As the final touches are added and the final presentation is delivered, all drafts must be checked for perfection and not a single grammatical error can be present.
A resume is what represents a person, and as such, it must execute all of the highlights of someone’s career and what makes them a qualifying candidate for a job opportunity.
While many students are aware of the help that they may receive on campus, others are simply not familiar with the advice and assistance that is provided by the Career Services office, which focuses on aiding students through the resume process.
When preparing the first draft of a resume, a student must be aware of all of the things that are applicable for the employment opportunity which they are seeking.
“All of the information on your resume must be both relevant and current,” Career Services Assistant Director and Internship Coordinator Liz Jorden said.
There may be a plethora of information that a student wishes to add but if it is not suitable for the employment opportunity, it should not be present on the resume.
The main purpose of a resume is to employ what you have to offer to an employer and how your experiences make you an applicable candidate. For this reason it is advised that goals are set in advance, outlining what will increase your experiences in different things, which in turn will help you get hired.
“Students most involved are most successful when they graduate,” Jorden said.
Following this precedent, students should apply for internships, which will serve as experience for the desired future job.
A resume should continuously change and be updated constantly, as there are always opportunities to be active in that will increase the amount of experience necessary for any job.
Most importantly, students must remember that a resume is not all about them, rather it is about the employer. Everything must be done to inform the employer about how you will be an asset to their company.
It is highly important that all errors are fixed and that there are no typos or mistakes. This resume gives the employer insight into what kind of person you are and may also portray how important their company is to you.
“It’s how you’re going to sell yourself. It’s your marketing,” Jorden said.
For further assistance, www.cbu.optimalresume.com is a website available that helps students through the process.
5 Quick Tips
1. Target your specific audience.
2. Always include a cover letter.
3. If your cover letter covers your objective, do not include an objective on the resume.
4. When emailing your resume and cover letter, save them as a PDF to preserve the format.
5. Choose the right format and follow it throughout the resume: list things in reverse chronological order based on importance.
