Helping others is my core value in everything I do in life and with The House of You. So, whether it is a current student or a student that has already begun their professional career, my goal is to help them in any way I can. Success does not only come in career preparation, but also throughout the course of their professional career, which makes it never too late for me to help. And one of the segments I am passionate about is helping others write their resumes, especially those students that are early in their collegiate career. Students early in their collegiate career struggle writing their resume for a couple of reasons.
One reason is because they are unsure of what to include on their resume and what not to include. So, let’s debunk reason one. Being unsure of what to include or not include on your resume is not a bad problem to have. Why? Because if you are unsure of which of your experience and skills should be added to your resume, that means that you actually have experience and skills. As human beings we innately have vast experience in working, volunteering, attending a conference, or participating in youth group or participating on a sports team as just a few examples. What this means is you just need to start by making a list of all of the experiences you have. Next to each of those experiences, write 3 highlights next to those experiences. Think here about numbers such as I fund-raised $1,000 at a Walk-a-thon so that I could attend the annual band trip to Disney World. Numbers tell a story, a story that recruiters and hiring managers understand more quickly than a paragraph of text. Recruiters and hiring managers don’t have minutes to read resumes, they have seconds. In fact, recruiters and hiring managers spend on average less than 10 seconds scanning a prospective employees’ resume. It is up to you and I to make sure the seconds they spend on reading your resume are seconds well spend. Once you have your list of experience and highlights documented you can purchase The House of You which will walk you step by step on what else is important to have on your resume and then reach out to me (consulting) to set up your initial phone call and I will use all your information to construct an All-Star cover letter and resume.
The second reason is because many of those students don’t think or know the course work, they are currently completing can be used on their resume. Quick check here, yes you absolutely can include the work you are completing in your courses. Students think that the only thing they can use is the school, their major, their grade point average and expected graduation date. Newsflash, recruiters and hiring managers know that you are in school and know they are potentially hiring a college student for an internship or a full-time position, so what they want to see on your resume is that you are learning something. The way you show recruiters and hiring managers you are learning something at college is by giving yourself credit for leading that group presentation, where you not only participated in, but also assigned your team topics, deadlines in which to complete and practiced the presentation prior to the date and time it was due. Oh yeah, your team earned an A!!! So, let’s recap how what I just described would be relatable to a job or internship you applied to. The position you are applying to is looking for a candidate that takes initiative, leads others, has managed projects and hits deadlines. The skills and experience you are earning at college are absolutely what recruiters and hiring managers are looking for.
Remember, recruiters and hiring managers know the position they are hiring is for a college graduate, college graduates with experience in college coursework. Your job is to put those college accomplishments in your resume in an easy to read summary format over paragraph format. Believe you yourself, in your abilities and in your accomplishments. Recruiters and hiring managers don’t just want to see that you graduated, they want to see what you accomplished and how that will translate to the position you are applying to while you were at school.
When constructing and revising your resume and cover letter it is always a good idea to have a professional or peer review it for mistakes and possible improvements. If you would like Justin A. Hayes to review your resume, schedule a consulting session.
The author of this blog is Justin Alan Hayes, architect of The House of You and the leading Expert on career preparation, advancement and achievement, including how to maximize your collegiate career and inspiring others to make their dreams come true.
The House of You (https://www.thehouseofyou.com/shop/), has the most epic career preparation, achievement and advancement books available, titled “The House of You'“, which is being used inside and outside of the classroom by Professor’s, students and student athletes across the world, along with Professional instructional materials, cases, and resume consulting.