Resume vs. Cover Letter: How to Use Them for Your Benefit as a Sport Creative 💌✨

Your resume is who you are. Not that it should define you by any means, but it is the way that you introduce yourself to the job you're applying for. On the other hand, what's a cover letter? It's similar, but with a more flexible approach, it's also a great means of introducing yourself to your future employer.

As a sport creative, I always found myself confused on "which was which" and what they were for. For this reason, this post is going to be your ultimate guide on Resumes and Cover Letters and how you can use them for your benefit as a sport creative.

Getting Started

To get us started it's important for you to understand that both of these are great tools alone, but are even more powerful when placed together. Although you're often just required to post a resume, a cover letter is a great way of adding context to your achievements - but we'll talk about it some more soon. In this post we'll be talking about the differences between resumes and cover letter and how you can maximize their use.

What is a Resume?

According to Dictionary.com , a resume is "a brief written account of personal, educational, and professional qualifications and experience, as that prepared by an applicant for a job." In other words, it's basically a summary of everything that you've accomplished, like a highlight reel!

Key Features of a Resume

• Bullet-point format for concise information

• Focus on professional history, skills, and qualifications

• Usually 1-2 pages long

For sport creatives, I would encourage you to use this space to highlight any unique creative projects, collaborations, and any experience that you've had that aligns with the sport industry. Make sure that you also have a link to your portfolio so that your employer can see your visual work if that applies to the position as well. Here's how I organize my header on my resume:

In this case, I have a direct link to my LinkedIn page, which will have my portfolio and all important links on it. I encourage you to do the same, especially in case there aren't specific places for you to add your portfolio.

What is a Cover Letter?

On the other hand, a cover letter has a more narrative approach to describing your skills. It's mostly focused on the job that you're applying to, meaning that it can be even more specific than the resume. It's a great opportunity for you to showcase your personality as well. Indeed.com defines a cover letter as "a one-page document you send with your resume that provides additional information about skills and experiences related to the job you're pursuing."

Key Features of a Cover Letter

• Personalized and narrative format

• Explains why you're a fit for the role

• Offers insight into your passion and personality

For sport creatives, I would encourage you to showcase your creative personality and passion as you're writing this letter to your employer. You can even talk about your past experience, what made you get to where you are currently, or talk about previous projects from which you've learned new and different things.

Key Differences Between a Resume and a Cover Letter

So, here are the key differences between a resume and a cover letter:

Resume	Cover Letter
Lists qualifications and experience	Introduces personality and explains your interests
Short and formal	Focuses on why you're applying for the role and what you can do for the business
Focused on past achievements	Allows for more creativity in expression

How to Use a Resume as a Sport Creative

• Highlight unique skills and projects

  • Showcase any creative projects you've participated in and list the skills that you have (like different applications)

  • Include action words

• Use clean, readable fonts and simple layouts

• Tailor each resume to the specific job

You can read this post here as it talks about resume tips for sport creatives.

How to Use a Cover Letter as a Sport Creative

• Make sure that you personalize each letter

  • Share your passion for the sports industry and creativity

  • Connect your creative work to the specific needs of the company

• Tell a story with your letter

  • Explain how your experience and creativity make you the perfect fit for the company

  • You can even talk about your path to where you are today and how the things you've learned can be applied in this position

• Tailor each cover letter to the job description and include details about the company's values

Examples of Things to Talk About:

• How your photography helped athletes improve their personal brand

• The creative challenges you've overcome in the sports industry

Why You Need Both a Resume and a Cover Letter as a Sport Creative

By including both in your application, you can maximize your impact. These two documents can complement each other really well, with the resume highlighting your qualifications and your cover letter personalizing your application. When writing these, make sure that the resume is filled with facts (companies do check these things sometimes) and professional. On the other hand, when writing the cover letter, take the opportunity to tell a compelling and creative story about who you are and what you can do for them.

Conclusion

Yay, you've made it to the end! I hope this post was helpful to you and that it persuaded you to go ahead and start using both of these documents when applying for a new job. Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions in the comments below, and like always, thank you for your support!