Pattie Lin is a singer-songwriter who can play piano, guitar, ukulele and the violin. Before moving to Los Angeles
she lived in Maryland. Though her day job is in physical therapy, she continues to pursue her passion for music. Last year she directed her first music video for her single “Pressure”. I connected with Pattie after she introduced herself on the Asian Creative Network Facebook page. There she described her songs as a blend of soul, jazz, and folk. Her powerful lyrics are inspired by various life experiences including growing up as an Asian American. She currently has two EPs on Spotify: Cutoff Time and Grandma Said No. She has a few shows coming up in the Hollywood area this month and Texas in April. You can check out the “LIVE” section on her website for more information! My Top Three Tracks: Twisted, When I’m Gone, and Hope Where to find her work: Website: pattielin.com Spotify: spoti.fi/2F1WEZe Instagram: @patt5e Youtube: bit.ly/2NWXf15
0 Comments
If you’re a fan of Panic! At The Disco and Walk the Moon, this is the next band you should listen to! The Active Set
is an indie alternative rock band from Los Angeles. Their songs have been featured on KROQ Locals Only. I actually discovered The Active Set after they followed me on Twitter! They’re very engaging with their fans and their tweets are really funny. They post updates on their upcoming album as well as random things just to entertain their followers. For those of you in the Los Angeles area they have a few live shows lined up. They are opening for The Rival Tides at the Satellite on March 28 and White Lies at the Fonda Theatre on May 8. My Top Three Tracks: Say Goodbye, Valley Born, Actual Factual Where to find their work: Website: theactiveset.com/ Spotify: spoti.fi/2SGjBo6 Twitter: @theactiveset Instagram: @theactiveset Facebook: facebook.com/theactiveset Youtube: youtube.com/user/theactiveset Bandcamp: theactiveset.bandcamp.com It’s summer internship season! Some of you may know that I was a little obsessed with job searching and application writing in college. I actually taught a few workshops! Still I feel there are some things I wish I knew then.
Now a little background on me, I have had a few media jobs and am currently on my fifth internship. There were semesters I was balancing multiple offers and others I didn’t get a response at all. I know what it’s like to be a top candidate who made it to the final round but still didn’t get the role. But I learned a lot from the opportunities I did end up accepting! Based on my own experience and other advice I’ve received, here’s ten tips to keep in mind when applying: 1.Have both a creative and traditional version your resume I really love resumes that have color, multiple columns, and graphics. They make you more memorable and are often more pleasing to the eye. For these I recommend using Resume Genius, InDesign or Canva to make and exporting as a PDF. Unfortunately, creative resumes don’t usually pass Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS). The computers aren’t perfect and may view PDFs as one big picture not recognizing the text. In those cases, it would be best to send a black and white one column resume in Microsoft Word in .docx format. Use common fonts like Georgia, Arial or Tahoma and be sure to put your name/contact information in the body of the document since ATS can have trouble reading the header section. You have to research each company you’re applying for to see what their hiring managers prefer. When applying to smaller organizations I used a creative resume since I emailed my application directly to a person. For major companies it varies. Almost all the Disney Professional interns I’ve talked to always submitted a creative resume and it's been about 50/50 for the NBC interns I connected with. A good way to tell would be how the companies’ application is set up. Disney and NBC have applicants manually enter their work experience in addition to uploading a resume document. Their ATS scans that information instead of the documents uploaded. For other companies that just have you submit files only I’d go with a more traditional version since that is what will go through their computers. 2.Hyperlink your work samples This is the best resume advice I have ever got! It is becoming more common for resumes to be viewed digitally. By hyperlinking your work it will make it easier for hiring teams to see each individual project you mention. If you plan on doing this I suggest using Microsoft Word or InDesign. Be sure to still list a few URLs to your website, LinkedIn profile, etc. so recruiters that print out your resume can still find your work samples. 3.Include keywords EXACTLY as they are in the job description Seriously, verbatim. I used the free ATS feature on Jobscan when writing my resume. I put multitasking in one of my bullet points but the machine said I still missed that skill since it was listed as “multi-tasking” in the job description I was trying to match my resume to. But don’t go directly copying and pasting the full job description either. ATS can also detect that and a hiring manager will notice. Integrate specific phrases within your work experience and if you find it necessary add a soft skills section to include other qualities. 4. Think of cover letters like a personal statement This is what I struggle with most when applying. So many sources including some career centers still tell people to start their cover letters with “My name is…” or “I’m writing to express my interest…” and it just bores recruiters. Some may even stop reading early on and move onto the next candidate. Cover letters are a place to tell a story that your resume doesn't. You can talk about why you’re interested in that company and/or connect how your previous job led you to the next. It should be SHOWING your passion rather than telling a reader how qualified you are for the role. These have been the most helpful articles and samples I refer to: I Review Hundreds Of Cover Letters–Here’s What I Instantly Reject bit.ly/2H8ghA5 31 Attention Grabbling Cover Letter Examples muse.cm/1iIN9yK 5. You don’t always have to address it to a specific person A very common misconception! Unless the job posting explicitly says who to address your cover letter to, you should make it more broad. More often than not your application will be read by multiple people. Customize your greeting by saying something like “Dear CBS Recruiter” or “ To the Universal Music Group Careers Team ”. Some companies accept “To Whom It May Concern” but in my opinion it’s too general. 