OK, so now you’ve been accepted to the school of your dreams and you have started taking classes. Time has literally flown by, and soon you will graduate. Then what? Here’s what your university and professors won’t tell you.
Resumes
The first step to finding a job is writing a good resume. Despite what most people think, the purpose of a good resume is to get an interview, not a job. That’s the purpose of the interview, which I will cover in a future post, but I digress. Back to Resumes, or CVs (Curriculum Vitae, loosely translated as “the course of my life”) as they are called in our field.
Resumes or CVs need to be well-written and organized by sections, such as:
- Header. The header should contain all of your contact information, including a current phone and email address. Think about how your email name reads. Ie, if your email provider is something like “hotmail.com”, consider changing it.
- Objective. What is it that you want? Provide a one or two sentence summary, clearly and concisely written. Use active verbs. Hint: be specific, and tailor your objective to the job you are applying for.
- Education. Be sure to list all of the universities you have attended, your major, and your GPA (for undergraduate studies). It is considered bad form to provide your graduate GPA. If you made it to graduate school, the assumption is that your GPA is good. So don’t guild the lily.
- Employment. List all of your employers, most recent first. Be prepared to explain any significant gaps in your employment history. And hopefully with something better than “I was incarcerated” or “I couldn’t find a job so I just watched TV all day.” Did you do any volunteer work? Anything to sharpen or maintain your skills?
- Other stuff. Include any activities relevant to your career aspirations, such as leadership positions, volunteer work, or hobbies that relate to your vocation. Do not put personal things on your resume. Sorry, but employers really don’t care if you like basketball or going to the beach.
- Formatting. Use common sense (is that too vague?) and think of the reviewer. So, for those of you whose eyes rolled to the back of your head when I said “common sense”, do the following:
a. Use font that’s large enough to read easily. Many reviewers are over 40 (ahem!)
b. Be creative, but don’t use distracting colors or patterns. Think: easy to read. Not: This is so cool.
c. Don’t use too much white space. Your text looks lonely and forlorn. Those are not thoughts you want to conjure in a reviewer.
d. Use proper spelling and grammar. It isn’t enough to use Microsoft’s word check. It’s just a computer. It can’t read your mind and figure out what word you really mean. Read it over carefully yourself, OUT LOUD, and then have someone else read it, too. Don’t give employers a reason to eliminate you without getting to know you first. Rejection is somehow easier to swallow when it is informed.
Lastly, before submitting your resume, check with your university’s career center to see if they offer resume critique services. Most do, and can do it via email. That’s a great way to get further feedback and tips on your resume from a professional, and it won’t cost you anything.
Yours in the Joy of Knowledge,
Barbara LoFrisco
Also check:
• https://mastersincounseling.org/counseling/the-importance-of-sexual-education/
• https://mastersincounseling.org/resources/ebooks-visualization/
• https://mastersincounseling.org/education/don%E2%80%99t-lose-your-financial-aid-three-things-you-must-monitor/
