Stuck between graduate school and the career world, many students struggle while trying to craft a resume that best presents them in an uncertain future.

One Grand Valley State University student said she is “about fifty-fifty” on her choice for after graduation, which makes it difficult to get a resume going.

Another GVSU student, an exercise science major, said he might want to go into cardiac rehab, but does not have any cardiac rehab work experience to put on his resume.

Rachel Becklin, assistant director of Career Services and the internal internship specialist, offered advice and handouts to students at a resume workshop on Tuesday.

Career Services holds resume workshops weekly in its office, Student Services Room 206.

Becklin said the first aspect of creating a standout resume is the “eye appeal,” or the general design of the resume. She added she has read that the average employer only spends 7 to 30 seconds on a first look of each resume, which means the design should immediately grab the reader’s attention.

Students should try experimenting with different fonts, making an interesting letterhead at the top or using subtle color.

“I was surprised that the Microsoft Office templates were not recommended,” said Candis Hyatt, a GVSU graduate student who is hoping to find a part-time job in her field of psychology. Hyatt said she thought the templates were an easy way to make a resume, but Becklin said they can show that the applicant could not or did not take the time to create and design his or her own resume.

“You want to make sure [the resume] easy to follow,” Becklin said, so design elements such as consistent bullet points and effective organization should also be considered. Becklin said applicants should order their subject headings from most to least important to the position being applied for, which for students and recent graduates means that education would be the first heading, followed by the experience most related to the job.

CONTENT

The second and more in-depth aspect of a standout resume would be its content, Becklin said.

“Think about the things that you’ve done and then break down what’s most important,” she added.

Once you have determined what to include, the next part is figuring out how to construct a resume sentence.

“I think one of the biggest challenges for students is translating what they have done, whether that’s paid, volunteer, classroom or extra-curricular experiences, in a way that sells them as a candidate for a specific type of position,” Becklin said. “It’s important for candidates to communicate their skills and accomplishments rather than just the tasks they completed.”

One tip to construct an effective resume sentence would be to remove personal pronouns from a normal sentence, and then add in strong verbs and quantitative descriptions of what you have done. For example, instead of saying “I reduced spending,” an applicant could tweak it to declare, “Reduced company spending by $4,000 in my first fiscal year.”

COVER LETTERS AND REFERENCES

Finally, Becklin said cover letters should also be sent with each resume, because they are the introduction of yourself to the employer. She said included references should be professional, such as professors, supervisors or coaches, and not personal, such as a family friend.

“I do think I’m more prepared,” Hyatt said.

To see a list of upcoming resume workshops, visit www.gvsu.edu/careers. According to the website, students are recommended to take the workshop before scheduling an individual appointment.

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