How to write a college graduate resum茅
By听Lilia Ortiz
Fresh out of college? Then you鈥檙e probably going through a lot of different听. Happiness, excitement, pride, sadness and maybe even dread. That鈥檚 completely normal! Everyone experiences that "now what?" feeling the day after graduation.
Fortunately, when you鈥檙e a new college graduate, anything is possible. Unfortunately, when you鈥檙e a new college graduate,听anything听is possible. This looming expanse known as "the future" can leave you feeling overwhelmed and lost.
One of the first challenges you鈥檒l face during the job hunt post-graduation is writing a听college graduate resum茅. Read on to learn how to write an impressive resum茅 when you鈥檙e a new grad. No experience necessary!
Click on the image to download our new graduate resum茅 sample.
Come up with a strategy
According to Jamie Johnson, a career advisor at听七色视频听(UOPX), job searching is a lot like dating. You not only need to know what you want in a job, but you also need to know how to present your resum茅 in a way that shows who you are and what you have to offer.
And so, as with most things in life, you鈥檒l need a strategy. Make the process of writing a college graduate resum茅 easier by doing your research and determining your target audience.
Johnson cautions that another reason to have a strategy is that "most employers will take 10 seconds or less" to look over a resum茅. So go in with a plan of attack by including a professional profile at the top of your resum茅. This section should describe your relevant experience and target the job you鈥檙e applying for, as well as list any related skills.
Don鈥檛 limit yourself
As a new college graduate, you might think that your lack of experience puts you at a disadvantage. However, that couldn鈥檛 be further from the truth.
Johnson says, "Every student, no matter what their age, has something to offer."
She adds that work experience isn鈥檛 the only thing you can highlight on your resum茅. You can and听should听include your achievements as a student (such as projects, presentations, internships, or a GPA above 3.0). After all, that鈥檚 your most recent experience as a new grad!
Consider also including volunteer experiences, relevant hobbies that showcase your talents, coursework that reflects your newly gained knowledge and听military skills听that can easily听translate to the civilian workforce. Just remember to protect yourself from potential discrimination by not mentioning your age, gender or political or religious affiliations 鈥 and don鈥檛 include a photo.
Take advantage of internships
Internships are your best friend when writing a resum茅 as a new college graduate. In fact, Indeed.com stresses that new graduates can use this experience to highlight their qualifications in their college graduate resum茅. Additionally, Indeed says, "Previous internship experience helps you demonstrate during your next opportunity that you are committed to gaining professional knowledge and you have gained the expertise to help you in the position."
And the numbers bear this out. The National Association of Colleges and Employers鈥櫶齠ound that 68% of the interns surveyed received a job offer.
But what if you graduated with no internship experience? Don鈥檛 fret! It is possible to find an internship opportunity听, says Johnson. She adds that an internship is excellent for gaining experience in your chosen field听and听for building connections.
And who knows? Your internship could even turn into an offer for a full-time job.
Click on the image to download our new graduate resum茅 template.
Use the right keywords and format听
Now that you know what to include in your resum茅, it鈥檚 time to start putting it all together.
If it鈥檚 easier, you can start by outlining the first draft on paper. That way, you don鈥檛 worry about the digital format while you get your ideas down. Once you鈥檝e jotted down all your information, check that you鈥檝e included听, used numbers and figures whenever possible to describe an achievement and stated the positive result(s) of said success.
After typing up your resum茅, Johnson suggests using Jobscan.com to check its keywords. The website optimizes your resum茅 to ensure it is getting past an Applicant Tracking System (ATS), which analyzes resum茅s to select the best candidates for a position. The algorithm can reject even a highly qualified applicant if their resum茅 doesn鈥檛 contain the right keywords.
Similarly, some designs can confuse an ATS, so it鈥檚 best to use a听traditional format for your resum茅听that鈥檚 simple and easy to read. And, finally, keep your resum茅 to one to two pages.
Build your professional relationships
While a resum茅 is important,听networking听is also a large part of the equation. In other words, applying for a job doesn鈥檛 have to be limited to online job boards. You should also focus on building relationships through LinkedIn, joining a professional association affiliated with your field of interest and by attending networking events, says Johnson.
She continues, "If you haven鈥檛 done an internship or need to gain experience, start working on that network." Reaching out to those you know is a great stepping stone to broadening your network. Furthermore, great connections can more than make up for your lack of experience in the workforce if they can vouch for you when the perfect opportunity presents itself.
Focus on staying positive
It can be hard to keep your chin up during your job search when weeks turn into months. And, when the competition is fierce, it鈥檚 easy to believe that as a new college graduate you have less to offer. Johnson reminds recent grads to try to remain positive and stay focused on what they听do听have to offer. Comparison is the thief of joy after all and, in Johnson鈥檚 own words, "no one is unemployable."
Through our Career Services for Life鈩 commitment, graduates have lifelong access to helpful career resources, including resum茅 building tools, career advisor appointments and more! Learn more at phoenix.edu/career-services.
Need help with building your personal brand? Check out our step-by-step guide on personal branding.
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