What the "Experience" Portion of My Resume Really Says

Entering the workforce feels a lot like dropping a child into a pool; you either sink, float, or swim. The most challenging part is learning how to get from that original splash to a deep-end dive. There are so many factors that impact how you swim, and learning those feels a lot like learning the different aspects to become successful in your job. 

Job Applications

I have been working consistently since I was 14 years old, and each and every job I’ve had has supplied me with incredibly instrumental knowledge about who I am as a worker, what I look for in job descriptions when applying, what works, and what doesn’t. I learned basic communication skills when I served as a concessions worker at a ballpark, to write professionally as a receptionist at my elementary school, to multitask while hostessing at a restaurant, to be confident in what I am saying when fundraising, to have patience when working as a cashier, to bring joy into my day when working in sports promotions, to lead others with strength and grace in events, and to research in marketing. Not all of these jobs have been “internships,” but each and every one of them has shaped me into the professional I am today.

I believe working shows someone so much about themselves. I never knew that working with others was such a priority for me until I was the only one in the office working as a receptionist. I never knew how much I loved talking to people I had never met until I got into fundraising. I never saw my true design and writing skills until I started running social media pages in different roles. In my brain, I don’t know how I could have learned those skills without putting myself out there at such a young age, and I am so grateful that I had all of those opportunities. I also know how closely I value my morals, so I am not going to give those up for a higher paycheck. I look for positions that can challenge me, but support me nonetheless. 

There is so much that you learn about your professional goals from working. I now know that remote work is not my niche — I simply would fail being entirely alone. I’ve also learned that I need to work for companies that will supply me with supervisors eager to teach and prepared to take on the role of a mentor. I can’t learn everything on my own and will need guidance on how to improve myself. Having a close support system is something that I need to achieve as much success as possible, somebody to act as a swim instructor. As I dip my toes in multiple different realms of Advertising & Public Relations, I can rule out certain fields that don’t fit those personal realizations I gained simultaneously. 

Personal Applications

Gaining experience in multiple different atmospheres was important to me when I came into college, but I didn’t know what that necessarily looked like. It is so lovely to have a stacked resume —  but I am more appreciative of what I have learned about myself throughout each of those experiences. I value experience over money because my only aspiration in life is to have fun. If you are going to spend 40 hours a week every week for over 40 years, it is important to recognize that portion of your lifetime. I say YOLO (you only live once) a lot, but it’s because I really mean it. Why are people settling for something that they dread? Take the beautiful life you have and enjoy it. There are mixed feelings about the saying, “if you love your job, you’ll never work a day in your life,” but I think there are many things to take away from that. Work takes over your day, and a healthy work-life balance is so rare. I love to focus my attention on things that make me happy. I have built up an entire system of floats around me in this large pool of life. 

Working consistently for years has benefited me in indescribable ways. I have been able to secure higher-paying, more experiential, and hands-on jobs, but I have also been able to understand that I love making a difference at companies, that I really appreciate interpersonal relationships with employees, that testing my creative abilities is important to me, and much, much more. I have a lot of experience in different pools, but now I know how to swim freely.

Bridie Tolley is a rising senior at Grand Valley State University studying Advertising and Public Relations with a Public Relations emphasis and a Digital Studies minor. At GVSU, she is on an intramural volleyball team as well as the president of the Campus Activities Board and the podcast director for PR Hangover. PR Hangover is the podcast that GVPRSSA produces, and she loves this opportunity to get to network in unique ways. This is her first year on the PRSSA E-Board and she cannot express her excitement enough.