Resume Critique with Dr. Diane Krider
CMU PRSSA’s 6th Annual Spring Conference
The Road to Reinvention
Resume Critique with Dr. Diane Krider
Here are ten resume tips I learned at Dr. Krider’s session:
1. Remember who you’re writing for.
2. Keep it succinct – this is not a tell-all piece.
3. Don’t put anything on your resume that is illegal to ask (race, religion, sex, political party, age, or marital status, disabilities, veteran status, etc.). But, you can mention it if you think it will giev you an advantage. For example, you might want to mention that you are devout Catholic if applying for a job within a Catholic church.
4. Pay attention to what the job ad says. The ad says exactly what they are looking for.
5. Create a resume for each job.
6. Present all materials well. First, they will see the envelope, then the cover letter, then your resume, and last your writing samples. If you have a terrible cover letter (or one with spilled coffee on it), they might never make it to your resume.
7. Have someone in your field look at your resume before sending it out.
8. Don’t put your hobbies in your resume.
9. Balance dark space with white space
10. One page or less for entry-level jobs.
What do you think is important to remember when creating a resume?
If you are a professional, what is one mistake you see often, or what is your biggest resume pet peeve?
“PR: Case and Point” with Rebecca Howe and Emily Kuczynski
CMU PRSSA’s 6th Annual Spring Conference
The Road to Reinvention
“PR: Case and Point” with Rebecca Howe and Emily Kuczynski
Rebecca Howe and Emily Kuczynski are associates from Lambert, Edwards & Associates. Both hold a bachelor’s degree in integrative public relations from Central Michigan University.
Lambert, Edwards & Associates is among the top 100 firms in the US. Howe and Kuczinski presented a very interesting session. They presented an issue and students discussed what they would have done. Howe and Kuczinski then described what they did in the situation.
One case was Biggby Coffee (formerly Beaners Coffee). When the company needed a new name, they also needed to do some re-branding. LE&A had to communicate to both internal and external audiences, such as the owners/operators, customers, and the media.
LE&A offers paid internships. One suggestion made by Howe and Kuczinski was to focus on things that make you stand out in your cover letter.
Resumes
Last night I redid my resume. I had attended a resume critique at the CMU PRSSA Spring Conference. Until recently, I haven’t had time to work on the improvements.
Resulting from their tips is a very detailed, one-paged resume that I think looks very nice. Here five tips that helped me redo my resume:
1. Objective first – It needs to be targeted towards how you will help the potential employer. Originally, my generic resume objective said, “To gain experience in public relations, communications, and writing.” What does that do for the employer? Nothing. Wojcik suggested a change: “To apply my knowledge of public relations, communication, and journalism to a company or organization in Isabella County.”
2. Put your work experience next – My original resume had my education, followed by my work experience. Experience is more relevant than my education, especially since I am still in school.
3. Make your margins less than one inch to fit more information on your resume. Dr. Krider suggested that I make the most of my space by adjusting the margins. I was able to fit much more information on my resume this way.
4. If you use “Mt. Pleasant” in the resume, don’t switch to “Mount Pleasant” in another part. In my address, it said “Mount Pleasant” and under work experience, it said “Mt. Pleasant.” A small, but important detail that you should pay attention to.
5. Use action verbs. Instead of saying that I was a member of the professional development committee, Perry suggested that I be more specific. What did I accomplish while I was a member? What did I contribute?
One more tip: Take “pubic” out of your Microsoft Word dictionary, suggested Dr. Krider. Nothing will get your resume thrown away faster than saying you want to work in “pubic relations.” Luckily, I did not make this mistake!
“Adventures In Agency PR: Two Young Pros Tell All” with Lauren Panaretos and Nikki Stephan
CMU PRSSA’s 6th Annual Spring Conference
The Road to Reinvention
Session 2: “Adventures In Agency PR: Two Young Pros Tell All” with Lauren Panaretos and Nikki Stephan
Lauren Panaretos and Nikki Stephan are account executives at Franco Public Relations Group in Detroit, Michigan. They both graduated with a Bachelor of Applied Arts in Integrative Public Relations and were active in PRSSA and PR Central.
The following are things I learned at their session:
- Media Tips
- Get familiar with the reporters
- Google Alerts – can be used to monitor clients nationally
- Media lists are important because you can’t send the same release to every report (for example, a sports reporter won’t care about business trends)
- Pitching – read the reporter’s articles, be clear and concise on the phone, and when pitching to TV, let them know what the visuals could b
To work in an agency, you must be able to: (from their PowerPoint)
- Juggle multiple clients
- Be organized
- Track your time
- Pay attention to billing issues
- Be creative, “outside the box” thinker
- Be a flawless writer
One thing I didn’t know about was tracking time. In order to bill clients, you must keep track of how much time you spend working on their accounts.