6.And you don’t always have to include them Some recruiters I met said cover letters are as important as your portfolio while others don’t look at them at all. I’ve also met interns who said they still got offers by submitting only their resume and some who felt their cover letter helped them stand out. If you think you have something to say that a hiring manager can’t tell from your resume, write one! I personally got an interview with NBC 4 since I talked about how my class toured the news station and how it made me more excited to apply. For other companies I mentioned that I won a scholarship because of my junior thesis film. Of course if the listing says a cover letter is required you should include it. Some opportunities even have specific prompts. But if it’s optional you will still be considered without one. 7. Be picky about the experience you highlight Keeping your resume to one page can be tricky but hiring managers only look at them on average for 6-7 seconds. Multiple page resumes are only expected for higher level roles that require more than 5 years of experience. The best way to think about it is what do you want the reader to know about you in that short amount of time. I recommend highlighting no more than 6 roles with 3-4 bullet points relevant to the job. There may be a few “employment gaps” but recruiters understand you’re still a student. You can either explain the gap in your cover letter or they can see you were working a different job not directly related to the opportunity on your LinkedIn page. In my case, I’ve had appointed (temporary) jobs, internships, and independent projects that overlapped. I created a master document with all my work history so I could use that as a base for each application. I combined roles that were in the same company to save space on my resume. And even then I left out some opportunities depending on what I was applying for. 8. Networking is key One of my favorite past jobs was an opportunity that wasn’t even listed! My boss at the time found out about another role at the Chancellor’s Office through word of mouth. She encouraged me to apply as she thought it was more in line with my goals. She gave me a great reference and forwarded my materials directly to the supervisor. I got an interview the next day and switched departments the following semester! It’s also important to network with people currently working at your desired company to learn more about the culture. It may not lead to your application being pulled from the stack but they can still give you guidance. You can reach out to employees through LinkedIn or Twitter (if it’s their professional account). I personally have gained a lot from the Disney Professional Internship Facebook group. Every season aspiring interns and alumni support each other and give updates on their application progress. Other members have given me a lot of great feedback and helped me learn more about the company’s hiring process! 9. Typos aren’t the end of the world Always proofread your documents but if you miss a couple mistakes it’s okay. Hiring managers usually forgive a few typos that aren’t distracting. If the errors are minor they may not even notice them. I actually looked back on some applications and noticed I had a few mistakes in the ones I ended up getting offers for and no replies on some that were flawless. What matters is the experience you’re trying to convey to the hiring managers. 10.You can always ask for more time to decide Balancing multiple offers at the same time is a really good thing!!! Though it can also be stressful time especially if you’re still waiting to hear back from your first choice. Hiring managers understand you’re applying to other opportunities as they are considering multiple candidates. Most companies will allow anywhere between a day to a week to decide. Just ask and you usually don’t have to give a specific reason why you need more time to think about it. Remember to thank the employer for the extension and still send a thank you email to the offers you decide not to accept. That way you are still on good terms with the company for their future openings. Thanks for reading! Please let me know if you have any questions and/or if there any other career topics you’d like me to write about.
Sheldoncole is a nomad singer/songwriter. He is from the Pacific Northwest and currently lives in Los Angeles. The places he has toured include the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
I first found out about him when I was researching artists on the TRiP Santa Monica calendar. His songs are great for fans of folk/rock music. On his website bio he says his songs are inspired by “his propensity for movement, travel and desire for human connection. " His latest single “Freak” was released in January 2019 and has been featured in the New Music Friday (Slay Selects) Spotify Playlist. This is the first track of his upcoming album and he will be posting more updates on his social media pages. My Top Three Tracks: Freak, Monsters, Live for Love Where to find his work: Website: sheldoncole.com Spotify: spoti.fi/2BLqvTF Twitter: @Sheldoncole_ Instagram:@_sheldoncole_ Facebook: facebook.com/sheldoncoleofficial Youtube: bit.ly/2tAmwon Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/sheldoncole
Bella Novella won battle of the bands at Buskerfest 2017 and I’ve been following them ever since. I love their high energy and it’s no question they’re a crowd favorite. Their performances have received praise from LA Weekly and Pop Matters. They are an amazing rock band!
As a Long Beach native, it’s great seeing local bands like Bella Novela contribute to our growing music scene. Whenever they tour, they help promote the city as they gain more fans. The trio has been performing over all Southern California and have been working on new music. Their album Incinerate will be released this Spring with a release party on April 6 in Long Beach. Until then, I highly recommend checking out their previous albums on Spotify! My Top Three Tracks: Masquerade, Going the Distance, Incinerate Where to find their work: Website: bellanovela.com/ Spotify: spoti.fi/2Xb6sXO Twitter: @bellanovela Instagram:@bellanovelamusic Facebook: facebook.com/bellanovela/ Youtube: youtube.com/user/BellaNovelaMusic |
AuthorI've found a lot of great artists through my projects and social media so I thought it would be a great idea to create a blog highlighting my favorites! Archives
June 2019
Categories |