Having a great resume and portfolio is all dandy but in the 21st century, many employers are looking for an online presence in addition to your experience. A great way to show prospective employers how in the know you are, you can try to reach out to them–via Social Media. Not sold? Let me show you!
ONLINE
Many brands have Twitter as it’s a fast and easy way to reach out to their consumer market. If you are following a brand or company that you have the urge to work or intern for, don’t be hesitant to try to reach out to them. Make sure you are creative in your approach and don’t just bluntly ask for a job. Try to grasp their attention with clever wordplay or something you know they won’t be able to resist. Some internships ask their applicators to tell them something unique about yourself in 140 characters or less, so practice on condensing! Just make sure your Twitter page isn’t full of inappropriate tweets or photos.
Facebook is a tricky site to sell yourself on. If you do want to bring up your Facebook or they ask for it, make sure it’s free of anything innapropriatae which includes statuses and photos (especially of underage drinking). You want to be as professional as possible, you don’t want anything illegal or controversial on your page as they want to make sure their workers will be responsible and have a good image.
Instagram is something a company asks about if you are going into Marketing or Social Media. It’s a huge link to you because the photos let them get glimpses into your life, dislikes, and likes. You can be as free as you want but again, be careful with posting about illegal things. Instagram is a great way to be creative in the way of photos so try to be original and they will be greatly impressed.
LinkedIn is the single most important social media website that everyone should have. It’s for your professional life rather than your personal one. Here is a website that will allow you to make connections with anyone in your chosen industry. The key to LinkedIn is not to add random people like you would on Facebook. These are people you have met and worked for. These could be your classmates or your professors. The best part is connecting with them allows you to see their connections and try to connect with them. Unlike your resume, you can list every single job you’ve had, it’s a way to show the world exactly what you’ve done and where you’ve worked. Make sure you update it regularly and choose a proper photo. It is preferred that it is a nice headshot or medium shot(below shoulders and up).
Underneath each role or job make some bullet points of the most important tasks and a short description of what the company and your job entailed. A great tip is to NOT use the generic message included by LinkedIn if you want to add someone as a connection. Make it as personal but professional as possible. Don’t just add random people to just add them.
PAPER
Now, onto the traditional way of reaching a potential employer: resumes and cover letters.
A resume is supposed to be you on paper but many don’t know how to make a proper resume. One of the things I’ve learned is that you can omit your objective at the top of your resume. You applying is objective enough. Your cover letter will speak, your resume is your job list so keep them separate.
Keep your resume to one page and with bullet points. They don’t want to have to read through words galore to know that you know how to use Microsoft. Tailor your resume to EVERY job you apply to. If you are applying to a marketing position, make sure you have all the similar things on your resume. Put only your university in the education section, you can now omit high school as it won’t really be useful now. Many have the urge to beautify their resume but simplicity is key. You can add a pop of color in your name and the separate sections but it really depends on the industry you are going into. If you are applying in the fashion or arts industry, you can get away with a bit more. Finance and Economics would just like a simple, 1-page resume.
Many people struggle with a cover letter. Keep it to less than a page. You may want to say everything and anything but employers have to go through hundreds of resume’s and seeing one that is too wordy can be a bit of a turn off. Stick to words you are comfortable using. Begin your cover letter with a salutation (Ex: Dear Ms. ____ OR Dear Human Resources Coordinator, etc.) Leave several spaces and begin writing. Here is an example that I find usually get many responses back.
Dear Internship Coordinator,
My name is ______ and am a rising senior at Montclair State University majoring in ___ and minoring in____. While achieving academic quality, I work on staying socially active in _____. Professionally, I have worked on the sales floors of stores such as ____, ___, and ____. Focusing more on my career needs, I have interned at ___. I am the best fit for this position because ____.