Whether you’ve gone back to school for your Master’s degree or you’re finishing up your undergrad, now is THE time to get your resume ready to start networking and marketing with potential employers. Don't assume that by listing your degree and school, you are finished - far from it! You are selling yourself and your education short by not utilizing essential job skills you earned during your time in school.
Besides, preparing your resume now is a great way to combat senioritis because it mentally puts you beyond graduation and into the real world, when you actually get to start using what you have worked so hard to achieve! Here are some important ways to maximize your education to make your resume more appealing to employers:
1. If your degree is easily transferrable into a specific position (i.e. many accounting, engineering, and education majors), you can list your degree right in your resume's introduction (“Recent honors graduate in accounting…”). This lets them know your education is current, cutting-edge, and directly applies to what you will be doing. You would also want to list your degree in your Education section with other academic credentials (i.e. honors you received, GPA if above 3.5, and organizational memberships related to your field).
2. If you are going into a field different than your degree (i.e. many Psychology, Sociology, and English majors), you will want to list your degree in the Education section, but perhaps listed with applicable related classes, internships, or research papers you completed. For example, if you where a Political Science major and you want to be in sales, you could list any public debates you participated in, internships where you presented persuasive content to audiences, or even related business classes. Again, don’t forget to disclose honors and relevant organizational memberships.
3. This is where internships pay off! Unless you are an M.B.A. student with 15 years of experience already, you should present your paid and unpaid internships as if they were actual jobs. List your title – “Lab Assistant”, “Design Intern”, etc. – as well as company, location and dates of work, brief overview of responsibilities, and notable accomplishments. Show them you did more in college than sleep and study!
4. Analyze your extra value-added skills. These are those seemingly minor experiences you had along the way that may apply to your prospective jobs, including computer software/hardware, certifications, or other special skills that are present in many job descriptions you’re targeting. For example, if you learned Microsoft Project in one of your business classes, that counts! Take a look at your transcript – there is a good chance you learned valuable skills that you’re overlooking.
Spring break has come and gone, cap-and-gown orders are being placed, and finals are rapidly approaching. Don’t leave the most important piece of artillery you are entering the workforce with – your new, powerful resume – to the last minute. Utilize your skills and experiences from school to enhance your resume and score interviews.