Career Workshop: Resume writing

Today I went to the career exploration workshop on how to write a resume. The first 15 minutes they were trying to get the projector and laptop to work. I was a little bit unhappy by the lack of earlier preparation. The lecturer decided to just recite the information to us. She seemed very rehearsed so I felt as if someone was reading something to me. This didn’t make her feel too happy so she had a bit of an attitude. Back to the main things that were said though, she told us the format of a traditional resume. At the top of the page we should BOLD our names, have an address, contact information (phone and email), and an optional: Objective. She said that the objective should be one sentence and it is recommended that we use it during an event like the club fair. Ex/ Seeking a full-time/part-time job position in the field of X. I was taught previously that the objective should  be a few words, not a sentence. I guess since its a highly optional part of the resume, everyone has their own way of writing it. She went on to speaking about education and how since we are freshman now, everything we’ve done in the past during our high school years is gone. This means that we really have to juice up our resume by being active on campus or off campus now. Not only is it good for the resume, its good for personal growth at this time since we are new to college life. So under education we would write our expected year of graduation, our GPA (overall or major which must be above 3.0; whichever is better, you put it down.), and if the GPA isn’t so high, don’t round the number; write whether you are a full-time/part-time student with a job at the moment. By doing this the employer has a better understanding of why your GPA is the way that it is. After education, we should put down language and computer knowledge levels. If you are proficient in other languages then you should write which ones they are and whether you are knowledgeable, conversational, or fluent in it. Same with computers, if you are knowledgeable or proficient in excel, word, and other common programs. Lastly, an optional section you could put is your references. This would be contact information from people who really know you that aren’t related to you closely. This would mean past employers as well as teachers or peer mentors.

Enough with what needs to be on the resume, how should you put it down on the paper? There can only be one resume sheet of paper. On that paper all margins need to be 1 inch from the border. Everything needs to be written in outline/ bullet format. Each bullet should start with a verb. Make sure those verbs are past or present tense depending on if you’re still doing what you’re doing. One thing that she didn’t mention is that the NAME, ADDRESS, CONTACT INFO, OBJECTIVE should be centered.

Over the summer I was part of a internship training and doing program where they taught me how to write my resume. I’m glad I had some prior experience before I came to this workshop because it gave me a better understanding of what was being said. When the lady would complain about the amount of people who were actually here, I think it was because of her just spewing out information to us. It would have been better if she improvised and wrote down an example of what she meant on the board. In addition to that, I got to compare between the two resume writing sessions. In my previous resume writing workshop we had many different types of ways to write resumes. The way that she talked about is the traditional method. It is good for her to go over this method because most of us will probably start seeking internships after we’ve done more extracurricular activities. However, another way to sell ourselves on paper even though we are less experienced is writing a resume more geared at you interests, your character, and activities that you’ve done. I found this different type of resume more suitable for freshmans seeking jobs at the moment. Another difference in the traditional method that I was taught today is that she committed the extracurricular activities/ interests that we pursue. I find this element in the resume one of the most important because it shows that you’re not just the studious student or hard worker. It shows that you are a person too.

So to conclude my long blog: (I haven’t done this in a while so I have a lot to say that is good for you to read.)

I realized that having a resume at hand is growing more and more important. Its very important to have one with you and to update it before you show it to an employer.If you find big passages fearful, please just keep in mind these few points below:

• Go to the STARR Career Development website and activate your STARR search account for internship opportunities and training.
• The computer lab on the 6th floor of the Newman building offers free resume printing by the print stations. (Yes, resumes are printed on their own special papers.)
• Go to the STARR Career Development website to see samples of how to write your resume.
• Sometimes a cover letter is necessary so check the website for more information.
• Thank you letters after an interview should be sent within 24 hours (usually done by email.)

Now I hope to write as much as I did for this blog and as fast as I did for this blog for my philosophy paper. Wish me luck! Bye~