Here you will find tips and tricks on finding co-ops, interviewing, shaping up your resume, and networking fro industry experts. Feel free to Ask Cooper if you have any specific questions!
Solving Common Resume Problems
] In his book, From College to Career: Entry-Level Resumes for Every Major from Accounting to Zoology, Donald Asher takes on five issues that typically arise during a job search [from WetFeet.com]. They are:
1. What do you do if you don't have enough experience—or have no experience at all? If you don't have enough experience, expand your definition of experience to include paid, nonpaid, volunteer, community service, political, tutoring, sports, and church/synagogue/mosque/ashram activities. You can even feature classroom experiences if they support your career goal.
Here's one example: Office of Admissions/Physical Education Department, Fall 2005 and 2006 Orientation Coordinator (Public Relations) • Conceived role of public relations representative for the Sports Complex to the orientation process; was appointed by the A.D. as "Czar of PR." • Won approval for Sports Complex as site of "Bop Tilya Drop" orientation bash. • Convinced cheerleaders (male and female) to lead Sports Complex tours. • Increased Sports Complex utilization by over 15% in first year alone. See enclosed letter from A.D. citing my contribution as key to exempting S.C. from budget cuts.
Pay particular attention to this example. This student created this project for a lark. The only pay was a few extra perks around the gym, but look how well it turned out on his resume. Many students do something for their departments, for some branch of student government, or for some student organization. Sometimes this kind of unstructured "work" can round out the rest of your experience rather nicely.
Also, here's how one student sold her classroom research as experience of interest to business employers:
Sample Projects • Analyzed all sectors of the Norsk Hydro conglomerate of Norway, including industry and competitive trends, financial and management strengths, corporate infrastructure, and historical performance. • Prepared comprehensive country profile of Brazil's business climate as part of feasibility analysis of investment and joint-venture potential. • Developed study of crosscultural organizational behavior investigating corporate communications protocols using Pakistan as a model.
2. What do you do if you're too young? Too young usually means not enough experience. See Troubleshooting Tip #1, Not Enough Experience, or No Experience at All and #3, Wrong Kind of Experience.
If you still think you look too young, don't put any dates on your education, and then at the bottom of your experience listings put what is called a "summary statement," implying additional experience. Here are two examples:
"Additional experience in customer service positions of considerable responsibility," a.k.a. babysitting, or
"Additional experience in outdoor aesthetics requiring operation of dangerous equipment," a.k.a. mowing lawns.
You don't need to do more than hint at this additional background; and no one can know your age for sure from your resume. 3. How do you create a resume when you have the wrong kind of experience? Tell what you learned in your old experience that might be applicable in your targeted new industry. For example, in the restaurant industry, the standard way to describe a position is to describe the menu, the number of tables, or "covers," and the volume, i.e., gross sales per annum. To interest a corporate recruiter for marketing and sales, though, you would have to use entirely different language. This candidate makes restaurant experience relevant to her future career goals:
Neptune's Sea Palace, Miami, Florida, Summer 2007 Food Server • Acted as a "sales representative" for the restaurant, selling add-ons and extras to achieve one of the highest per-ticket and per-night sales averages. Prioritized and juggled dozens of simultaneous responsibilities. Built loyal clientele of regulars in addition to tourist trade. Used computer daily.
In short, make your old experience relevant to the newly targeted industry. Ask yourself, "What can I say that will convey to a prospective employer that I gained skills that are relevant to her needs?"
Always use the language and address the concerns of the targeted industry, not the industry you want to leave behind. 4. What do you do if you have the wrong degree? If you got a degree in music history and now want a job in financial services, omit the major:
Stanford University, Stanford, California Bachelor of Arts, 2006
No matter what your major was, you can feature the coursework that is related to the field you have targeted, as in this example:
Michigan State University Bachelor of Science, 2007 Coursework included: • Financial & Management Accounting • Statistics & Statistical Analysis • Research Methodologies for Social Scientists
5. What do you do if you have date gaps? Stop worrying about date gaps. It's a modern world, and most resumes have gaps of some kind on them. Students, grad or undergrad, usually don't list specific months, anyway. Use dates like these:
Summer 2005 Fall-Spring 2005–2006
If an employer wants to know about a specific gap that shows on your resume, she'll ask. Then you can tell her what you were doing (hopefully in a positive light).
