By: Luisa Garcia
Trying to figure out what you should or shouldn’t put on your resume is always the trickiest part of starting your resume. Trying to make yourself stand out from groups of people is the main goal we all want to achieve, even with our cover letters. What can make us the best of the best? What can make us the chosen one for our dream internship or future job? On Wednesdays April 3, 2019 several PRSSA board members shared just about all of the tips and tricks to having that great resume and cover letter.
Creativity is something we all have but sometimes we get so afraid to use it. That wasn’t the case with going over how to build a creative resume and having just about all of the great experience we have. Never let the professionalism get the best of your creativity. Let your resume speak for yourself. Don’t be afraid to use colored pages for your resume, but also don’t go Kylie Jenner and have the hot pink paper going on. That will just make your resume be put to the side. Go ahead and use some neutral colors with different font and a different font size going on. Don’t have any idea how to make it as creative or creative in general? Try some fun, free online templates such as, Microsoft Word, Canva, or Adobe Indesign. For CSUN students remember we are able to get Adobe for free. Just contact the Internet Technology CSUN team and they’ll give you code that’ll work within the three days after.
Now that you have an idea with how to get creative, let’s not forget about what goes on your resume. On your resume have your experiences, any relevant experience that goes with the job you are are applying for. Do not waste time and put things on our resume that have no point in what you are or want to apply for. Show off your school and class work, even if you’re transfer student go ahead and add where you got your associate's degree from. As for your skills that go on your resume that’s where you can just about show off where your proficient in, have some knowledge in.
Moving on to cover letters, the best way to show yourself off before the future job employer takes a look at your resume is by having a cover letter. First and foremost, do not send the same cover letter to different employers. For example, you applied to Job A and you’re about and send it to Job B without even realizing you didn’t change up your cover letter. Another pointer is, keep the cover letter up to one page and keep it at a few paragraphs telling the reader why they should take a look at your resume. Be specific to what company you’re applying to. Make sure you have the correct address and most importantly make sure you have the correct name of the person you want to take a look at your cover letter. Don’t be afraid to sell yourself, let it be shown that you’ve done your homework and know about the company, even what you wish to learn from the company. Lastly don’t forget to put your name on top of the cover letter and keep the closing paragraph short and sweet.
If you haven’t made a LinkedIn account, then it’s time to start making one ASAP! Start off by going on the LinkedIn and creating one with putting your basic information. Choose a great picture of yourself, we all have iPhone so no excuses there’s a portrait mode in it. Customize your URL, don’t make it funny, keep it professional. Write an awesome headline that just gives a good introduction about yourself, include a summary about yourself, treat your account as your online resume expect you’ll be using third person for this. Add all of your experiences with volunteering, work, (if it’s something that you’ll think will make you stand out), internships, add projects that helped you where you are today, put the languages you speak. Go to your classmates, friends who see you put in the hard work to accomplish your goals and ask them for an endorsement to put on your LinkedIn page. As I have said treat your LinkedIn account as your resume, make sure they both match. Keep it real and truthful. If you follow these steps to help you advance with fixing your resume, cover letter, and LinkedIn then you’ll be in the steps of successfully getting your dream internship or potential job.