My fellow classmates and I were provided with a rare opportunity today during our career management class – to have Martin Waxman, APR – Co-founder and President of Palette Public Relations Inc., in to speak. He wasn’t in to talk to us about agency life or starting your own firm; he was, in fact, discussing our resumes.
A couple of weeks ago, we were given a job description for an account coordinator position at Palette PR and were asked to come up with a cover letter and resume tailored to that job description. We then handed in two copies, one for our instructor to mark, and one for Martin to mark.
To me, this was just as intimidating as starting this blog. Yet again, my writing and personality were being put out there for people to see; my professional reputation on the line.
The results came in today. Martin said he was generally impressed and gave us great feedback. But with all of the advice he gave us today about cover letters and resumes, one thing in particular stuck out in my mind. He said that “judgment” is one of the most important things he looks for in a potential employee.
This really got me thinking. While judgment is an important skill, it is generally not one that people think to highlight in cover letters, resumes and during interviews. But being able to use your own judgment demonstrates to an employer that you are confident in yourself and the skills you can bring as an employee. Most employers know they will have to answer questions for you in the beginning. But by demonstrating that you have strong judgment, you are letting your employer know that you are independent and will try to problem solve on your own first. This is a big help for busy professionals.
This is not something we should wait to demonstrate. This is a skill that we need to practice now, as students. We need to show our teachers that we are capable of making decisions about assignments on our own without having every detail. It is hard because we all care about our grades and by not asking questions and using our own judgment, we are taking risks, which can be scary. But in the end, we will be learning valuable lessons that we can apply during our upcoming internship interviews and in our many upcoming years as successful PR professionals.
