Date: Thursday, October 22, 2020
Time & Duration: 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM – 1 Hour
Guest Speakers
Melissa Quist – Recruiting Specialist and Communications Profesional
Opening Thoughts
PRSSA GSU had the pleasure of speaking to Melissa Quist. Melissa is a recruiter that has worked with Fortune 100 companies, Big Four accounting firms, and professionals in higher education. She also has 10 years of experience in marketing and public relations.
Guest Speaker Melissa Quist Discussed
General Resume Advice
Keep your resume concise. Your resume shouldn’t be longer than 1 page. It’s best to reserve in-depth details for the interview. Resumes are a screening measure and interviews are where you can flex your skills and explain how you’re a good fit for the role. Always remember the 10-second rule. Your resume will be glanced at for no more than 10 seconds! Make sure you leave an impression.
Partner your resume with a professional online presence. Employers will search for details about candidates to get a better picture of them. Make sure you’re presenting yourself in a positive light, if not, make your profiles private. In addition to this, make a LinkedIn for employers to reference, and keep it updated with your professional accomplishments. You can leave a customized link on your resume so that employers can have easy access to it.
Stylistic Choices
Your resume should follow this order
Contact
Objective
Summary
Education
Work Experience
Skills
Awards, Activities, Volunteering
Opt for a Functional Resume to highlight your skills if you don’t have relevant work experience. Functional resumes reference skills instead of work experience.
Your resume should be in reverse chronological order (recent experiences followed by oldest experiences).
Use bullet points instead of paragraphs. Bullet points are much easier to read, remember the 10-second rule!
Insert links in your resume to show examples of your work. You can do this by listing your LinkedIn or portfolio URL near your contact or by the phrase you referenced.
Introduction
Contact details should be limited to: name, phone, e-mail and LinkedIn/Personal Site.
You don’t necessarily need an objective, especially if it’s repetitive
A summary distinguishes you from other candidates. It’s also good to list if you don’t have applicable experience. Make sure to tailor your summary to each job!
Core
Education should be toward the top since you recently graduated. List details like minors, certificates, honor and if you had a high GPA.
Bonus Tip: spell out your university’s name. Ex. “Georgia State University” instead of “GSU"
Your work experience section should list your accomplishments and be results-oriented. Do more than describe your role, describe what you contributed to the company. A great way to do this is by using action verbs like “created,” “delivered” and “advised.” For a list of more action verbs to reference, click here. Feel free to tailor your experience section to the role you’re applying to. You can do this by listing your most relevant experiences at the job site first.
Bonus Tip: provide a short summary of the job site to give recruiters a better understanding of your work experience
List skills most relevant to the job you’re applying for. Also, list unique skills that make you stand out. Examples of skills to mention: job-focused, technological and creative.
Additional Details
Don’t neglect to include any awards, activities and volunteering experience. This section shows that you’re a well-rounded person who has passions outside of work. Recruiters appreciate this tidbit because it helps them determine if you're a good fit for the company. It’s also great to highlight this section if you don’t have as much work experience or if you have extra room on your resume.
Q&A
“How long should cover letters be?
Cover letters should be about 1-2 short paragraphs or 5-10 sentences. Cover letters should describe why you’re interested in the company and why you’re a great candidate. Take this time to sell yourself but don’t overwhelm the recruiter. They’re more likely to read your cover letter after screening your resume, this is your time to secure the interview. Cover letters are also great for candidates who don’t have a lot of relevant work experience.
“How far can an applicant ‘fake it till they make it,’ in reference to information listed on your resume?”
Never lie on your resume. What is acceptable is tailoring information to the role you’re applying to. You can change job titles to better reflect your duties and reorganize your work experience to highlight what reflects the role. For example, if you worked as a front desk receptionist but also handled social media, it would be acceptable to change your title to “social media coordinator” and to exclude details about phone answering and highlight details like social media monitoring and content writing.
“How should a candidate highlight projects and materials they’ve created?”
Absolutely share your portfolio to communicate your skills and results. Again, include your portfolio links in a noticeable area like the contact section or by the work experience you’re referencing.
Final Thoughts
If you would like to watch a replay of the Resume Workshop click here Passcode: ym!P!jX4. Students can also review the Powerpoint Melissa used during the workshop
PRSSA GSU would like to give a big thanks to Melissa Quist for giving us expert advice and preparing us for our futures. You can remain in contact with her via LinkedIn @ Melissa Quist. In addition, Melissa is offering students who voted (with proof) a free resume review. She also has a mentorship program she's recruiting for!
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissaquist/
Next Steps
The application deadline for the Spring 2021 E-board is on Monday, Nov. 9
To apply for a position or learn more about qualifications, visit our Open Positions page
Instagram – @prssa.gsu
Facebook – facebook.com/gsuprssa
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