Is your resume ready for this upcoming summer job search? Your resume not only outlines your current objectives, past work experience, education and achievements, but it also represents who YOU are. No matter what year in college you are, it is good to review your resume to make sure it is professional and up-to-date. The way you present your information will ultimately determine if you will get the job.
If you do not have one, start now! Although starting a resume can be a drain, it is crucial for job searching. When you’re ready to start, ask someone for help or simply search online for a sample resume. Also, make sure to browse through a few so that you can find one that fits you.
Here are a few important things to keep in mind when preparing your resume.
Keep it Timely
Future employers do not want to know about what you did in high school. If you are a freshman, it is fine, but you should be working on engaging yourself in clubs so that you can start building your resume. By the end of your sophomore year, you should have enough things to add to your resume: clubs, work experience, internship, volunteer work, special training, sorority/fraternity, skills, etc.
Organization is Key
Keep it neat and simple. You might want to make it look nice with different designs but fonts and header styles should remain consistent. Also, try to only include what is relevant for the job you are applying for. The common headers you may want to stick to are objective, work experience, activities, awards, and skills.
To the Point
Your resume should be one page. You may want to include all the different activities and work experience you had throughout college, but you’ll see that you will not have enough space. You will have to choose specific things depending on what your future employer needs to see. You’ll find that you will have numerous resumes that will work for different kinds of jobs. Save all of them.
Edit
Before sending it, make sure you not only review your resume countless times, but also have someone else look over it. After you make sure you have periods and commas where necessary, it is then crucial to get another person’s opinion. You can also contact the office of Career Services at your college for more help.
The hardest part is keeping your resume up-to-date. These important things to remember will help you when that time comes again. Try to revise your resume every semester so that if the opportunity for an internship or job appears, your resume will be ready.