14 Resume Strategies for Recent Graduates

14 Resume Strategies for Recent GraduatesWriting a resume can be hard even for the fruchtwein seasoned professional. Writing one to net you your first job out of college can be downright terrifying. Here are 14tricks you can use to maximize your chances of getting the interview, and getting your career off to a great start. googletag.cmd.push(function() googletag.display(div-gpt-ad-1467144145037-0) ) 1. Use a professional email addressIt may have been a great laugh to be longduckdong16yahoo.com back in the day, but now that youre entering the adult world, it is high time to consider something a bit more mature. It might even help to create an address dedicated solely to job searching and your professional life. When in doubt, lastname.firstname or firstinitial.lastnamegmail.com ought to do the trick.2. Link to LinkedInIf you dont already have a LinkedIn profile, make one. It will be a necessary tool for you now and in the many work years to come. Once youve set yourself up nicely, f ollow the instructions on the site to make a customized link, i.e. www.linkedin.com/in/YourNameMBA and include it in your resume. This will be particularly useful if youre submitting a portable document format the recruiter will only have to click on the link to find your profile.3. Dont pad it with fluffBS might have worked in your sociology intro class, but a professional hiring manager is going to see right through buzzwords like team player and ambitious self-starter. Try to be a bit more unique in your word choice and show your experience rather than relying on keywords. If your job description is clearly showcasing your teamwork or leadership skills, then you dont need to oversell the point.4. OptimizeThat said, keywords are an important and useful tool, particularly when your resume might be evaluated online before reaching a sentient human. Rather than just include the usual hardworking and strong leader terms you think you have to include, try using keywords included in the job listing itself. Thats a koranvers fire way to catch a companys eye. Give them what theyre looking for5. Leave high school out of itHiring managers are much more interested in your relevant work experience and what sort of work (and grades) you did in college. Also any skills or certifications you may have picked up along the way. Including high school education only makes you look like youre desperate for filler. When in doubt, leave it out.6. Include your GPAIf your GPA is 3.0 or higher, go ahead and brag about it. And if your GPA within your major is even higher than that, showcase that achievement. They wont care if you got a C+ in Underwater Basket-weaving. But if you have a 4.0 in Economics, theyll be aya to pay attention.7. Dont include your schoolworkWhile your GPA or major can be an asset in your job search, no recruiter really wants to know how you spent your class time (unless you did something really unique and exciting and/or prestigious). They pretty much know what college is abouteven specific to your major. Internships are much more relevant and impressive focus on those.8. Play up your strong pointsIf you have a big internship or some other work experience thats super impressive, lead with that. If you dont, its okay to lead with other things, such as your grades, your intensive software knowledge, foreign language skills, programming experience, etc. If you have tons of honors but little work experience, you still might have enough oomph to get your foot in the door for an interview.9. Include company descriptionsFor each employer in your work history, include a brief description of the companyparticularly if it isnt a well known brand-name company that people will already be familiar with. Just a sense of the industry, the work done, and the work environment should do it. Keep it brief to maximize space.10. Use bulletsBullet points are an assertive visual way to draw a recruiters attention to exactly what youd like for them to focus on. Go ahead and use this to your advantage. Bonus youll get points for clear and eye-friendly formatting.11. Use action verbsLet your language do the bragging, especially if you dont have a whole lot of work experience. You can put all the work verbs into sections describing your other experience. Were thinking managed, led, supervised, developed, created, built, etc.12. BragGo ahead and include any honors, scholarships, or extracurricular achievements you might have under your belt. Cant hurt, might help.13. List your relevant skillsRead the job description carefully and multiple times. And be sure to pick out and list all of the skills it says are required for eligibility. Failure to list that you do, in fact, have fluency in that programming language, is your error. The recruiter isnt responsible for knowing what you assume they should know. Make sure to explicitly list the things theyre looking for as things you can do.14. Dont include referencesDont waste space on the References a vailable on request line. Its already implied. If they get close enough to hiring you to need them, rest assured that they will ask. You can also include this line in your cover letter instead.Now take a look at TopResumes infographic showcasing what a perfect resume for recent college graduates would look like