How to Build a Resume Using College Involvement as Experience

How to Build a Resume Using College Involvement as Experience How to Build a Resume Using College Involvement as ExperienceThink your college involvement isnt applicable to your job search? Think again.Entering the workforce as a professional is one of the most exciting moments after graduation. Youve worked hard for your degree and are now ready to put those skills to the test. However, you may find yourself feeling as though those daunting job ads appear to seek more qualified gruppe members. No need to pass the job over when deciding how to build a resume, look to your college activities for unexpected experience.Internships and fellowshipsMost academic advisors tell their students to seek internships early in their academic career. While this is sound advice, if you must choose between a freshman internship and a senior internship, go for the latter. Employers are looking for candidates who recently used their skills. They will often choose a candidate who just completed their in ternship rather than one who earned an early placement, regardless of participation and achievements.When adding internships to the resume writing, place the information under your other employment history, in chronological order. When choosing the title or position, clearly indicate this welches an internship. However, choose an additional title that is closest to your actual involvement. For example, if you built websites for the company, your title would be Computer Graphics Artist, Internship or Web Designer, Internship. Never imply this was leid an internship.Clubs and organizationsClubs and organizations are an excellent way to earn skills and job experience. This also can be tricky. The general rule of thumb is to not list organizations and clubs unless you are an officer or major gruppe member (i.e. president, vice president, event coordinator, etc.), the organization is a chapter for the national division (i.e. national Greek organizations and honor societies), student sect or of a larger professional organization (PRSSA/PRSA, SPJ, Veterinarian Association, etc.) or you participated in a large-scale event.Try to stay away from listing religious, political or social organizations unless you know the employer supports these topics or you held a position equivalent of what you are applying for. Also be careful about listing Greek organizations. Some of these entities have bad reputations for partying. When deciding how to build a resume, dont list anything that appears controversial or non-important.Entry-level and minimum wage jobsWe all know college students have to work low paying jobs during their academic career. Its just a part of life and paying your dues. Many students question whether they should list the cashier job at Walmart or dishwasher at Applebees. The short answer is yes, list any employment experience that is not over ten years old. Instead of listing those menial job duties, try to find ways to word the information so it fits with your career aspirations. Cashiers have client retention and communication skills. Shift supervisors can mentor and train team members. Re-wording your job description with your resume writing helps to keep the positions relevant.Volunteer activitiesVolunteerism is one of the fastest methods to learn new skills, earn valuable experience and give back to the community. Employers look for students who are a part of something bigger and want to help their fellow brothers and sisters. However, there are a few simple rules when listing volunteer ventures while building a resume. First, never call yourself a volunteer. Instead, come up with a position that closely fits the job you volunteered for. For example, if you are helping design posters for the Red Cross, you can call yourself a Graphic Designer. But do clarify in the job description this was a volunteer project. List all volunteer activities separate from job experience, unless the volunteer opportunity is directly applicable to your ca reer path.Putting it all togetherNow that you have all the necessary experience and skills in hand needed to build a resume, what do you do next? Create a resume of course. It is advisable to hire a professional resume writer to organize, design and write your first-time resume. This prevents you from making fatal errors or misrepresenting some of your information. If you want to do your own resume writing, place education first, followed by experience, engagement,and development. Recent graduate resumes should never exceed one page, and focusing on skills and abilities is more advisable than focusing on experience.Bringing college activities into your resume is hard to do. Learn more about working with the professional resumes writers who can help you make the most of your experience.Recommended Reading14 Reasons This is a Perfect Recent College Grad ResumeTop Job-Search Tips for RecentCollege Grads11 Things to Do During College to Help You Land a Job After CollegeRelated Articles