Resume and Cover Letter Tips

A few helpful tips for your resume:

  1. Must be 1 page maximum.
  2. Must be submitted as a pdf with your name in the document title. Example: Meaghan O'Donnell Resume.pdf.
  3. Dates lined up nice and neat on the right.
  4. Resumes should be text ONLY, meaning remove your headshot (this is the #1 advice from major networks, studios and agencies).
  5. Your education section must be at the top of your resume. This shows hiring managers that you are still a full-time student, which is important because many internships require you to be completing the internship for credit.
  6. You must include job descriptions for each of your current and past experiences. This shows hiring managers what skills you have acquired and what you will bring to their company.
  7. Skills section is very important and you should be sure to include social media. Example: Social Media: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest.
  8. Phone number and email address must be included.
  9. Use bold and italics wisely to help make it easy to read.
  10. Bullet all your job duties. On average, hiring managers look at a resume for 6 seconds, which is why it is incredibly important that he/she can quickly skim and understand your experience.
  11. Use periods in your job duties or don't. Be consistent on that choice.
  12. Proofread!

A few helpful tips for your cover letter:

  1. The cover letter should be made out to “Dear Mr. / Ms. [Contact Person’s Last Name]” OR if you don’t know the contact person, “Dear [Company Name] Hiring Team.”
  2. Don’t start your cover letter with “My name is…”
  3. Be specific to what you are applying for. Generic cover letter are MUCH less effective then ones that talk about the specific posting and things that you have done that relate back to the specific posting.
  4. 1 page or shorter. Ideally 3-4 paragraphs.
  5. Proofread! You don't want your materials thrown out because of a typo.
  6. All experiences discussed on your cover letter should also be listed on your resume.
  7. Submit as a pdf with your name in the document title. Example: Meaghan O'Donnell Conan Cover Letter.pdf