Students blog

Many colleges and universities host career fairs during the Spring semester. These fairs offer fantastic networking opportunities for students, however preparing for these events can also be stressful. During the event you’ll typically have 5 to 10 minutes to talk with a recruiter or a company to make an impression. It is very useful to have copies of your resume handy. Once the conversation with the recruiter is complete it is a common practice to give them a copy of your resume so that they can remember you.

Your resume is essentially a marketing document where you are positioning yourself in the best way for the job you want. A resume should also be dynamically changing. It could be a steep learning curve to build one from scratch, but as you get in the habit of updating your resume frequently it becomes a healthy good habit. Here are a few pointers to help you understand more about resume building and formatting, and better position you into taking a stab at creating your first draft.

1. Use A Good Template

No matter how strong your background and experience are, good formatting will make your resume more eye catching to recruiters. If you are not Word document savvy, simply look up resume templates online and download a template that is the most applicable for you. Sometimes your school career center might also have these templates so make sure to look there as well!

2. Grammar

It is very important to have consistent grammar throughout your resume. You want to be as detail oriented as possible on this paper because it is the only medium for a recruiter to know you. A grammatically correct resume will allow you to stand out among peers who might be competing for the same role. Some great methods are keeping the same verb tense, ending every sentence with a period, and making your sentences clear and concise.

3. Design

Some standard resume features are a full single page of content including your name, education, address, contact, work experience, and achievements. You can adjust the resume content depending on what you need to say. You also can add a pop of color, use funky fonts, or even add a great picture of yourself in your resume to convey character. HOWEVER, be mindful on how the recruiter might read into this! Some fields might prefer a “conservative” resume style where content and achievements are the focus. Recruiters in fields like marketing and graphic design might appreciate more creative designs because the resume will demonstrate your skill in creating visually appealing products. Just make sure you understand who your audience is and tailor your resume accordingly.

4. Final Drafts

The resume in a job application is one of the main and crucial components that allows a recruiter or a hiring manager to get to know you and quickly assess whether there is a good fit between you and the potential employer. It is always a good idea to run your resume by your friend or family member to proofread and identify any last-minute errors. If you happen to find yourself stuck, recognize that you have various options and resources to use. The simple yet not so obvious one is your university career services.

5. Evolution

Your resume should be ever evolving. This doesn’t mean just adding your experiences as you progress in your career, but also modifying it from time to time and removing anything that becomes irrelevant. You might take up various career paths so when you are updating your resume for a new position, you probably do not have to list everything you did since high school. Strive to get into the practice of updating your resume after the end of each semester.

Using these tips will help you to be ready to jump on opportunities as they come and to feel prepared for them. Preparing for career fairs to apply for internships or jobs can be intimidating for some students, but it doesn’t have to be. Even if you don’t have a lot to put on your resume, having a high-quality resume is a game changer.

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Searching for an internship or a job as a college student can certainly be very stressful. There are many moving parts from building a perfect resume, marketing yourself, meeting the right people, and sometimes being lucky enough. While considering all factors that are supposed to go right to land a position, it is hard to stay mentally sane. Do not feel alienated if you feel pressure, it is common to get stressed when starting your career.

I am a college senior, and I have been down the “applying to a job” road several times before. One thing that all jobs have in common is interviewing. Interviewing is one of the important steps to landing a job. So here are some tips on how to stay poised while applying and interviewing!

1. Identify What You Want

There are an astonishing number of jobs out there; meaning that there are many paths for you to choose. When applying you need to list out your goals and intentions. Do you want something to make some money? Do you want an educational experience that relates to the industry that you are interested in? Do you want to meet new people and network? There are no right or wrong answers, all you need to do is sit down and brainstorm a list of your priorities.

2. “The Perfect” Resume

Many people may apply for the same opening you did, especially if it is a huge corporation. To make the hiring process manageable, many firms tend to process resumes through a “software”. This is not a reason to be intimidated; all you need to do is make sure you use keywords in your resume that demonstrate both hard and soft skills. And the last thing you want is for your resume to be thrown out because of spelling errors, so make sure your grammar and formatting are a hundred percent accurate. Run your resume by a friend or a family member to make sure it is the perfect version of your resume.

3. Research The Role

After you submit your resume, you may get a call for an interview. This is an achievement itself, but now the real work begins. Make sure you research your firm and the role. This helps you better formulate your answers and tie them back to why you are interested in the role to begin with. It shows the employer that you are interested in the job because you spent time learning about it.