How to land the interview: (from their PowerPoint)
- Watch for spelling, grammar on resume
- Include work experience before education
- Get creative with your cover letter
- Showcase what makes you unique
- Build portfolio with most relevant work from classes and internships
- Get involved on campus and take on a PR role
Also, don’t say that you are a “people person.”
On your cover letter, it is important to show that you know the company and that you are interested in their clients. You also should find what makes you unique, include relevant information, and summarize your skills (teamwork skills, thriving in fast-paced environment, etc.)
How to land the job: (from their PowerPoint)
- Showcase your personality, confidence
- Show familiarity with company
- Ask questions
- Be able to sell yourself without being over the top
- Be prepared for a writing test and do well on it
- Write thank you cards
Also, as much as they are interviewing you, you are interviewing them.
Where to look for jobs: (from their PowerPoint)
- Company websites
- PRSA, IABC, Media Bistro websites
- PR Direcotires
- Avoid Monster, HotJobs, etc.
- Talk to your friends
- Never burn bridges with people
- Clean up your Facebook and MySpace accounts
Agency Tips: (from their PowerPoint)
- Every agency is different
- Remember, culture is key – find a place where you can be happy
- Dress appropriately
- Always maintain professionalism
- Think about the big picture
Also, when getting a job, you should ask about the starting salary, the advancement process, and the room for growth. Benefits and vacation/personal time are also important.
Lauren and Nikki said that the starting salary for agencies in this area is $25,000 to $30,000.
This was definitely my favorite session. Lauren and Nikki have a lot of energy and are very interesting to listen to. I actually job shadowed both of them last semester for IPR 101. There were some tips they gave that I had heard from then before, but this was still a very valuable session because of interview, job, and agency tips. I actually hope to someday work at Franco.
“Agency PR” with Robert Kolt
CMU PRSSA’s 6th Annual Spring Conference
The Road to Reinvention
Session 1: “Agency PR” with Robert Kolt
Robert Kolt is CEO and president of Kolt Communications, Inc., a privately owned communications corporation located in Okemos, Michigan. He is a CMU alumni with an undergraduate degree in broadcast & cinematic arts and journalism. He also holds a graduate degree in communications from MSU.
The following is an outline of what I learned in his session called “Agency PR.”
Kolt said that his corporation does a lot of strategic communications. For example, he might do research for a politician and tell them the facts and what they should say.” Another example would be interview rehearsals for Consumers Energy’s CEO.
Kolt Communications, Inc. offers media training, including message development strategies, speaking and presentation skills, and media interview techniques. They stage events that “help make news.” They are licensed as fundrasiers as well. Kolt said that fundraising and grant writing are growing areas in the industry.
One past client Kolt talked to students about was a lottery winner that wanted to remain anonymous. He did not want his face shown because he had a criminal record. His corporation also has staged fires to show crisis communication skills, done ground breakings, and has handled a crisis situation with the United Way. He also does advertising.
Kolt Communications, Inc. usually takes one or two interns that are paid $10 per hour. He said he looks for a good writer. Good interpersonal skills are important. You also need to be a hard worker. Kolt said that employers want to know what you’ve done and see your samples.
Kolt said that he does not actively pitch to businesses. Many clients come to him through referrals or he bids on projects.
One thing to remember, Kolt said, is “it’s not about you, it’s about your client,” Kolt said.
Kolt Communications, Inc. also handles a lot of crisis communications. He gave three steps to crisis management.
1. Prevention
2. Detection
3. Extinguishing
He said that many businesses don’t come to him until they need help with step three.
On starting your own firm, Kolt suggested the following:
1. Create relationships – Never burn any bridge
2. Be honest, knowledgeable, and creative
3. Add value and power to clients
4. Be philanthropic
This session was helpful to me because I would like to start my own firm one day. It was nice to hear from someone that had graduated from CMU with a successful firm.
CMU PRSSA’s 6th Annual Spring Conference
The Road to Reinvention
That was theme for the CMU PRSSA Spring Conference that I helped plan and attended today. Overall, I believe it was a success. It has given me better direction to map my road to reinvention. The speakers were fabulous and I feel so inspired right now.
I think it is wonderful that I found a career that makes me feel this way. I was just discussing this with some fellow PRSSA members. Many students go to college for a degree. They choose a major that they like and go to classes (that they often complain about). That’s it. They don’t go the extra mile. It seems different for PR students at CMU.
I enjoy PR-related classes. I love my major and career path I’m heading for. I find PR so exciting and I want to be as involved as possible. Sometimes it is overwhelming because I have so many meetings, but I still love it. Some other students I’ve met don’t seem to have that motivation.
It has been a ten hour day for me and I am absolutely exhausted. Therefore, I’m not going to write anything tonight. Look for posts in the near future about what I learned!
By the way, I have had exactly 100 “steps ahead” (aka hits). That is very exciting because I started this blog on February 28. Happy one month anniversary to me. I think I’ll go celebrate.
My goal for next month: 300 “steps ahead”
A Step Ahead 