Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Resume Tips that Will Set You Apart From the Rest


  • Tweak and target your resume for each job. Be specific to the needs of the job and how you can fulfill them.  Employers look for strong communication skills, motivation, teamwork, leadership, creativity and a strong work ethic.

  • Analyze what you think the company needs and demonstrate what qualifies you to fulfill that need. To do that look to the job description to identify key words and use those “power words” in your resume.  Phrases such as “Well-organized and resourceful”, “Highly motivated and goal oriented”, or “A quick learner” have those key words employers are looking for.

  • Use action verbs such as: Achieved, Appointed, Awarded, Collaborated, Communicated, Constructed, Demonstrated, Drafted, Established, Increased, Negotiated, Obtained, Published, Reorganized, Represented, Synthesized, Transcribed, Verified, and Write to demonstrate your accomplishments in an active and engaging way.

  • Use effective titles that truly describe your roles, responsibilities and qualifications. Employers spend very little time actually looking at a resume so be descriptive and informative about your experience in a concise way.
    • Bad: Secretary 
    • Good: Admin Assistant -- MS Office Expert

    • Bad: Public Relations
    • Good: PR Specialist -- PRSA Certified
If you are applying for a job in the same field employers will know abbreviations such as A/R, A/P, PRSA, and HR.

  • Use numbers and quantifiable words to create a vivid image in the
    reader’s mind. Numbers and tangible items such as upward trends, increased participation, increased sales are impressive because they demonstrate concrete impact.

  • List relevant skills, foreign languages, and knowledge including program and software such as Excel, PowerPoint and Adobe Creative Suite, along with operating systems such as Mac OS X and Windows 7.  These type of technical knowledge can really set an applicant apart from the rest.

  • The layout and design is important.  Make the information easy to read by not over crowding the document.  By using bullet points it allows for easy to read short spurts of information.  Put experience into logical chronological order, and put most useful and important skills higher up in the list.

  • Have a mentor look over your resume.  And update your resume regularly
Text Box: The Murrow College PR/Social Media Interns
For more information, go to “Life After Murrow College” on

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Murrow Symposium 2011

Check our our  video of student testimonials taken at Murrow Symposium 2011 on our Facebook page. 

Monday, April 4, 2011

Murrow Symposium: Career Day is Tomorrow!

The Edward R. Murrow College of Communication Murrow Symposium: Career Day is Tuesday, April 5th 2011!!!

Murrow Symposium: Career Day is a full day of workshops and events with working professionals that target all majors.

Students will have the opportunity to meet and network with senior execs from leading PR agencies and media outlets. Students can also expect professionals from Weber Shandwick, MSNBC, ABC, The Seattle Times, The Oregonian, KOMO-TV, KIRO-TV, KGW, Boeing and more!

For the Murrow Symposium: Career Day full schedule click
here!

Also be sure to stop by the Murrow PR/Social Media internship table to "Get Linked", share your Murrow testimonial and get information on
networking best practices.

Hope to see you there!