From Classroom to Career: How I Prepared for a Successful PR Job Hunt
It's finally that time of year, the time when new graduates (myself included) spend hours and hours scrolling through LinkedIn, Indeed, and every other job posting website, likely throwing their applications at anything that is remotely close to what they are hoping for.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but hitting “Easy Apply” on LinkedIn probably won’t yield any meaningful results. Trust me, I learned that the hard way. After hundreds of automatic replies, I finally decided it was time to switch up my game. Here are 3 things that I did to prepare myself for a successful job hunt.
Build Your Portfolio
While your resume shows what you’ve done, and your cover letter adds that touch of personality, your portfolio provides concrete evidence that you can do what you say and you're good at it. I, personally, opted for the portfolio website. I found that a website was easier to update, and easier to access when I sent my application off for review. Having a website also allowed me to attach my portfolio straight to my resume, providing yet another point of contact for someone to hopefully click through.
But no matter if you have a physical portfolio or a website, the most important thing is to keep it updated. If you’re a senior, you probably don’t want to show your future employer the blog you wrote during your freshman year of college. You have likely learned new skills over the years and produced work of a higher quality. Or, maybe you have recently taken classes that showcase not only your writing ability, but also your design ability. Those design projects would be something super helpful to add to your portfolio and something that could diversify you among other candidates.
Create a Unique Cover Letter and Resume
I won’t tell a lie, I loathe writing cover letters. They are so painfully tedious to cater to each position, but also so worth it. Your cover letter is your chance to be human, to speak directly to the hiring manager and tell them why you are the best fit for the role. Don’t waste it! Do your research into the company before and learn about them, chances are you can use what you have learned to discover what parts of yourself you should share.
Resumes sort of have a trick to them these days. Many companies with large numbers of applicants will use software that filters through applications, picking and pulling out keywords from the ones it thinks are the best. Which means, if you don’t have the right keywords, you could be the best candidate, but your resume will not get chosen. Catering to this software also means saying goodbye to your Canva designed resumes. While they look great, the software filtering through your resume will (more often than not) lose the information because of the design. It's best to look up ATS (applicant tracking system) compliant resume templates, and give one of those a shot for your best chance. The one exception to this rule is if you are applying for a graphic design role, then the designed resume may be best for you.
Make Connections Through Informational Interviews
Lastly, and maybe most importantly, informational interviews. Likely, we all have a dream field, a job that we know would top all the rest. Usually, these types of jobs are hard to get into, especially if you don’t have a pre-existing direct connection. This is where informational interviews come in. If you want to learn about your dream job, scour your connections, and see if you can find someone that can help you learn more about where you want to be. Or, you can find the person who holds your dream position and message them yourself.
At the end of the day, people like to help students, and they really like to talk about themselves, so an informational interview can be perfect to not only learn about the role, but also make connections that might help you get there. When you do an informational interview, you walk away with more knowledge and a direct connection to your dream industry. Keep doing these interviews, learn more and more, and build your network right where you want it.
I hope these tips will help you when you are knee deep in the job hunt. Remember, being told no is all a part of the process, keep your head up, and keep going. Each no is one step closer to getting your yes.
About Hailey
Hailey Mohney is a senior, working on her degree in Advertising and Public Relations. This past semester, Hailey took on the role of Account Executive, this was her first semester working with GrandPR, and second semester serving on the GVPRSSA executive board. Hailey's PR passion's largely revolve around communicative work in the non profit and entertainment sphere. When she is not working, Hailey likes to spend time with her friends and her cat Jasper.