As an upcoming graduate, you have a lot of things to be thinking about; classes, tests, finals, internships, job interviews, along with creating cover letters and resumes so that you can apply for those jobs and internships. Well, soon to be graduates, here are 8 tips that every grad needs to know before they start working on their resumes:
1. Not Everyone Wants the Same Thing
Whether you go into design, marketing, business, dance, communication, or geology not everyone wants the same thing from you in terms of what you include in a resume and how you do so. For example; if you go into design or any kind of creative niche, then you can bet the design and layout of your resume is going to be taken into account. Though a nice layout is important for all resumes, it may not be quite as important for employers looking for more numbers and statistics. Try to learn a little more about what your future employer wants before sending in your resumes.
2. Create Multiple Resumes
Creating only one resume for multiple jobs is like writing the same letter to all your friends and family – impersonal and ineffective. You need to tailor each resume to the job you are applying for, even if you are applying for different jobs within the same area. Each job is different so your resume should reflect that as a graduate.
3. Leave Margins
When you think about the design of your resume, make sure you are allowing some space for margins on one or both sides of the page. Employers usually have a lot of resumes to go through, which means they may only take a glance at your resume. Or if there is room to take a few notes they may jot down a few things on your resume before moving on to the next one.
4. Narrow It Down to One Page
Maybe you have a lot of experience, maybe you have a good amount of education, or skills, or leadership experience. Whatever the case, no matter how much you have to add to your resume you must must must narrow it down so that it fits on one page.
5. Make Sure You Have Enough to Fill a Page
If you do not have enough experience, education, skills, etc. to fill a page for your resume – you need to get out and volunteer or do an internship. A graduate can get out and do something to fill that resume with something worthwhile and relevant.
6. Update Social and Professional Presence
As you prepare to construct your resume and apply for jobs and internships, you also need to update your social media and professional online presence. Many employers will take a look over a graduate resume and if they like what they see they may go looking a little deeper into your professional online presence and even your personal social media presence.
7. Talk to Your Mentors
Talk to your mentors, your teachers, your bosses, and anyone else you look up to that has any kind of job or education experience you admire. Talk to them, get advice, and once you write-up your resume have those people look it over for suggestions, commentary, and advice.
8. Be Prepared to Review and Redo
Before you start your resume you need to realize that you are probably going to have to review it and even redo it a few times. Everyone you talk to will probably have something to add or edit and you can’t get too attached to the way you design or write anything on your resume.
What Else Does a Graduate Need to Know?
If you would like to learn more about what grads should know before they start working on their resumes, you can contact us today, or check out this blog post for more winning tips.