Dealing With Weird Situations In An Interview
By The Editors [WetFeet.com]
Weird situations might be termed unintentional stress interviews, or the deliberate creation of an uncomfortable situation to test how the candidate reacts to pressure. Following are some examples and suggested responses. Interviewer talks incessantly about himself Say you’d like to have the opportunity to learn from a person who has achieved so much. Then ask, “Where does the hiring process go from here?” Normally, this will get the interview back on track or result in the interviewer setting up another interview for you. Another approach is to ask the person questions that feed his or her need to brag. The interviewer may then describe you a wonderful listener. Interviewer spends most of the time talking on the phone Suggest that you reschedule the interview for a time that would be more convenient, and when there would be fewer interruptions. Say something like, “You seem to have a lot going on just now. Could we find a time to meet when you might have fewer calls, so we can be sure to cover everything that needs to be discussed?” Alternatively, you might peek at your wristwatch— not rudely, but meaningfully. Interview is not for the job you came prepared to discuss On recognizing the problem, try to learn the source of the confusion, and retrace your steps to return to the right path.
Interviewer seems drunk or otherwise out-of-it Excuse yourself as quickly as you can politely do so. Call the next day to reschedule—if you still feel so inclined. Interview bad-mouths coworkers This is a good time to listen and not to comment or invite further criticisms. You’ll draw your own conclusions as you proceed in the interviewing process. But such criticisms to a newcomer don’t bode well for a peaceful workplace! You can also say that you’d like to have the opportunity to meet the department members before drawing any conclusions about them.
In general, how do you handle such situations? Keep your cool, maintain your dignity, and use diplomacy to achieve your goals. But also bear in mind that you are receiving a preview of coming attractions. At a minimum, you should find out whether such behavior is the norm before signing on as an employee.
Student resumes present unique challenges - here are tips for making sure you stand out from the crowd. A resume has only one purpose - to generate interest and interviews. It doesn’t have to get you a job and it doesn’t need to cover your life history. It simply has to pique the interest of the reader and answer the only question he cares about: will this candidate add value to my company?
Most students worry about this because they feel that they can't show they can add value until they've had more work experience, but this is not true at all. There are many ways to show you can add value.
Student Resume Tip #1: Understand Your Target Companies To show that you can add value, you need to know what potential employers are looking for. Start by researching job postings that interest you. Look for frequently-mentioned requirements. Ask professionals in your target field what they consider important.
Knowing what is important to employers allows you to focus your resume effectively.
Student Resume Tip #2: Create a Value Statement Don't begin your resume with an objective statement that describes what you're looking for. Instead, begin with a value statement that describes what you can offer potential employers. The difference is in focus. It's not about what you want - it's about what employers need.
(If you need help with this, sign up for my free resume writing course now. You'll get instant access and we'll never spam you or share your email address)
Student Resume Tip #3: Create Strong Content Your resume content will come from your own unique experiences, skills and background but – as a general guideline – you should include:
Positive personal characteristics
Technical and computer skills
Coursework relevant to your desired profession
Educational accomplishments (include your GPA if it’s over 3.0).
Skills and experience gained during internships or summer jobs
Other related accomplishments (design awards, recognition, winning competitions etc.)
Work History.
The key is to emphasize those things that demonstrate value given the needs of employers and leave out those things that don’t.
Student Resume Tip #4: Work is work - even when it's unpaid Don't limit your resume only to paid employment. Include other experience that shows your skills and qualifications.
If you've volunteered in a related field, include that work.
If you've taught yourself skills in a certain field, include that work.
If you help out with a friend's business - and the experience is relevant - include that work.
Experience is just as valuable whether or not you receive a pay check.
Student Resume Tip #5: Design Matters Many people are surprised to learn that resume design is just as important as content, but it’s absolutely true.
Research suggests that your resume has less than 20 seconds to make the right impression, so it must be eye-catching and easy to read.
To get ideas for layout and structure, check out our resume samples. Please don’t use one of the pre-loaded MS Word templates. There is no better way to make sure you look like everyone else!
Student Resumes - Summary As you work on your resume, bear in mind your reader’s basic concern: will this candidate add value? If you answer effectively by highlighting relevant skills, personal characteristics and accomplishments, your resume will open the right doors and generate interviews.
To get more tips like these, and learn how to completely transform your resume, sign up for my free resume writing course (http://www.freeresumehelp.net/resume_writing_ecourse.html). We promise never to send sales spam.
Louise Fletcher is the President of Blue Sky Resumes, and author of the eBook, The Complete Guide to Resume Writing. Louise is also Managing Editor and Co-founder of the preeminent careers blog, Career Hub. She is a Certified Professional Resume Writer and many of her resumes have been published in the JIST "Expert Resumes" series. She has contributed to many online publications including About.com, Monster.com, The Ladders, and Net Temps.
Appearance, or Making a Good First Impression
By Vault.com
Vault conducted a survey of 211 career center professionals, from both undergraduate schools and business schools in 35 states. The career professionals were asked questions ranging from when candidates should send a thank you note after interviews, to how effective it is to include standardized test scores on resumes. Among the survey's findings: 56 percent believe that 12 point is the best font size for cover letters and resume, and 62 percent believe white is the best color paper for them (35 percent think ecru-white/beige is best).
