Survival Guide: Resumes

 

Start with your name, address, phone number and email address. Increase the font size of your name so it stands out on the page.

 

Because you’re a student, list your college education first. Include your university’s name, expected graduation date, major and GPA. If you GPA is below a 3.0, you may want to leave it off. Instead, consider listing your GPA for only the classes in your major, because often those grades tend to be higher than your overall average. Or include both.

 

Feature internships, jobs or leadership experiences next. Below each position, list 2-3 bullet points on the important work you performed. If possible, include quantifiable information such as the number of events you planned, the number of people you led or the number of dollars you raised. And describe your work using strong action verbs such as “led,” “managed,” “created,” “organized” or “launched.” The list should be in chronological order or in the order of most relevant. Make sure to use past tense unless it’s a position that you currently hold and write in the third person. Example labels for this section are: Professional Experience, Work Experience, Related Experience or Employment.

 

Include organizations you’re involved with and be sure to highlight your leadership roles and responsibilities within that organization. This section is an opportunity to list your involvement with any clubs on campus, sports teams, the Student Government Association, a fraternity or sorority and/or volunteer work. Also add details on how you contributed to that organization’s mission. Try to focus on your involvement during your college career. If you don’t have enough material, you may include one or two significant experiences from high school. Label this section one of the following: Organizations, Community Involvement, Activities or Campus Involvement.

 

At the end of you resume, list the specific skills that set you apart from the competition. Can you speak French, Mandarin and Spanish? Or how about C++? Do you know how to use InDesign or Photoshop? These are impressive skills—brag about them. If you’ve been published, list the publications and include the article title. Or you can use this section to share your hobbies: surfing, yoga, traveling, playing the saxophone etc. Listing activities you’re passionate about adds color to your resume and gives an employer another way to connect with you—who knows, your employer may love surfing too. Choose from any of these labels: Skills, Interests, Publications, Additional Skills and Interests, Passions, Languages.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When sitting down to write your first resume, you might feel as lost as you did on the first day of classes. These tips let students know what employers are looking for.   

 

Struggling to fill your resume as you apply for your first job in college?

 

Have what you need to fill your resume, but don’t quite know how to do it? Formatting a resume can be difficult for many first timers and can also be what helps employers decide whether to pass or trash your resume.

 

Although most college advisors say it is not necessary to declare a major until the end of your sophomore year, students know how stressful an unclear future can be.  This especially becomes an issue in internship hunting and resume building – how can we pitch our goals to a potential employer when we don’t even know what to study?

 

If you are a member of Greek life, you can surely understand that it occupies most of your time. Who cares about lectures, finals and term papers when there’s a date party tonight? Yet, with the right wording, Greeks can really use their work within their chapters to help boost their resumes.