This article is a continuation of our Internship Series, which helps undergrads to understand the process and requirements for both landing and rocking internships. See the first post in this series on Tips for Finding Your Perfect Internship here.
Now that you know how to find your perfect internship, let’s work on actually applying for one! Writing a resume is one of the hardest parts of the internship process. How does one make themselves look like qualified on an 11 by 8.5 inch piece of paper? Here are some tips to make you resume stand out in the stack.
Brainstorm Your Best Attributes:
Sit down and start writing down all those things you’ve done so far that make you stand out. Write down even the ones you don’t think are all that great. Who knows…those little details might make a big impact. Make a list of all of your work experience, be it an actual job or leading one of you campus’ clubs. The more you put down during your brainstorm, the more you have to pick from when you sit down to write your resume. It’s like having tryouts, and then picking varsity.
Make Your Summary Your Key Point:
The summary of your resume should be one of the — if not the most — essential thing about your resume. When future employers have to scan through hundreds of resumes a day, making yourself stand out in just a few sentences is a very admirable trait. If your summary catches the eye of whoever is reading it, they will be more inclined to go through all the other sections of your resume.
Include Your College Experience (education, clubs etc. that have to do with what you’re applying for):
You may not want to add that you were president of your magic club, but you should do it! It shows leadership and organization skills. Include even the smallest of jobs. Did you work as a barista for your local coffee shop? Put it down. It indicates that your versatile and have excellent customer service skills. Every job and every position has taught you something. You just have to figure out what those lessons were and filter through those that apply to what you want to do and those that don’t.
Keep it Clean, Keep it Simple:
When formatting your essay, you want to make it look clean and minimalist. No Comic Sans, please. Make sure the spacings are not too separated or too on top of each other. Make the margins a little wider, but not too broad. Make sure your title does not take up the entire page and make sure your header is also clean and centered. Afer all, your goal is to look professional.
Proofread, Proofread, Proofread!
Our final piece of advice is that you should proofread your resume over and over again. Give it to your friends, your parents or anyone with a little extra time to read over every single bullet point on your resume. You wouldn’t want to pull a Rachel now would you?