Writing a good resume can be one of the most daunting and intimidating parts of applying to jobs; it is hard work, and it can take a lot of time.
Luckily, college winter break is a time when classes are over, all the hard work is done and students have anywhere from two to four weeks full of free time. In addition to relaxing, a great way to use this time is to get things done, especially things that could make your spring semester easier. One task to get ahead on? Resume writing. How do you get started? Use these seven tips.
1. Get Advice from Your Elders
Winter break is the holiday season for many people, and that means seeing a lot of family members that you don’t typically have access to. Ask your aunts, your uncles, your older cousins, your grandparents and family friends about your resume.
Ask them about what they have on their resumes and what they think is important. Ask them how they organize their thoughts, what employers liked and what employers didn’t like. While some of the advice might be outdated or not relevant to your industry, you’ll definitely receive lots of food for thought that’ll get you in the zone to write your resume.
An added bonus: This is a great way to start a conversation and skip that awful “What are you going to do with your life?” stuff. Trust me, they will be proud and impressed that you are thinking ahead.
2. Word Vomit Your First Draft
A “word vomit” draft is essentially a draft of your resume where you literally write everything that is going on in your head.
Type out everything you have ever done for work, from your job mowing lawns in middle school to your latest internship at a world-class laboratory. Write out any leadership experience you have had: High school sports, college clubs, your Greek organization, everything. Don’t stop to reread or to edit; just get it all down on paper, save it and walk away. Winter break is typically at least two to three weeks, so you can afford to write it all down one day, and then go and look at it a few days later.
3. Organize Your Resume Appropriately
Once you have figured out what you’re looking for in terms of industry, it’s time to tailor your resume for that industry.
If you’re interested in going into education, for example, make sure you talk about your experiences with kids. On a different resume for a lab internship, you may want to emphasize previous science experiences instead of your work teaching kids. You can apply for anything you want, but the important thing is to make sure you organize your resume in a way that makes sense for the role you’re going after.
4. Keep It Short and Achievement-Oriented
Once you have your word vomit draft and have organized your experiences based on the roles you want, go back in and edit your resume to make it as “to the point” as possible. Be blunt. State what you did, the result of that action and how that improved that club, organization, or company. Emphasize the specific choices you made, the actions or steps you took and the result of those actions.
Even if it is something as simple as making photocopies or entering data, explain what that data was used for or how those photocopies improved to organization of the team meeting. Keep your writing and descriptions clear, and show your worth as a candidate through your actions. Identify your strengths, highlight your specific actions and accomplishments and “sell yourself” (but be concise!).
And we’ll say what we always say: Keep that resume down to just one page!
6. Cut the Fluff
Your resume doesn’t need to be “pretty” or elaborate. If it doesn’t directly relate to the role you are applying for, cut it. If a section is overly descriptive or wordy, shorten it. Whatever isn’t absolutely necessary or related to the job you are applying for has no place on your resume. Employers want to get a picture of who you are as a worker as quickly and directly as possible. Hiring managers spend an average of six seconds on your resume (and some see hundreds or even thousands of resumes every day), so make it easy for them!
7. Keep Editing (Especially If You’re Rejected)
Applying for a job is a lot like applying to college: You aren’t going to be accepted everywhere, you may be rejected for something arbitrary and you may not get your first choice, but don’t get discouraged! Just keep applying; send out as many resumes as possible, network and keep going on interviews. If you get rejected, don’t be afraid to ask why or ask how you can improve your resume; it’s good to show your determination to improve and to work on your weaknesses.
Overall, these tips are essential, and they eventually need to get done. My advice: Get the hard work done while you have the time. Starting your resume during winter break will definitely help you get an internship in for the spring or summer. By doing this early, you will be able to simply upload and apply to jobs once you get back to campus and have other things on your mind.