Here are some tips on making a professional impression with your resume.
Don't get creative. Really. What you want in a font is not a decorative design choice, but a simple, easily read font that shows you mean business. In other words, when looking for a font, think gray suit.
Unacceptable Fonts
Courier font: if you didn't have to write your cover letter on a 1930's travel typewriter, why make it look like you did? This font looks like the default font of a malfunctioning computer and is also notorious as the typeface that mediocre high school students use because of its massive, page-filling size. Do you really want such a dishonest font representing your words?
Say no to anything that looks remotely like handwriting or hints at it, like italicized versions of regular fonts. This is a business document, not a thank you note to a neighbor. And these fonts are difficult to read.
Avoid any font that looks like it would be more appropriate on a mediaeval manuscript or the label of a malt liquor bottle. No Ye Olde Fonts. No historical-period fonts at all, for that matter. No art-deco twenties, no early-eighties computer geekdom.
Whatever you choose, remember this: what impresses readers the most should not be the letters on the page but the words they spell.
Paper A stroll through most business supply stores will reveal a sea of paper choices, from traditional plain white to hot pink and purple. Outlandishly colored resumes are to be used by people whose jobs demand more dramatic visual statements: hairdressers, fashion designers, and clowns. The rest of us need to focus on the understated dignity of whites, light grays, and ecru. Says one career center professional: "White seems to have the most professional feel." Says another: "I like Ecru-White - it has a richness that adds a classy touch to resumes and cover letters." A helpful word advice: "No pastels - ever."
Finally, make sure to use the same paper that you use for your cover letter.
Highlighting Your Strengths
By Co-op Ratings Team
It’s quite obvious that your resume is your first shot at making an impression to any employer. But once you get an interview, designing your resume to identify your strengths will help set you aside from the pack.
Although it may be hard to identify, even simpler jobs could be great learning experiences. If you worked a lot of retail jobs with repetitive and non-challenging work, you can turn that around to having very good people skills which is a plus for many job settings. Many people don’t have much work experience and only school for past experience. Chances are that this individual is probably very diligent and goal oriented.
In any case, these are two examples of how you can take any experience and turn it to a positive skill set that you may have. Often times it can be difficult to look at your own resume and know how to highlight your own strengths so it’s a good idea to run it by a friend or family member and ask them to help you identify any of your strengths that they feel you have picked up from a past job.
Quick Resume Tips
By Co-op Ratings Team
If you are looking for ways on sprucing up your resume, check out these helpful suggestions for making your resume truly shine!
Many recruiters and managers looking to hire an individual often sort through numerous resumes, often struggling to differentiate one from the next. The resume helps show a lot about your work experience but not a lot about you as an individual.
Once you have hammered out a solid template for your resume, take special effort in the following things:
Watch the margins. Make sure everything is nicely lined up on the left and right side as well as the top and bottom of the paper.
Weighting. Print out the resume and take a look at how the text is weighted. Make sure the resume isn’t very text heavy on any one part of the resume. An over-weighted section makes the rest of the resume look underdeveloped. This leads to the next topic, consistency.
Consistency. Make sure the format of each job you list on your resume is the same. If you are making the company name bold for one job, make sure the company name is bold for every other job. When describing the time you worked at a company, make sure you use the same date format. Employers will notice inconsistencies very quickly!
Prioritize. Average recruiters don’t read everything on your resume and usually give it a once over, looking for anything that sticks out such as a brand name company. For this reason, make sure your strengths are easily found. Make sure older work experiences don’t clutter up and make difficult to find your more relevant work experience.
Highlight your strengths. Don’t just list your responsibilities, list your accomplishments. Even the most basic jobs involve accomplishments. If you can highlight those, you will be able to make yourself stand out much better!
Sell Yourself. Your resume is a chance to sell yourself to the employer. Treat your resume like an elevator pitch that tells the employer how they would benefit from hiring you. Even if it requires you to adjust your resume for different companies you are applying to, highlighting why you feel you are a good fit for the position raises the chances of scoring an interview or landing the job.
Length. Many people say that your resume should be only 1 page so as to maintain an employer’s attention. A resume can go over a page in length, only if it successfully highlights your qualifications and is work experience relevant to the job you are applying for.
Spell Check. DO NOT use your computers spell check! Often times the spell check on your computer will not pick up errors with word usage. Words such as affect vs effect, and there vs their, are commonly misplaced and cause unnecessary confusion and can make your work look sloppy.
Read your resume over from top to bottom when you’re done to catch such mistakes. Have your friends check over your resume and get some helpful tips from them on how to improve your resume. There are other resources online as well as your university that can help you shape up a good resume.
If you are looking for ways on sprucing up your resume, check out these helpful suggestions for making your resume truly shine!