Constantly update your resume

Spring semester is in full swing. That means it’s time to start thinking about what you want to do with your summer and that means resume building. 

Over my years as a college student, I acquired some tips about making your resume shine in a stack of hundreds, and I hope these tips help you improve yours. 

Take it seriously. Your resume should not be slapped together overnight, it should be something you are constantly refining and improving. Add new skills and update your GPA regularly. The resume and cover letter are the first things an employer sees from you, this is your first impression. Your resume should look good, be easy to read and highlight the skills an employer is looking for. 

Google is your friend. If you are not sure what to put in your resume, look up some examples. In general, you want your work experience, schooling, any awards or extra-curricular activities, and your skills. Included, but you should look up the best way to organize these topics for the most impact. Say you don’t have a lot of job experience but have volunteered a lot, you can look up the best way to show off your strengths and diminish any gaps. Use the resume pattern that fits your career.

I am a business major and my sister who is an accountant helped me put together my first resume template, so my resume looks business-like. When I considered applying for some graphic design jobs, I looked up a graphic design resume to see what skills to include and format to use. Instead of the black and white business documents, all these colorful, artistic resumes popped up on my search. Just as business and graphic design have different styles of resume, the career you are going into probably has its own style of resume, so use it. 

Tailor your resume to the job. Just as you should tailor your resume to your field, you should also tailor it to the job you are applying for. Is it a vibrant and young workplace? Try to make your prose pop as much as possible with personality. Does the job description ask for someone who has good verbal and written communication skills? Include your experience with talking to people and sending emails. 

Be as descriptive as possible. People in creative writing like to talk about how writing should show instead of tell. The same is true in resume writing. Instead of saying your job includes talking to people, be detailed. Talk about how your job requires you to communicate directions to co-workers, or how you inform and direct customers about your workplace. Don’t just say you can run a camera, describe the details of the framing and image capturing you do. 

I hope these tips inspired you to start working on your resume. Happy job hunting!