Helping Students Perfect Their Resumes

Colleges and universities’ Career Services centers provide a diverse range of services to help students or even alumni meet the goals of pursuing careers after graduating.

Clearly, the first job out of college is an important one, since it determines salary and where people will be in their careers years down the road. But how exactly does a Career Services center help a student snag that first job out of college?

Perfecting the resume and cover letter

Resumes are typically the most common document requested from students during job applications. A CV includes more information than a resume with particular emphasis on academic background, including degrees, research, awards, publications, presentations, and teaching experience. Employers tend to spend less than a minute scanning a resume or CV, so it’s essential that students craft an organized and easy-to-read document.

Make sure your students include the following components when writing and perfecting their resumes.

1 | CONTACT INFORMATION

A student’s name and contact information, including email address and phone number, should be consistent across all personal branding materials, including resume, CV, business cards, LinkedIn profile, and online portfolio, blog or website.

2 | ONLINE PRESENCE

It’s also crucial that students include a link to any relevant professional social media profiles, especially LinkedIn. According to a recent Jobvite survey, 93 percent of recruiters search for online profiles before deciding to interview a candidate. Ensure that your students include links to LinkedIn, personal websites or portfolios and any professional Twitter or Instagram accounts.

3 | DESIRABLE SKILLS OR REQUIREMENTS

Before writing their resumes, students should search for sample job descriptions for positions in their industry, highlight any requirements or desirable skills from these descriptions and make sure to showcase these qualifications throughout their resume.

4 | PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Students should highlight any professional experience, especially experience that is relevant to their industry, including summer internships and jobs. Make sure that students begin with their most recent job and work their way backwards and include the company name, URL, job title, start and end dates, job description, and achievements.

5 | LANGUAGE SKILLS

Language skills are the perfect selling point. If students are bilingual or multilingual, ensure that they list each language they speak and the proficiency level on their resume.

6 | THIRD-PARTY FEEDBACK

Have your students received any stellar performance reviews from internships or past employers? If so, make sure that they include these reviews in their resume to demonstrate their amazing hard and soft skills in a work environment.

Want to learn more about how interviewstream can help your Career Center assist your students with their resumes, interview prep, and the interview process? Schedule a demo with us today!

About The Author

Esteban Gomez is a marketing consultant with interviewstream. He loves learning and has a passion for traveling, having visited many countries including China, Colombia, Italy, and Peru.