By Allison Miszner > Sophomore > Communication/Public Relations > University of Maryland
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.
With the help of Stacie Finkelstein – former University of Maryland student, Sigma Delta Tau alumni and current sales planner for BlogHer – the Upper East Side’s most famous sorority girl, Serena van der Woodsen, resume is going to take her resume from drab to fab.
Problem 1: List It
“If you have a position, list it. I was secretary of my sorority and look where it got me! Don’t downplay the actual work you do for your chapter,” Finkelstein said.
Problem 2: Details
“That being said, list the responsibilities of your position and be detailed. You want employers to know every single bit of work your put in to that position. Especially if they were not members of Greek life, you need them to understand what it really means,” Finkelstein said.
Problem 3: Specificity
“If you are philanthropy chair, name the fundraiser and include how much money your chapter raised as well as the activities that raised it. Show your commitment to the community as well as resourcefulness in raising money. In the real world, you’ll need to be generating revenue,” Finkelstein said.
Problem 4: Relevancy
“All of the points should be meaningful, regarding tasks you might do in an entry level job. Usually this includes administrative work, communications, writing, record keeping, answering phones, working as a team, etc,” Finkelstein said.
Problem 5: Reasoning
“This resume doesn’t have much college activities other than the sorority. Put more bullet points under each position and show the employer that you didn’t do anything else for a reason!” Finkelstein said.
Clearly Serena has some work to do. Sorority life can seem like it’s all about parties and frat guys, but sometimes that’s just what you need to get you a job. Just make sure not to phrase it like that. Does your resume need a facelift too? Send your resume to [email protected], subject “Rejected Resume.”
