice
