Highlighting Skills for Your Resume

Highlighting skills in your resume to show what you’re capable of doing can be challenging. What even counts as a valuable, resume-worthy skill? Experience can come from anywhere including the classes you took at Lawrence. Here are some examples of how to showcase skills you’ve already developed thanks to your classes and incorporate them into your resume.
Western Blot: An analysis used to detect specific proteins in a sample of tissue homogenate or extract. Sample resume phrase: Performed Western Blot to detect CD19 scFv protein.
R Studio: A programming language for statistical computing and graphics. This is introduced in BIOL 170, and CMSC 205 goes into greater depth about other applications of R. Sample resume phrase: Performed and analyzed statistical tests using R.
UV-VIS: A measurement of the weakening of strength of a beam of light after it passes through a sample or after reflection from a sample surface. Sample resume phrase: Determined Mg content in water samples using UV-VIS.
Arduino: A microcontroller board equipped with sets of digital and analog input/output pins that can be connected to other circuits and programmed to do certain things. You can learn how to use it in PHYS 220, an electronics lab class. Sample resume phrase: Coded Arduino Uno to stabilize a plastic boat for group project; presented results of project to class.
Python: A programming language also used to visualize data. Classes like PHYS 220 and PHYS 225 provide a basic overview on how use Python to create graphs and analyze data. Sample resume phrase: Used Python to graph data collected for experiments.

Julia Ammons ’22 is a Biology major and Anthropology minor with interests in the natural sciences and museum studies.

Raisa Fatima ’23 is a Physics major with interests in research related to Physics and/or engineering.

Tips for Gaining Experience in a Pandemic

1. Finding Summer Research:

  • Ask faculty members if they have funding for research and are planning to continue their research over the summer. Since Lawrence’s campus is relatively safe and the research is usually highly individualized, it is a good way to improve research skills. It might not be possible, but it doesn’t hurt to ask and apply.
  • If on-campus research is not possible, ask if it is possible for faculty to connect you with someone they know and be sure to follow-up with them.
  • Search for off-campus research. Handshake and pathwaystoscience.org are good places to start. The National Science Foundation funds research known as Research Experiences for Undergraduates or REUs. Additional organizations include Oak Ridge Institute for Science Education and Los Alamos National and Laboratory.
  • The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology has its internship listings here if you’re interested in working in these fields.
  • If you’re interested in pursuing research related to ecology, Harvard has a summer research program. Find details about the program and its application process here.

2. Searching for Remote Projects:

Try finding a mentor who is willing and able to help you with a remote project. This involves doing the research project away from the research site or office. Most work these days requires more and more computational skills and given the prevalence of the pandemic, remote work is a good way to improve these skills if in-person research is not possible. A good way to look for mentors includes asking faculty, as well as reaching out to alumni on Viking Connect.

3. Improving Computational Skills:

  • If none of the above options are possible, improve your computational skills on your own. Try practicing with different data analysis software other than Excel through self-study or online classes.
  • A good way to learn coding is to do projects that connect to your hobbies. For example, if you enjoy music, a potential project idea could be coding an Arduino to sing a specific song .
  • Lawrence may fund the purchases of some licenses if you ask. Check to see if this is possible.

Raisa Fatima ’23 is a Physics major with interests in research and engineering. She works as a Career Peer Educator for the PHN career community so if you’re interested in anything PHN related, or you just need some general advice on anything professional development related like resumes, cover letter etc. you can schedule an appointment here.

Career Spotlights: Insurance

Insurance reduces the negative impact of losing assets or income when an accident, illness, robbery, or death occurs. Many buy different types of insurance like health, life, auto, and home insurance so that they can transfer some of their risk of loss to the insurance company. But what does the other side of this industry look like? What does a job in insurance look like?


Career paths in insurance require strong backgrounds in math, statistics, and financial theory. Additionally, you need good communication and writing skills as often times you would be writing reports and communicating with clients about your findings and calculations. Here are some potential career paths and what each field requires.


Actuaries: They help develop insurance policies by determining the costs of risk. Actuaries also work in the public sector where they evaluate proposed changes to Social Security or Medicare or examine and regulate rates charged by insurance companies.
In addition to having excellent arithmetic skills, actuaries need to take examinations to get the right certifications. Most employers support their employees throughout the later part of their certification process (e.g. covering the costs of exams or giving raises after they pass exams). You can find out more by checking the Society of Actuaries website.


Financial or Insurance Managers: They decide how to limit losses by protecting against risks like costs imposed by lawsuits against the organization.
Financial managers need at least a bachelor’s degree and 5 years or more of experience in related occupations like accountant, loan officers, securities sales agents, or financial analysts. Many employers are also interested in hiring people with a master’s in fields like finance, accounting, economics, or business administration.


Insurance Sales Agents: They contact potential customers to sell one or more types of insurance. Sales agents explain various policies and help clients choose plans that suit them best. Agents can specialize in selling a specific type of insurance like life insurance or casualty insurance or sell multiple plans. They can also choose to work for a specific company or work for an insurance brokerage by selling the policies of many companies.


Agents need licenses in states where they work. They are only issued to applicants who have completed the necessary courses and pass state exams covering insurance fundamentals and state insurance laws. Many state licensing authorities also require agents to take courses on insurance laws, consumer protection, and other technical aspects of insurance policies. You can find more about these state requirements here.

Raisa Fatima ’23 is a Physics major with interests in research and engineering. She enjoys painting, reading and playing games like Stardew Valley in her spare time. Raisa works as a Career Peer Educator for the BE and PHN career communities so if you’re interested in anything PHN or BE related, or you just need some general advice on anything professional development related like resumes, cover letter etc. you can schedule an appointment here.

Gap Year Opportunities: General

Christ House
     Approximate Deadline: April 7
Jewish Organizing Fellowship
     Approximate Deadlines: Early Round-January 24. Regular Round-March 5, 2
LanguageCorps
     Approximate Deadline: 4 to 6 months before desired start date.
Lutheran Volunteer Corps
     Approximate Deadline: Round 1: January 15 & Round 2: April 1
Massachusetts Promise Fellowship
     Approximate Deadline: Rolling
Peace Corps
     Approximate Deadline: 6-12 months before beginning of service
Philly Fellows
     Approximate Deadline: January 31
Pittsburgh PULSE: Pittsburgh Urban Leadership Service Experience
     Approximate Deadline: June 1

Gap Year Opportunities: Education

Carnegie Foundation Post-Baccalaureate Fellowship
     Approximate Deadline: TBA
Citizen Schools
     Approximate Deadline: Rolling
City Year
     Approximate Deadlines: October 27, January 26, March 9, April 13, May 11, June 1.
FAO Schwarz Family Foundation Fellowship
     Approximate Deadline: Varies
SAGA Innovations
     Approximate Deadline: Rolling
     Keywords: tutoring, at-risk youth
Yale-NUS College
     Approximate Deadline: January 3
     Keywords: higher education, student affairs

Social Media PR as a Profession

By Jonathan Hogan

For many (especially the social media inclined), working as a social media specialist—that is, someone who designs content for and represents the company on social media platforms—can seem like a dream job. Yet, just like any professional position, there is a lot more to working as a social media specialist than meets the eye…

Posting

As already mentioned, social media specialists primarily create content and interact with companies’ customers/fans; however, most content posted by a social media specialists has been reviewed by multiple supervisors and has been patiently waiting in an automated calendar for months before it is released. Considering that social media specialists often create posts that are viewed by thousands of potential customers, such caution is to be expected. Yet, there is another reason for such a regimented timeframe: most posts are designed with a specific strategy and objective in mind and subsequently analyzed with the help of data analytics software. Just as any marketing department’s content, social media content receives considerable time and attention before and after the release of the content to ensure that the individual or team is working as efficiently as possible to meet broader company objectives.

