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College Student Employment Tips:
Successful Resume Writing: Beat the Competition With A Resume That Stands Out
Employers need your help. They’re short on time and they have a stack of a dozen or more resumes on their desk for the job you want. You need to make their job easy by making your college student resume stand out from all of the rest. The following are tips to help you get onto the short list and land an interview:
- 1. Make Sure Your Name Stands out. (ie nice big font)
- 2. Find a resume layout template that is easy to skim read and looks professional. (Pick a readable font, make bold title and subtitles and bullet points for easy skim reading). The visual presentation of your resume is a sample of the type and quality of work you can produce for the employer if you get hired. In essence you’re showing off how well you would be able to represent the employers company on paper by how well you can represent yourself on paper. If you can’t even make yourself look good in your own resume then you’re not giving the employer any hope that his/her investment in you will reflect positively on his/her company.
- 3. Directly address the position you’re applying for. Don’t send the same generic resume to every job you’re applying for. Don’t just change the employer’s name on your cover letter. Look at the job posting in detail. Read it a dozen times. Use words and descriptions from the job posting when describing your work experience and abilities. If the employer is stating that the position requires skills A, B and C, then address A B and C in the intro and again in the details of your resume.
- 4. Make it clear you want the job. Most of the other resumes an employer will receive will be form letters with little effort put into them. Show the employer that you’re not half heartedly emailing out generic resumes but that you actually know something about the company, you’re excited about working for that company and you have the exact skill set and experience for the job – or that you’re extremely motivated and capable to learn the required skills quickly because of personality, interests, and past related experiences.
- 5. Show that you’re a self starter. Nothing makes an employer happier than an employee who is a self starter. If it’s appropriate for the position, consider commenting on past or recent projects the company has worked on. Suggest what about the project you see yourself having potentially worked on if the opportunity was given – or simply state what couple of things you liked about the company’s contributions to the project.
- 6. Use Lots of Action Words & Verbs – (ie marketed, developed, created, managed, handled)
- 7. Provide Relevant References – if possible, provide references related to the industry you’re applying to work in (ie don’t use your McDonald’s boss as a reference for your advertising agency internship). Ask your references for permission to use their name and contact info and tell your references what job you’re applying for and what skills are required for the position.
- 8. Put Your Resume Online – provide the URL (the web address) of your online resume on your printed resume in case the employer wants to email that link to his/ her coworkers.
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