By Chloe Butler and McHalea Beck
From experience, we know how hard it can be to nail the perfect resume for your dream internship or job. There are so many factors involved, and the contents of your resume will vary based on what you are applying for. We want to break down for you the most important factors to consider when improving your resume.
Internships:
Be sure to include any information on past internships. These are key experiences that will show employers what type of professional knowledge you have and important skills that you have learned. If you have had more than one internship, make sure to prioritize the most relevant experience at the top of your resume.
Highlight any important projects, assignments, or clients that you have had experience with during your internship. In addition, if you need to add a reference for an application, make sure to add a past internship supervisor who can speak on your professional work ethic!
On-Campus Experience:
Being involved is extremely important. Not only does it help you develop skills and learn from likeminded individuals, but it gives you a competitive edge. Showcasing on your resume that you can juggle being a student and being involved in extracurriculars proves that you can effectively manage your time.
When companies look over your resume, they want to see what experience you have that would make you a good fit for the position. Your resume is the first step to applying for a job, it is you on a sheet of paper. Make sure you are participating in extracurriculars that you can talk about during your interviews with potential employers. Being able to show your accomplishments and tangible work that you have created will set you apart from other candidates.
As a member of HVC you are already ahead of the game!
Advisor Advice:
You should always have someone look over your resume. A fresh pair of eyes will catch something you may not have noticed. We are going to sound like a broken record, but meeting with Bob Martin or Julie Miller to review your resume is very useful. A great benefit of the Bellisario College is the Office of Internships and Career Services. They conduct job fairs, for example Success in the City, as well as provide support to students who need help finding an internship or want their resume reviewed.
Condensing all your accomplishments into a few bullet points, formatting, and choosing the best action words for your resume can be difficult. To make this process easier, meet with an advisor to guide you and make your resume the best it can be.
Strong Vocabulary:
One extremely important factor in building an effective resume is strong vocabulary, in particular, action verbs. For example, instead of saying “Led my team in…” say “Delegated tasks to team members for…” This helps emphasize the important actions you have done in your experiences and allows the reader to visualize the description in a more effective way.
To create a better image that an employer has of you, use power words that match the position you are applying for. Certain words are used frequently by recruiters in their job descriptions, so look at the description and incorporate those words in your resume.
Formatting:
After meeting with an advisor, I realized how important formatting your resume is. Your resume should be easy to read and efficiently utilize space. This allows your potential employer to read your resume in a quick and timely manner. An employer will look at a resume for about seven seconds, which means structure is everything. Put your experience in an order that caters to the internship or job you are applying for. You may have multiple resumes depending on the position you are trying to get.
Everyone’s resume looks a little different. Formatting varies depending on a person’s major as every school has a different template they share with students. A simple, yet visually appealing resume will make your resume stand out.
Happy Valley Comm 