Customer Services and Engaging with Fans

Contrasting with the lack of spontaneity in a social media specialists’ content creation process is the second most important element of a social media specialists’ job: responding to customers online. Most social media specialists pride themselves on their ability to make real, human connections with individuals engaging with their company. To accomplish this successfully, social media specialists are called to respond to queries or complaints with authenticity and promptness. Many social media specialists find this to be the most exciting part of their job; however, they also add that it comes with the stress of representing an entire brand in a public and unregulated fashion. For many, it takes months to work spontaneously without frequent emails to supervisors to ensure that responses are appropriate for the brand’s image.

Daily Schedule

Outside of creating and scheduling content for release and responding to customers, social media specialists engage with a wide variety of activities throughout their workdays. Brian Peters, a social media specialist at Buffer neatly presented his schedule on Buffer’s website:

MorningAfternoonEvening
7-7:30am: Breakfast & coffee12-12:30pm: Lunch5:30-6:45pm: Gym
7:30-8:30am: Email & voicemail12:30-1pm: Emails and voicemails6:45-8pm: Dinner with my wife
8:30-9am: Check-in on all social media platforms1-1:30pm: Respond and engage with community8-9pm: Learn (programming, video making, etc.)
9-9:30am: Measure social results and add to spreadsheets1:30-2:00pm: Curate content9-10pm: Relax and watch TV
9:30-10am: Respond and engage with community2-2:30pm: Read and learn10-10:30pm: Read
10-10:30am: Schedule new content to Buffer2:30-2:45: Break10:30pm: Sleep and repeat!
10:30-10:45am: Break & more coffee (much needed!)2:45-3pm: Schedule content to Buffer 
10:45-11am: Read and learn3-4:30pm: Content creation (video, graphics) 
11am-12pm: Content creation (podcast, writing)4:30-5pm: Emails and voicemails 
 5-5:30pm: Check Buffer queue 

As is evident in Brian Peter’s schedule, working as a social media specialist is a demanding job, which often requires constant availability and the agility to address urgent issues, trending content, and algorithmic changes to social media platforms at the drop of a hat. Because of this intensity, many social media specialists have mentioned having difficulty separating work from down-time, and social media from work.

For those dedicated individuals with a penchant for social media, design, community engagement, and strategizing, social media PR may be a field for you. But be aware, the field is rigorous and often demands much more than a typical 8 eight-hour workday.  

Jonathan is a Second Year German and Government major. He works as a Career Peer Educator to assist students in the CJW and GLI career communities. In addition to professional development, Jonathan is interested in the cultural construction of the modern nation-state, normative constraints on rational behavior, and all things German. You can schedule an appointment with him here to improve your resume, learn more about the CJW and GLI career opportunities, and work on anything else professional development-related.

Works Cited

Booz, Nicole. “What It Is Really Like to Work in Social Media.” GenTwenty, 4 Oct. 2015, gentwenty.com/what-it-is-really-like-to-work-in-social-media/.

Doyle, Alison. “Best Social Media Career Options to Consider.” The Balance Careers, 17 Sept. 2020, www.thebalancecareers.com/social-media-job-titles-2061507.

Kearl, Mary. Noodle, 17 Oct. 2019, www.noodle.com/articles/the-pros-and-cons-of-becoming-a-social-media-manager.

Morgan, Brittney. “7 Social Media Pros On What They Love (and Hate) About Their Jobs.” Business News Daily, 9 Sept. 2015, www.businessnewsdaily.com/8359-social-media-career-pros-cons.html.

Peters, Brian. “A Day in the Life of a Social Media Manager: How to Maximize Your Time on Social Media in 2017.” Buffer Library, Buffer Library, 30 June 2020, buffer.com/library/social-media-manager-checklist/.

Samuels, Rachael. “9 Skills Every Social Media Manager Must Have.” Sprout Social, 7 May 2020, sproutsocial.com/insights/social-media-skills/.