Category: Resume

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Four Ways To Improve Your Resume

By: Lexi Lynn

With employers receiving dozens of applications, the smallest grammatical error can mean the difference between getting an interview or getting the rejection letter.

Quantify your achievements

Keywords such as initiated, increased, and coordinated are all great descriptive words to highlight achievements rather than focusing on responsibilities. Instead of using your bullet points to list your job duties, use the space to show the employer how you contributed and what you accomplished. Be sure to include any instance in which you helped reduce costs or boosted revenue as a result of your work. A helpful way to do this is to insert specific numbers to show for example how many people you managed, or perhaps the percentage of increased social media followers you helped earn. Including any metrics, rankings or ratings putting you in a positive light is a big way to catch your employer’s interest. Check out this article How to Quantify Your Resume Bullets, by The Muse, highlighting more tips on this subject. 

Proofread

Although this goes without saying, the importance of proofreading your resume is so critical it deserves to be mentioned. With employers receiving dozens of applications, the smallest grammatical error can mean the difference between getting an interview or getting the rejection letter. Some ways to avoid this are reading it out loud. This tried-and-true method of reading it out loud line by line, word by word can help you catch any mistakes you might not have seen by just skimming for errors. Also, having someone else proofread it provides a second set of eyes to see anything that you may have missed. Another helpful tip to avoid any errors is just by simply printing it out. We often read things differently in print than on screen, and this extra step can help you avoid making the mistakes that could potentially cost you a job. 

School projects count

Creating a resume when you have no prior work experience can be a daunting task. It’s important to remember that class projects provide valuable experiences and can be used to show the skills you have learned. Don’t count class projects out when you are listing experience. Employers are looking to see what abilities you can bring to their company, and you may already have these skills you learn from the work that you’ve done in school. For example, describing your achievements from a specific class, student organization, campus internship, or volunteer experience is a great way to show off your experience to the employer. You can add to this by adding the course name, the title of the project, and then putting bullet points listing accomplishments and major details. Check out this guide by LiveCareer on How to Turn Classroom Experience Into Work Experience In a Resume.

Things to Leave Out

While you may think adding the contact details of your references is a good idea, it is now a common practice to leave those out. Employers will ask you for references if they need, and you don’t want to waste any precious space on your resume filling it with this miscellaneous or unnecessary content. Your personal information is another thing that you want to leave off your resume. Including your address on your resume is not needed, because recruiters are not going to mail you anything.  Keep your resume professional, and only give out your number, email, and any additional accounts you think the employer should see, such as a LinkedIn page. For more tips, check out this video: 5 Resume Mistakes You Need to Avoid  

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Resume Tips for Remote Work

By Breanna Cota

This year has thrown many challenges our way, but it’s important to make sure you are keeping your resume updated and relevant for new job opportunities. Many students and recent graduates are learning how to juggle the new challenges of both learning and working. 

Students are attending most of their courses online and are learning from the many challenges remote learning causes. Individuals who are job hunting will find many careers have moved to the digital space and they must revamp their resume to show how they have accommodated to new challenges

Many tasks you perform at home help keep you organized and productive, yet they are not listed on resumes. Here are some tips from FlexJobs.com to help showcase how you’re working from home and learning from home. These experiences can help build your resume as well as create a competitive advantage. 

1.Show self reliance and motivation

Working on your own helps show potential employers that you are self sufficient and can be relied on. When you are at home, you may be able to take charge of creating your own schedule, but for some a set Monday-Friday schedule is the way to go. Whichever way works best for you, listing your experience with working on tasks on your own can be seen as a strength for future opportunities.  

2. List programs you are familiar with

Many meetings and events are now held in a virtual space. Listing your familiarity with programs such as Zoom, Google Chat and Dropbox shows that you are capable of working in collaborations from remote locations.

Other programs such as Microsoft Office or Google Suite should also be listed. Many of these office programs are used in physical offices as well as by teams remotely. Showing you have prior experience with such programs gives you an advantage.

3. No WFH experience?

If you have no WFH experience, there are still plenty of opportunities to show how prior tasks and challenges were met in a communal work environment. You can let employers know how you will use your prior knowledge and experience to tackle the challenge of working from home.

Many students have spent countless hours working with programs such as Excel, Word or Google Suite. Showcasing how you used Excel to track projects or Google Suite to communicate with team members on projects can let employers know you have strong communication skills.

Betsy Adrews of FlexJobs states, “While remote-friendly employers will consider an applicant that has never worked remotely before, it’s always a good idea for an applicant that has remote experience to highlight this in their resume as it may ‘give them a leg up.” 

The most difficult part of working remotely is being in charge of yourself. Your boss can’t walk around the office and check on your progress if you are working remotely. It is your responsibility to make sure you are organized and efficient. Without good communication skills and self efficiency, working from a remote location could be a challenge. 

Behind every strong resume is a potential employee eager and ready to rise to the challenge. It is important to make sure your resume is always up to date and filled with relevant information. It’s recommended that you revisit and refresh your resume twice a year.

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Building Your Personal Brand

people brainstorming, about to write on a notebook with supplies around them.

To be successful in any industry, it’s essential to look the part. Workplace culture is evolving and many places may be a little more casual when it comes to work attire. Although freedom of expression is definitely shown through the clothes we wear, it’s critical to remember that what you wear represents your brand.

 

In the PR world, we strive to present the best possible strategies and ideas to our clients. Public relation practitioners are quite the masters at the art of persuading. Just like you wouldn’t showcase your lowest quality of work, you shouldn’t sell yourself short either.

 

Brand management is critical and building your brand is probably the most important. All the skills you possess will get you far, but how you look and how you present yourself will definitely add on those points with employers. There are many things you’re taught to become aware of when entering the professional world. Here are three ways to really strengthen your brand.

 

  1. Dress for success

 

You want to make sure that how you dress both relate to the culture of your workplace and represent what’s important to you. Discover what your style is and get creative when relating it to your workplace culture. Some places will probably require you to dress more business professional, while others might be more casual and informal. Whatever the culture is, make sure you style yourself up so you give off the impression that you are passionate about where you work.

 

  1. Clean up your social media

 

Keeping your social media pages clean will help avoid awkward conversations from your employer. Even if your page is private, those inappropriate pictures can still make their way into the public eye. How you present yourself on social media can reflect greatly on your company. Employers will sometimes take a look at your social media pages to get a glimpse of who you are and what you represent. Therefore, make sure to only present your best self on social media.

 

  1. Amp up your network

 

What a better way of exhibiting your best self than by having a few professional individuals backing up all of your strong qualities. Having some respectable connections can truly make your brand look credible and open up more opportunities for you. However, these connections aren’t going to come to you. Branch out to other people who work in the positions or industries you want to work in to gain some knowledge of what to expect and build that relationship as well.

Among all other things, displaying your best brand requires endless effort, since it’s a lifetime job and always remember to keep it consistent. Showcasing your utmost personal brand will open many professional doors for you in the workforce.

 

By: Grace Gonzalez