Your resume is one of the most important pieces of paper you’ll write, and it can definitely be very intimidating to start writing it. You want to include all the right information, but sometimes it can be hard to know what you should or should not include. Your resume is crucial to bring to interviews, and if you want a good letter of recommendation from professors, you should attach the resume to the email or submit it in hard copy. Here are the five tips we find the most useful when writing or editing our resumes! 1. Start categorizing
One of my professors suggested this when it was still my first week as a freshman, but it is the one tip that helped me the most when fixing up my resume. Add sections on your resume that you want to fill in as the year goes by. Even though you might not have presented any research or received any honors, adding these sections on your resume help you make a mental note about what you want to achieve. Think of this as a layout. Soon you will find yourself applying to summer programs instead of hanging out on the beach because that could be another category you will want to add on your resume.
2. List most recent experiences first
Once you’ve adjusted to college, you will have a chance to join more clubs and advance in your major. Your positions as a junior will probably carry more weight than your position as a freshman. In addition, if you hold any leadership positions, make sure place those higher up on the resume as well.
3. Volunteer with passion
Yea, we’ve all heard it. If you’re not passionate about volunteering, then just don’t do it. There are several other experiences you can put on your resume. I love animals, so I volunteer a few times a month at my local animal shelter. Three of my interviewers questioned me more about my animal shelter volunteering than about my internships and jobs. Your interviewer knows that you have passions outside your major and future career- it’s natural. So choose a volunteer option that you would actually enjoy.
4. Resume descriptions
Let’s say that you volunteer at a hospice. You don’t need to put a description about how you “sat and eagerly listened to patients.” Your employers have a pretty solid idea of what you did there. This unfortunately includes any sports. In fact, if the job is pretty self-explanatory, you don’t need to go into much description at all. Just place the timeline of when you worked and your title there.
5. Keep the GPA
As college students, the GPA is expected to be on the resume. My professor once said, “Your job as a college student is to study.” If your GPA isn’t there, the automatic assumption is that you don’t have a high GPA. We tend to over worry about this all the time. What we don’t know is that our GPA is relative. It shows a strong character when you put a 3.0 down on your resume because you know how much effort you put into your GPA. You don’t need to freak out if you missed the Dean’s List. At the end of the day, employers and interviewers know you have so many other aspects on that resume besides grades.