At this Starr Career Workshop, I learned how to format a resume. There are eight sections of a basic resume: education, honors and awards, related coursework, projects, work experience, leadership activates, commuter skills, and languages. I also learned that there are two types of resumes: chronological and functional. My resume should include both hard skills and soft skills. According to Investopedia, “Hard skills are specific, teachable abilities that can be defined and measured, such as typing, writing, math, reading and the ability to use software programs. By contrast. Soft skills are less tangible and harder to quantify, such as etiquette, getting along with others, listening and engaging in small talk.” My resume should include more hard skills than soft skills, because these skills make you stand out from other candidates. When formatting my resume, my resume bullets should include strong action verbs. If I want to include my GPA on my resume, it should be at least a 3.0. In addition to writing a resume, some employers may also want a cover letter. It should be no longer than one page and should explain how I can apply my skills to the desired position. Since I am a college student, there should be no high school related information on this resume. Throughout the workshop, there were many quizzes on the PowerPoint slides. At the end of this workshop, I realized that the resume that I used in the past needs some work. I also took a short assessment at the end.
The Starr Career Development Center provides students with one-on-one resume evaluations. I will visit this center throughout my academic career in order to format my resume. Although I do not have much work experience, I can include extracurricular activities. For example, I am currently in the student newspaper, The Ticker.