How to Write a Resume for a Media Job

Showcase your experience.

People interested in working in the media's many sectors---communications, public relations, and television, newspaper or magazine journalism---should have a resume that reflects their experience and background. However, not all resumes are the same. A media resume should be tailored to fit the individual and yet remain consistent with industry standards.

Things You'll Need

• Computer

Instructions

1. Make a list of all recent, relevant media experience positions. Tailor the list of experience according to the job for which is being applied. Determine the most important, substantial points of experience there are, and list those first, from most recent to least recent. Resumes should always list information in a chronological order.

2. 

   The experience listed should be relevant.

   Go back and format the list of experience in a word processing program. Bold all places of experience to separate them from other details. Make sure all positions are relevant. These should include both jobs and internships. Include specific information about the company, the time spent with it, and the specific duties performed. List duties that are relevant in the media industry.

   If relevant experience is limited, a second section may be titled "Other." Here, jobs and experience in other areas may be listed.

3. 

   Education in media fields should be listed.

   List education and relevant courses last. Place any and all educational institutions and when the studies occurred. List the grade point average (if it's noteworthy), degree and the major earned.

   According to Ed2010, education should not be placed first. In the realm of media jobs, unlike many other resumes, experience should be highlighted first. If work and experience is limited, courses in media, journalism, writing and communications may be listed.

4. 

   Knowledge of social networking is important.

   Outline a last section specifying relevant skills pertaining to media-related activities. These would include communication skills, quick typing, ability to transcribe, organization, newspaper or magazine layout skills, and knowledge of computer programs. According to Media Bistro, employers like to see that prospective employees understand and make use of social media tools, like Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

Tips & Warnings

• Always make sure that the resume can be viewed properly on any kind of computer. This means using a basic format that is easy to read.

• According to Ed2010, the source for media and journalism jobs, the resume must be kept to one page. It must also be written in one style format. For much of the media industry, Associated Press (AP) style is used. It is a safe bet to use this style. However, if another style is used, it must be kept consistent throughout the entire resume.

• Ed2010 says to leave out any objective statement and to instead write the objective in an a cover letter.

References

• Ed2010:Tips for Writing a Resume the Right Way
• Media Bistro: Build Your Social Media Resume

Resources

• Media Jobs