Creating your first resume for an internship or career-based job can be one of the most exciting things to look forward to in your young collegiate career. Much time and effort goes into perfecting this piece of paper that is coveted by many employers. A lot of times however, students don’t necessarily know what they are doing the first time they go at it.
There are so many unofficial rules and restrictions on what you can and cannot put on a resume, and sometimes all anyone has to offer is their experiences through the internet: that being social media and YouTube.
For me personally, I had no clue what to put on mine. This was mainly because at the time that I had made my first resume, I didn’t really have much to put on it. And the sad part is, so many internships will turn you away because they don’t believe you’ve had enough experience in the field or that you haven’t had a prior gig within the industry. I know this method of rejection all too well, as I know many other people have had the same thing happen to them.
I feel that this is a flawed system because in order to get your desired job you need experience, or in other words, an internship. Many times, employers will not evaluate you fairly if the only experience you have is running a YouTube channel or starting up a business with efforts to use social media as your foundation.
Say someone is trying to work their way into the fashion or makeup industry. They run a fairly successful YouTube channel, showcasing different makeup designs and strategies as well as stylizing their many different outfits. Stamping your channel’s link or handle on our resume is often overlooked because so many employers want to see what actual business you’ve spent time working at.
If you’ve spent a great amount of time on these internet-based skill builders, you deserve to be considered and interviewed for a job opening. Unfortunately, employers are only looking for keywords and phrases to make their judgments about you. If they could just open their minds and spend a few minutes exploring this modern medium, they would discover vast skill sets that are commonly overlooked.
So many people dedicate their lives to YouTube channels or to other social media accounts, often to ignite their careers. At the point of monetary success through these mediums, I’d say you have made it in the professional world, but only to some degree.
This payment isn’t always a huge amount and really isn’t enough to support a lifestyle. You almost always have to take it to the next step and move onto a bigger, more stationary livelihood. Becoming YouTube or Instagram famous is every bit as hard and tedious as becoming a professional athlete, in that only the select 1% can get there.
I am here to say that what you are doing is enough. I know you are working as hard as you can to make it. No job rejection or unanswered email should sway you away from what you want to pursue. Internships are hard to get, as anyone who’s gone through college knows. Tracking down that first one can be one of the most stressful times of your life.
Having your YouTube channel or business account on your resume can be your best friend in the hunt for an internship; the employers now just need to start catching on.
