Lessons Learned From My “Brand Yourself” Course

For my final semester, I enrolled in a half-semester course called “Brand Yourself” (GRAD725) which is taught in the Graduate School. The mission of this course is to prepare students for career development. I took this course because I wanted more structured support around my career-building goals. Last week was our final class meeting, and I am glad to say that the course was extremely valuable to me. Below are some major takeaways I think are useful for any person considering career development. 

Resumes vs Curriculum Vitae (CV) 

Here are some tips and suggestions related to creating and utilizing resumes and cv’s:

• A resume is usually a 1-2 page document that summarizes relevant work, educational, and/or volunteer experience, whereas a CV is typically longer. CVs have no page limit since they are supposed to include any and all relevant work/academic experience over the course of one’s career. It shocked me to learn that some people, such as the Dean of the Graduate School, have a CV of over 100 pages!

• Resumes are typically used for jobs related to industry (i.e. anything outside of academia), while CVs are specific to academia and research. For example, if I was applying to a research position at UNC, I would send my CV. If I was applying to the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), I would send my resume. 

• It is important to tailor your resume to your job application. 

• I used to have one resume for all things, but I learned that this is not always the best course of action when trying to be a competitive applicant. Especially since resumes already have limited space, it is important to pick and choose what to feature in the job you apply to based on what is most relevant (i.e. in terms of your skillset or experience). 

The Importance of a Cover Letter 

I did not realize how much a cover letter can elevate a job application. I learned that a lot of people tend to spend less time on their cover letters or don’t take the time to write one at all. Cover letters are an opportunity to convey direct intention about a position, and they can help applicants stand out if they are written well. One way to elevate a cover letter is to use the original job ad as a reference point (refer to “how to read a job ad” below). On the other hand, a poorly written cover letter or a cover letter that does not intentionally convey interest and relevant applicant experience can hinder one’s application. 

Informational Interviewing 

Informational interviews are a form of networking where you ask a person relevant questions about their career, position, organization, etc. to learn more about a job field or position. They are typically informal and can range anywhere from a few minutes to half an hour/an hour. You can also use informational interviews as a way to gain more information about a specific program or organization, such as insight into the quality of working with a specific organization.

Conducting informational interviews can be particularly beneficial for building new connections, being referred to relevant people in your network who you are not already connected with, and gaining insight into whatever work or role you are pursuing. Interviews can be as structured or unstructured as you feel is appropriate and can be done in casual conversation or in a more scheduled manner; they are designed to expand your network and understanding in a low-stakes way. 

Reading Job Ads

Whenever I would read job ads, I would just skim through them in order to decide my interest and eligibility. I learned that this passive way of reviewing job ads on the front end was not serving me. Instead, I learned the value of actively reading a job ad, which means I now look for key terms (e.g. repeated terms) and use them to tailor my cover letter. For example, if I see a skill or task mentioned multiple times, I mark that word and use similar language in my application.

For Further Learning…

I hope that some of these takeaways and lessons are useful, as they have been incredibly insightful for me as I begin my journey into my career. It can be daunting to transition from being a student to entering the workforce, but there are numerous tools and supports designed to make this process smoother. After learning about them, I feel a lot less intimidated and a lot more empowered to take charge of my job search. If you found some of this information useful and would like access to more career tools, check out UNC’s University Career Services Website for more.