A few weeks ago, Young PR Pros attend the Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS)’s Dress4Success. Roving reporter, Kristine Simpson was able to catch Claudine Wilson, founder of the public relations program at Algonquin College. Claudine presented: Resumes designed to succeed.
Kristine and her two fabulous co-hosts, Julia Kent and Molli Megasko discuss Claudine’s presentation and ask the following questions about building a resume:
- What is the job of a resume? Contrary to popular belief, a resume is not designed to get you a job, it is designed to get you an interview.
- What is the point of the objective statement? Claudine says there is no point, so scrap it. Molli agrees. Julia and Kristine offer up an alternative, an introduction paragraph explaining what you can bring to the team.
- How do you include key words? The Government of Canada is probably the only entity that requires you to copy and paste a job description. For the rest of the world, read the job description, understand what the employer is looking for and include key words such as “social media”, “online engagement”, “bilingual”, etc. throughout your resume.
- What is the best length of a resume? Molli says one page. Julia and Kristine say maximum two pages. They all agree, however, that regardless, a resume needs to be concise and relevant to the position you are applying for.
Thank you again to CPRS and to all the students who welcomed Kristine with open arms. Make sure you check out Young PR Pros at the next student event in Ottawa.
What do you think is the most important part to a resume? Share your opinions by writing a comment below, or on our Facebook Page, or on our Google+ page, or send us an email at youngprpros@gmail.com, or send us a message on Twitter @youngprpros, @kristinesimpson, @kentjulia or @mollimegasko.