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Resume building does not happen overnight but perfecting your resume can be a simple task! As someone who has had a variety of jobs and at one point felt like their experience would not translate well on paper, I think I am pretty qualified to share how I have gotten my resume to the place it is today.
In high school, I got my first job at a self-serve frozen yogurt shop where I worked the cash register, cleaned machines, completed inventory and did other tedious tasks. When crafting my first resume I thought to myself, “What good will frozen yogurt shop experience do me?” I have learned that building on your resume is not all about the job itself but the skills you acquire and the experiences you gain, big or small. You can translate volunteer work, sports and clubs into impressive resume skills that can qualify you for a variety of positions. Employers, organizations and peers will value the takeaway you had from experiences that may not seem all that glamorous to you.
Currently, I am a student at the University of Toledo studying marketing and am involved in on-campus organizations. I have acquired this amazing internship working at a new, women-owned interior design firm. Do I have interior design experience? No, I have worked for a horse barn, a t-shirt printing company, local restaurants and an ice cream shop, which could not be more different than what I do now. But I have valuable skills listed on my resume that emphasized my personal strengths and experience.
Since I have talked about my experience and success with resume building, I want to share a few tips and tricks to perfect your resume and to catch the eye of future employers:
List your experience in chronological order.
Highlight your most recent experience on your resume. Your resume tells a story, start with where you are today.
Keep a consistent, clean format.
We all love a pretty resume but for most jobs, simple is best. A great resume should be easy to scan. Avoid distracting colors and using multiple font.
Do not use any photos on your resume!
Even if it is a professional headshot, use it for LinkedIn instead. Using photos can lead to unconscious bias and discrimination which could hinder the chance of you getting hired.
Use direct statements with strong, descriptive terms rather than using clichés like “team player”.
Turn “Completed inventory” into “Optimized inventory control processes to ensure accuracy, reduce costs and improve overall efficiency”. Your bullet points should highlight soft skills that you can bring into your future position.
Proofread! Proofread! Proofread!
Tiny spelling and punctuation errors can cost you a potential job. Don’t only rely on online grammar checkers, have a fresh set of eyes review your resume too. Do not shy away from sharing your resume with business professionals you may know. As college students, we have broad access to resources to help us become more professional students as we enter our adult lives.
Do not be afraid to apply for certain positions because you feel like your job experience may not be useful for the job. It is not about the job but the skills you gain from the experiences! Lastly, it is okay to not have a long list of job experience. We all have valuable skills that have been acquired outside of the workplace, it is just about how you position yourself for desired opportunities.
