By: Dana Blankenship
With the Internship Fair coming up, there is one thing that will set you apart from other students: your resume. If you’re like me, you don’t really like to update your resume and tend to prolong the entire process, which is generally a bad idea. So, in times like this, rebuilding your resume doesn’t have to be so hard. Here are some tips that will help you make your resume stand out.
Put School Information on Your Resume
Some businesses don’t appreciate your school information (GPA, major, minor), but at the end of the day you are a student. Sure, you shouldn’t have it on your resume two years after graduating, but it’s appropriate to have school information on your resume now.
Make Bullet Points Achievement Oriented
At the end of the day, recruiters want to see what you have accomplished in your various positions. That being said, make your bullet points achievement oriented to show how your contributions made a valuable impact on your organization. Recruiters also appreciate seeing detailed numbers as a way of tracking your achievements in your results oriented bullet points.
Don’t Over-Design
It is becoming more and more popular to use InDesign to create your resume. This is a great tool and trend, but remember not to over-design your resume. It can be fun and engaging, but recruiters only look at your resume for 15-30 seconds, and if they are overwhelmed by design you can bet they will toss your resume right into the trash. Show your design talents in your portfolio or on a personal website instead.
EDIT, EDIT, EDIT
Always have multiple friends, classmates or mentors look over your resume. You don’t want to be caught with a misspelled word or incorrect title, and if you ask your friends to give your resume a look it can be avoided. Recruiters see hundreds of resumes for potential internships, and a mistake is one of the easiest things to cast a resume off for.
To make your resume stand out, I also suggest using thicker paper to print it on. This is an old trick, but one that has captured internships for students before, and it can work for you.
Good luck in the future when trying to get internships! You can do it.