For more than a year, I have been attempting to complete my resume. I started it during the summer of last year and every time I try to add or make adjustments to it, I always seem to hit a bump in the road. I would try to seek the help of my siblings and friends but they barely have time to sit with me and help. So imagine my excitement when I got wind of the resume workshop offered by the STARR Career Development Center. Even the workshop’s name held promise: Writing Winning Resumes. I knew that if I didn’t go, I would be missing out on the opportunity of a lifetime.
On Monday, September 11, I walked into room 2-190 approximately at 2:50 p.m., since the workshop was to begin at 3. I was immediately greeted by a lady who would later introduce herself as Kaitlyn Riley. I was a little intimidated and apprehensive as I took a seat because a lot of the other students had laptops in front of them. Was that a requirement? It didn’t say that in the description, right? All I had was a pen and paper. Thankfully, other people started to come in and I noticed some didn’t have laptops too. Phew. I’m not alone! Ms. Riley started to hand out packets to us called the Resume & Cover Letter Writing Guide, which we got to keep, and a survey to complete at the end of the workshop.
When 3 o’clock hit, Ms. Riley began. She used a PowerPoint to assist her presentation. The main topic, Writing Winning Resumes was accompanied by four sub-topics: What is a resume for?, 4 Main Sections of a Resume, Effective Resume Bullet Points, and Best Resume Fonts & Formats. I learned so many new things, like the purpose of a resume is to land an interview and a resume should fit your intended industry. I learned how to organize a resume and what it should and shouldn’t include. I also learned to be specific with my bullet points and the length my margins should be. Ms. Riley also kept us engaged by doing short quizzes throughout the presentation and asking us if we had questions. Before she closed off the presentation, she gave us suggestions on what our next steps should be, which was extremely helpful.
I would recommend this workshop to everyone. Everyone, meaning students and non-students, even if they are confident in their resume. There’s always something new that can be learned.
-Chelsea Kingston