Who are you on your rsum?
Everybody understands the importance of a rsum, especially since your rsum is one of your first steps from your college life into the real world.
A good rsum may be what gets you a well-paid job, or at least to get that choice interview.
Rsums are important to anybody who is striving to make significant steps towards a goals.
A recent edition of The Wall Street Journal ran an interesting article about desperate college students who haven’t landed jobs yet.
The students turned to their parents for advice about building rsums. However, very little of the advice the parents gave was relevant or useful.
Unless your dad is a job-hunting expert or your mom works in career services, parents should be the last on your list to help you with your rsum.
Creating your own rsum can become a real challenge for most young people. How do you make it just right? What is worth including and what is not?
Fortunately, there are tons of useful sources for information on rsum-building today. First, check the career services at your college.
The career services workshops at MSU are very helpful for many of the college students.
Your professors can also be a good start. For instance, MSU international business students can attend a so-called Boot Camp series.
The series teaches students to create a professional rsum, introducing them to basic rules of interviewing and a lot more helpful information.
Finally, there are a huge number of resources one can find on the Internet. Take your time, make an effort and it will definitely be worth it.
Do not make your rsum vague. Assume that a recruiter is going to expect the worst in a rsum, and then blow him or her away.
Yet be honest, positive and stick to the point.
Recently, in my marketing class, we were lucky enough to have as a guest speaker the executive vice president of a successful insurance firm.
When speaking about building a rsum, he emphasized the importance of extracurricular activities and job experience, for sure. They all demand that.
It does not matter where you got the experience-at a fast food restaurant or Fortune 500 company. It indicates that you have done at least something.
However, the employer expressed a regret that everybody looks perfect and all alike on a rsum.
There is nothing wrong with looking good on a sheet of paper. The problem is that unfortunately a potential employee who describes himself or herself is not likely to be that good in reality.
On the other hand, the standard set of general information presented within a rsum gives little chance for you to show your personality.
Apparently, it is not endless quantity of pages of your rsum or a charming picture in a swimsuit that makes your rsum distinctive.
One suggestion could be including your personal Web site link on a rsum.
Just be sure that it is not where you post the pictures of your puppies, but is professionally oriented.
But while you’re stressing about a rsum, keep it in perspective. There are many other things you need to do as you begin a new life. Going crazy over one little aspect of it will just ruin the fun of the new adventure.
Milana Karayanidi is a freshman in international business. She can be reached at [email protected].