Riya V. Anandwala | Nov. 14, 2008
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| Photo by Aimee Reif |
| Lecturer Craig Wood goes over Haley Hirschman’s resume and cover letter during PRSSA’s workshop Tuesday night. |
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Members and other students tapped into the experience of a panel of professors, professionals and alumni for tips and suggestions on putting their talents on paper.
Ralph Winslow Visiting Professor Jim Bright, lecturer Beth Wood, Bruce Hetrick of Hetrick Communications in Indianapolis, Miranda McCage (B.A.J. ’07) of Finelight Communications in Bloomington and Lauren Sanders of Dittoe Communications in Indianapolis offered advice and critiqued resumes.
PRSSA’s Kristina Hunter moderated the workshop and led off by asking panelists about the best and the worst resumes and cover letters they have seen.
"If I see a typo in an applicant’s resume, I just dump it. One should check every word and proof read before the submission," said Sanders.
"If I see a grammatical error, I feel it’s awful," said Hetrick. He also spoke about letters headed “To whom it may concern.” "We are definitely not concerned then. An applicant must take pains to at least look up the recruiter or internship director’s name."
And that name had better be spelled correctly, McCage agreed.
"If not, the applicant stands a chance of being turned down," she said.
Hetrick also spoke about the importance of one page resume, since some employers don’t have time to go through more than one page.
As for what to include on resumes and cover letters, panelists said to play up achievements and play down any holes in experience. Those with good experience and low GPAs, for instance, should highlight the experience by discussing tasks performed and what they learned to offset the GPA info.
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| Photo by Aimee Reif |
| After the discussion, panelists critiqued individual students’ resumes. |
The key point to keep in mind while writing a cover letter, panelists said, was to “sell yourself.” They advised personalizing the letters in order to catch the attention of the recruiter.
“The workshop helped me start thinking more about what my ideal resume will look like,” said Katie Wickham, PRSSA vice president. “Customizing my resume for each employer or position I apply for was something new that I learned."
After the Q and A session, the students were split into groups of four and placed with one of the panelists to get a professional to critique about their resumes.
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