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Marketing Yourself�

Resumes & Professional Social Media

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Utilize your social media presence and work history documents to compellingly communicate your values and expertise as a student, researcher, and professional.�

Dr. Alvin Thomas

Cadin Tonkovic-Capin

Michelle Holland

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Agenda

1:30-2:30�

    • Social Media�
    • LinkedIn�
    • Resumes and Cover Letters

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2:30-3:00�

    • Optional workshop time

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Introductions

  • Name�
  • 3 words to describe yourself 

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Professional Social Media

Dr. Alvin Thomas

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https://thomaslab.humanecology.wisc.edu/

BLACK FATHERHOOD PODCAST with Dr. Alvin Thomas

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First & Foremost - Our Big 3

Identify what’s important to you, what you can do, and what you need.

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  • core value
    • likely intersects your personal and professional lives
  • core competency
    • area of expertise
  • core need
    • what is a non-negotiable element of a potential role?

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Example - Cadin

  • Core value - community
  • Core competency - programming development & planning
  • Core need - student-facing work

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Developing your personal brand

  • Why?
    • Get a job interview
    • Secure a job offer!
    • Highlight your work: skills, experiences, qualifications, accomplishments, and more
    • Share your personality: your story tells a lot about you

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  • What?
    • Resume
    • Cover letter
    • Website
    • Social media
    • Business cards 

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LinkedIn 101 �

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To start off

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using your hand, show your level of comfort with LinkedIn from 0-5

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(fist=completely uncomfy, 5=expert)

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Honesty Hour

LinkedIn makes me uncomfy.

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But it doesn’t have to!

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How can we put forth an authentic version of ourselves on LinkedIn?

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What is LinkedIn & why should I care?

  • A professional social media platform to showcase your skills, research, and accomplishments

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  • A place to keep up with former colleagues and cheer them on!

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  • A place to find networking and job opportunities

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  • An outward-facing snapshot of your work

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Note:

This is LinkedIn 101, not LinkedIn 700, so we’re talking profiles here. For an amazing model of how to post authentically and regularly, check out Dr. Thomas’ or Dr. Whelan’s pages!

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Your Profile

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To maybe state the obvious,

make sure your profile is up-to-date, including your education, work experience, current title, location, etc.

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Don’t be this guy whose profile says they have been working on their Bachelor’s from 2009-present because they haven’t touched their profile since 2010.

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Photo

  • Headshot!
  • 80% of frame
  • Soft natural light
  • Personal branding: be your best professional self! 

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Returning to the big 3

  • core value
  • core competency
  • key need (job market-specific)

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Headline

    • Appears directly under your name
    • Usually includes your current title
    • Can communicate any or all of your big 3!

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About

    • 5-10 lines, 3-5 sentences, 30 seconds read aloud�
    • 2,000 character limit�
    • Concise and unique

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    • Narrative-first person

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    • Should ALWAYS communicate your core value(s) and competencies, may also include your key need if you are on a job search

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Identify Big 3 in each of these examples

  1. Graduate student services, diversity and recruitment in graduate education, graduate school admissions, prospective student recruitment events, new student orientation event planning�
  2. Throughout the past decade at UW-Madison, I have extensive experience in graduate education ranging from programs in the biological and physical sciences to central university administration in the area of academic services, policy, and centralized technology systems.  My role in working with graduate students in programs across campus has brought me great appreciation for the various disciplines at a large research university.  Serving in a director role in the Graduate School Dean's Office has solidified my philosophy of putting students at the center of my work.  Serving graduate students from the time they apply as prospective students through their arrival on campus and orientation programming, to assisting them in navigating the power dynamics of being a graduate student, in addition to the complex university administrative structure, my primary goal is to meet students where they are and be a valuable resource to them throughout their graduate school journey.  

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Resumes

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Do the details REALLY matter? YES!

  • Employers make decisions in as little as 10-20 seconds
  • Keep in mind the employer's perspective
    • What are THEY looking for? 
    • Why should they hire YOU? 
  • Targeted to a specific job description
    • Addresses specific needs
    • Use keywords from the job description in your materials
  • Tailored to what they need
    • Shows you are a good fit for THEIR job
    • How will you contribute positively to the company?

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Sections of a Resume

Michelle R.Z. Holland�michelle.holland@wisc.edu  |  608-438-1549

Ph.D. Human Ecology: Civil Society & Community Studies

University of Wisconsin-Madison

08/2020-Current (expected graduation 2024)

Dissertation: The administration of graduate programs in support of students and faculty doing their best work.

MS Higher Education

University of California-Berkeley 

08/2018-05/2020

BS Geography 

Carleton College

Certificate: GIS, Cartography

08/2014-05/2018

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Header

    • Name
    • Address
    • Phone Number
    • Email
    • Website

Education

    • Degree
    • Institution/Location
    • Major/Minor
    • Date

Experience

    • Company and Location
    • Dates
    • Tasks/Responsibilities
    • Research, teaching, service, outreach

Biology Training Grant, UW-Madison

Graduate Program Coordinator

10/2023-Current

  • Organize all new student orientation activities for a PhD incoming class of 20 new students and coordinate the biological sciences picnic for 15 graduate programs with over 200 students and faculty attending�
  • Design and implement a comprehensive web-based scheduling protocol for 70+ contact tracing employees

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Writing Impactful Bullet Points

  • Identify the tasks of what you did
  • Demonstrate achievements vs. just doing tasks: include results where possible (numbers, figures, facts)
  • Incorporate keywords from job description
  • WHAT did you do? 
  • WHY does it matter?
  • HOW did you go about your work with methods, means, or approaches?
  • WHAT results were achieved and how important was this? 
  • connect to the Big 3: core value, core competency, and key need related to the job

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From Good to Great! 

  • GOOD
    • Served as a TA for the CNSR SCI department

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  • GREAT
    • Strengthened and improved instruction for 200+ online undergraduate students in Consumer Science 201: Market Strategies by employing activity based learning and culturally relevant course modules in Canvas

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Resume Samples

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Cover Letters�

have you ever written one? 3? 15?

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Process

  • review job posting
  • identify top 3 things they are looking for in a candidate
  • showcase examples from your resume of how you have the skills
  • use STAR method to demonstrate examples
    • situation
    • task
    • action
    • result
  • connect to your Big 3: core value, competency, and need
  • show how you fit the job description
  • customize every cover letter for each job application
  • 1 page preferred, 2 pages max!

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Cover Letter Format: Easy as 1, 2, 3!

Conclusion

closing

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summarize what you told them

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thank them

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signature

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Intro

open with authentic enthusiasm

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why you want to work for the organization

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tell them that you have the top 3 things they are looking for

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Body

3 paragraphs with specific examples

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3 skills they are looking for and evidence that you have each of those skills

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use STAR (situation, task, action, result) method and be specific

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Resources

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References

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(Optional) Worktime

  1. Update your LinkedIn profile
    1. Worksheet here: https://go.wisc.edu/p3p629 �
  2. Workshop a bullet point (or 3!) in your resume�
  3. Find a job posting and identify top 3 things they are looking for and identify examples of how you demonstrate those skills