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Quintessential Careers Blog |
| How to Write Your Entry-Level Resume Posted: 03 Oct 2016 02:00 AM PDT You’re ready to start submitting applications for your first “real” job. Congratulations! Here are a few resume tips to help you launch your job search. You may have held a few informal jobs in the past, such as mowing lawns or babysitting, but now you’re searching for your very first professional full-time position. Congratulations! You have a long road—and, hopefully, a fulfilling career—ahead of you. Before you start climbing the professional ladder, you’re going to need one important item: a well-written entry-level resume. Here are a few simple tips that can help you draft your document and start reaching out to employers. Gather your notes Before you open a blank document or type a single word, you’ll want to do a little preparation. This step may be the most difficult part of the process, but your efforts will pay off later on. Gather all the information you have that relates to your coursework, your major projects, your awards and victories, your grades, and your extracurricular activities. Lay these things out in front of you and brainstorm for a little while. Which of these accomplishments brings you the most pride? Which items and activities best reflect what you’d like to do in the future? Start with the basics Open a blank document and create five subheadings. These should include the following: Contact Information, Summary, Education, Experience, and Skills. Most difficult projects become more manageable when you break them down into distinct steps, and the resume process is no exception. Tackle each heading, one at a time. Start with your name and basic contact info (easy peasy!) to get the ball rolling. Then, move onto your summary. Step by step, you’ll fill in all of the subheads. Don’t scrimp on your summary You’ll spend plenty of time on each one of these subheadings, but if you have to choose, invest the most time and attention on your summary. Your summary provides a forecast of everything else in your profile, and in some cases, it may be the only part that recruiters read carefully before making a quick yes or no decision about whether to interview you. Keep your summary short, clear, and concrete. Follow these three rules when writing your resume summary: make sure your two or three most important details get a mention make sure every phrase makes sense skip clichés and buzzwords (like “hard worker.”) Replace those words with concrete terms that offer real meaning and show your experience. (For example, “SQL certified”, “MA in culinary arts”, “six sigma black belt” pack more of a punch.) Highlight your experience After your heading, summary, and a quick description of your education credentials, you’ll reach the second most critical section: Experience. Since you’ve never held a professional job before, this section can be tricky. But you’ll grab the spotlight if you can show off volunteer work, travel, leadership roles in school and extracurricular activities, and any odd jobs you’ve held to make some cash. Think about how each of these activities prepares you for the job in question. Skills matter At the entry level, your experience may or may not carry much weight – especially if you don’t have much. However, your skills section can mean the difference between landing the job and slipping through the cracks. List everything you know how to do, from managing a database, to speaking Spanish, to CPR. No matter what you have to offer, your employer will want to hear about it. Once you’ve completed your first draft and then your second, third and fourth, you’ll be ready for the next step—creating a cover letter! Visit LiveCareer for tools and templates that help you hit the mark and land the job you need!The post How to Write Your Entry-Level Resume appeared first on LiveCareer Blog. |
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