4. Prep

Interview prepping can be difficult as it is impossible to know what questions you will be asked. However, good preparation is simply knowing yourself. Think about all the times when you had to be a leader or made an impact, take these stories, and convert them into potential answers that demonstrate various desirable skills. Interviewing is all about marketing yourself; the better you tell your story, the more memorable you will be.

5. Stay Poised

In addition to preparing for the interview make sure you eat well and get a good night's rest. It is important to take care of yourself physically and mentally because it reduces stress and nervousness.

Interviewing for a job or internship is daunting, but with enough preparation, you will be able to speak eloquently in front of your future employer. When you are familiar with what stories you want to tell and ideas you want to express, the interview will start to feel more like a conversation.

Want to read more on this topic from other students? Check out these blogs on finding and securing an internship, making the most of your internship experience, and more advice on interview prep.

Do you have a compelling story or student success tips you’d like to see published on the Pearson Students blog?  If you are a college student and interested in writing for us – click here to pitch your idea and get started! 

When I first entered college, I was constantly hearing juniors and seniors tell me how important networking is. However, like most freshman, I had no idea what networking was. It’s not something they taught us in high school. So, what is networking, how do you prepare for it, and how do you maintain connections?

What is networking?

Networking is the art of interacting with peers and experts in a professional manner. It is about creating lasting connections that can help you learn and gain industry insights.

Networking can happen anywhere, in any setting. Often times people think of networking as attending organized events all suited up, but that’s not the case. Every interaction you have is working to widen your network. The person you strike up a conversation with at a coffee shop may help you with career advice or be able to put in a word at a company where you’ve applied.

Create your Elevator Pitch

The first question people often ask you is to tell a little bit about yourself. This is a question you should be prepared to answer with what is called your ‘Elevator Pitch’. An Elevator Pitch is essentially a 30 second introduction of yourself and your experiences. The idea is that if you met someone you’d like to connect with on an elevator, by the time the person got off, they’d know you.

The tricky part comes in deciding what to include in your Elevator Pitch. You probably did a lot in high school like extracurriculars, community service, and part-time jobs. If you are beyond a first year in college, you likely have even more accomplishments you would like to include. Therefore, it can be a bit of a challenge to speak about yourself in a concise manner. So how do you decide what should be included in an Elevator Pitch and what shouldn’t?

Think about your end goal: making memorable connections. You should always try to grab attention and facilitate a longer conversation. You are essentially marketing yourself. So, think like a marketer --Elevator Pitches are simply self-advertisements.

You should give an overview of past accomplishments, present involvements, and future goals. You can start off with your major and extracurriculars, then move into relevant job experiences, then finally career aspirations. After you frame your pitch, rehearse it until you become comfortable saying it.

Formal vs Informal Networking Situations

Sometimes organizations will sponsor networking events where students can interact with employers. If you plan to attend a formal networking event, research the people you’d like to connect with ahead of time. A good place to research is LinkedIn. Tailor questions to that individual. People love talking about themselves - the more specific the questions are, the better.

Always be sure to assess the nature of the event. Understand the tone so you can frame your conversations. If you are in a formal setting, it is encouraged to have copies of your resume to distribute. However, if you are in an informal setting, like a coffee shop, passing along your resume may be strange. But you could perhaps create a business card to use in that situation. Always be sure to read the environment you are in.

Maintaining Connections

After a conversation, ask the person if they are comfortable sharing their email address and connecting via LinkedIn. Most professionals are happy to connect, but it is nice to show courtesy and mention your intent to maintain the connection.

If you met the person at a formal networking event, always send thank you notes within 24 hours. This signifies that you respected their time. Sending out thank you letters always works in your favor. Not everyone sends them out, so a customized thank you letter will make you stand out.

You may run into your connections again. Take the opportunity to reconnect. Remind them when you last interacted and something memorable from the conversation. The familiarity can lead into more specific and beneficial conversations.

Long Run Goals

Networking is all about the give and take. Once you established yourself and created a strong network, be open to helping others forge their own impact. You can practice giving by inviting professionals on a panel to host events. There are endless possibilities on how you can give back by sharing your experience to your peers and juniors.

Networking is like professional speed dating: some will succeed, and some will fail. But the most important thing is to have fun. Enjoy speaking to people. You may not see it coming now, but interactions will open doors for you. You will be grateful for having made those connections in the past.

Do you have a compelling story or student success tips you’d like to see published on the Pearson Students blog?  If you are a college student and interested in writing for us - click here  to pitch your idea and get started!