School-Related and Community-Related Activities

The third major selling point of your resume is your school-related and community-related activities. List your most impressive activities first. If you have the space, describe very briefly the key things you did. If you don't have the space to elaborate, don't worry about it. Trying to decide how to fit all the good things you've done onto one page is the kind of problem you want. If you've participated in lots of activities, list only the four or five that are most likely to strengthen your image. If your activities are thin, list them all.

Honors

Honors are always impressive. They include scholarships, dean's list, graduating magna

HOW TO PUT TOGETHER A RESUME

cum laude, honor societies, departmental awards, and community awards. If you list an award, indicate what it was for: for example, "the Clark Award, given to the graduating senior with the highest average in accounting," or "the MacDowell Award, given for service to the University."

Coursework

Coursework is a reliable area to fall back on if you have little or no work experience and few, if any, activities. It'll give you something legitimate to say, fill the blank spaces on your resume, and help you score points if the courses you list are clearly related to the work you're seeking.

If you want to include coursework on your resume, limit yourself to key courses in your major field of study, courses that are related to the jobs you're applying for, and special projects that were related to the courses you took. For example, a graduating senior trying for an entry-level position in marketing research didn't have any relevant work experience, so she organized and presented her key courses in the following way:

Psychology Methods of Psychological Research, Social Psychology, Theories of Motivation, Psychology and Communication, and Physiological Psychology.

Statistics Introductory Statistics, Regression and Correlation, Sampling, and Nonparametric Statistics.

Marketing Marketing Research Techniques, Consumer Behavior, and Advertising Research Research.

It's simple and straightforward, and it can work. Why? Because it tells potential employers that she understands the kinds of knowledge marketing research requires, that she tailored a program of study to these requirements, and that she completed the program. By itself, that can strengthen her candidacy and improve her chances of being interviewed. Coursework is optional. Use it if you think it will help.

Skills

If you have any skills that aren't made clear by the things you say about your education, work experience, activities, and coursework, spell them out in this section. You never know when a skill you don't think matters will tip the scale in your favor. Are you fluent in a second language? In a third? Do you write unusually well? Are you good with a camera? Are you an able public speaker? Do you have excellent computer skills? Do you have a flair for organizing events? Are you a fine swimmer? Put it down. It doesn't take up much space, and it may strike a chord with a potential employer.

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Interests

This is another subject that can help you fill up the page. At the same time, it can help give the impression that you're well rounded. When should you include your interests on your resume? If you have strong academic credentials, took part in some interesting activities, and held a few good jobs, it's unlikely that you'll have room to list your interests. And you don't really have to, because you've already made a persuasive case for your candidacy. On the other hand, if your educational record is ordinary, your activities skimpy, and the jobs you've held pedestrian, put together—without fabricating—as impressive a list of interests as you can. Do you play the guitar? Do you run? Are you an avid reader? Do you travel? Do you ski? Ride horses? Play tennis? Play chess? Love the theater? Say so. It'll further define you and give potential employers a better sense of you as a person. And it may, when added to the other tilings you've done, impress someone enough to want to see you.

A word of caution: think carefully about listing interests that may mark you as eccentric, like collecting beetles, picking wild mushrooms, and breeding turtles. While each of these is a legitimate interest, each is also a bit off the beaten track. Unfortunately, a lot of companies have fairly conservative selection criteria, and one "unusual" interest can lessen the favorable image that everything else about you has helped to create. However, if you're applying for an offbeat job, one in which the organization is loosely structured and informal, in which people value the unusual and prize creativity, feel free to mention offbeat interests.

Professional Organizations

If you're a student member of a professional organization, say so. It can only help. Salary

Don't list the salary you'd like or expect to get. All it'll cause is trouble. If your number is higher than their number, you're unlikely to be interviewed. If it's lower, potential employers may feel that you have a poor sense of the marketplace or that you're desperate. Besides, any company that wants to hire you will discuss salary. So bide your time.

Personal Information

Don't list your height, weight, health, marital status, age, race, or religion. With the exception of your health, they have nothing to do with your ability to handle a job. And your health, barring a truly debilitating or incapacitating illness, is no one's business but your own.

HOW TO PUT TOGETHER A RESUME

References

Omit any mention of references, as well as the word "References" itself. Employers assume you have people who will speak in your behalf. If a company wants your references, it will ask for them.

Choose your references very carefully. Poorly chosen references can undo all the time and effort you've spent persuading an interviewer that you're an outstanding candidate for the job. When a decision is made to hire you pending a reference check, you don't want one of your references to say something that'll make the company have second thoughts. You do want every one of your references to say things that confirm what the interviewer knows and believes about you. So pick your references carefully. Try for one or two teachers and one or two people you've worked for who think highly of you and your work. Also, see if you can get one or two people who know you personally, like you, and will say good things about you.

Tell these people that you'd like them to be your references, but only if they feel comfortable in that role. If they don't, you want them to tell you, not the representative of a company you want to work for. If you're not sure of someone after you've spoken to him, don't use that person as a reference. Use only those people you know you can count on.

Date: 2015-02-28; view: 968