What to write under communication on a resume
Resume Tips for Communication Majors
When communication students are designing their resumes, we have three basic takeaways
we want them to keep in mind.
The first one is to use a two-column design.
What this does is it allows students to break up the page into literally two columns so
they can get more information on the page.
When you're this young in your career, you only need to have a one-page resume, and so
this two-column design really helps you with limiting that space you're taking up.
So you can maximize the space you've got on your page by doing a two-column design.
This is where Microsoft Word is not the best platform.
We recommend using InDesign or Illustrator to set up that two-column platform so it looks
really clean and professional.
The second tip that we give students is to quantify their experience.
And this is a common mistake that students as well as professionals make.
When you're listing your experience you need to demonstrate successes.
So what you need to do is look for ways to get numbers into your experience lines on
your resume.
So instead of, for example, saying you managed the social media accounts for a client when
you were interning somewhere, instead give us numbers with that.
So say you were writing three twitter posts per week, and a blog post every other week
for your client during your internship.
The third thing that students need to keep in mind is to not discount volunteer or unpaid
experiences as being valuable experiences.
We've had students in the past who won't put really good experience on their resumes because
they didn't get paid for it or because it was a volunteer position.
If you've been a chair for the Relay for Life team at SLU, you know what a huge endeavor
that is.
And so putting that on your resume, even if you weren't getting paid for it, even if it
was volunteer experience, is still valuable experience that employers are looking for.
So think about things you've done and how you can translate that volunteer experience
into valuable experience for an employer.
So to recap, comm. students, when you're designing your resumes, remember to use a two-column
design, demonstrate your successes, and don't discount volunteer or other unpaid experiences.
Also remember to list your technical skills.
In creative fields like communication, employers are sometimes looking for very specific types
of technical skills.
You want to be sure you've got that on your resume.
