On my resume I list all of my experience that is relevant to the full-time public relations/journalism position I am pursuing. This includes: my experience with MediaLab at PLU, an elite student-run group providing a variety of communications services for local businesses, etc., my freelance experience writing for PLU’s newspaper The Mast and Scene magazine (PLU alumni magazine), as well as my internships: Oregon Zoo public relations internship, Premier Media Group internship (writing for 425, South Sound and Tacoma Live magazines) and my Dayton Communications public relations internship in addition to my current experience as a staff writer for Portrait of Portland magazine. However, what I do not mention is my previous part-time job experience that I feel makes me an even better candidate for the position I hope to obtain (that being a full-time writer or public relations position connected to the industries of travel/tourism, food/beverage and retail/consumer).
My internship at the Oregon Zoo has given me experience in the travel/tourism portion, but I also have work experience in the retail/consumer and food/beverage industry. My first job was as a sales associate at Victoria’s Secret during the summer of 2004, helping customers with their needs on the sales floor. The next summer, I worked as a sandwich artist at Subway and even became a living, breathing advertisement for a new store location, taking turns with my fellow employees in the infamous Subway sandwich suit to distribute coupons and publicize the new location on the sidewalks of nearby streets. Next, during the last summer before starting my series of internships, I was a Bales grocery store courtesy clerk. In addition to stocking shelves and servicing the bottle return, I was chosen to manage the Muscular Dystrophy root beer float stand at my store. My first foray into cause-related marketing. Even before all of the relevant experience on my resume I had the same fields of interest on my radar, and more and more they intersected with my course of study: public relations and advertising. The culmination being that I understand these industries better because of my first-hand experience within them.
