Having a job in social media means more than just posting cat pictures all day.
Usually.
Your resume is often the first impression you make with an employer. And if you want to work in social media, you’ll need to demonstrate that you are both creative and strategic. Here are the four most important things to include when you apply (cats optional):
Managing a company’s social media presence or strategizing for a campaign will involve more than just rudimentary knowledge of Facebook and Twitter.
Prove you know the anatomy of each channel by mentioning the monitoring and engagement tools you utilize (Hootsuite, Buffer, Crimson Hexagon, etc.) as well as the analytics and reporting tools you’ve learned. Even if your future company doesn’t use the same software, you’re highlighting the breadth of your skillset and trainability.
Statements that show you play well with others
Working in social media doesn’t mean you’ll necessarily be staring at a screen all day, every day. Like many other jobs, you’ll often collaborate with other departments on projects and campaigns.
Show that you are a team player by describing how you contributed to a larger goal with sales, legal, finance and other teams.
Most importantly, you need to demonstrate your value. “It's not enough to show ‘skills’ and list a bunch of social media platforms,” shares Elaine Young (@ejyoung67), professor of digital and social media marketing at the Stiller School of Business at Champlain College. “Write down results."
Links to your personal brand
The best way to show that you “get it” is to show “it” through your personal brand.
Point readers to your most professional channels (and clean up anything you don’t want held against you that could be found with a Google search.) Use the same username for Tinder or Reddit as you do Twitter? Expect that to show up in a quick search.
Quantifiable results
As with most jobs, you’ll need to show you’ve been productive. Social media is no different, and in fact, due to all the data your work generates, it can be easier to point to your output.
Young recommends the following resume bullet points:
Managed Facebook account resulting in increased engagement and interactions with customer base by 15%.
Responsible for increasing engagement and sales conversion utilizing Pinterest. My strategy resulted in driving 10% more traffic from Pinterest to our ecommerce site, with an increased sales conversion of 2%.
New to the field? Try to pull examples from internships, volunteer opportunities, and class projects. “When you start your placement be sure to screen shot everything and get a base on the metrics,” Young notes. “When you leave do the same thing. You then have a record of what you accomplished while there.”
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