Imagine this scenario – you have the opportunity to attend an open interview session with Intel in one hour. You know that one person in the twenty attending will get hired. The only requirement is that you bring a resume. You sit down on your computer and search for it. You finally find it after fifteen long minutes.
You look at the document and you are horrified; it’s only a quarter of a page long and it was last edited back in high school. You wrack your brain thinking about what you can add.
Twenty minutes pass and you have come up with only one idea. It’s a babysitting job you had three months ago.
Time passes and with each second your hesitation to add the job to your resume lessens. “There’s nothing else I can do to reduce the whitespace,” you think. You add it and head into the interview.
For college students this can all too often end up being a familiar situation. Below are four quick strategies you can employ to avoid it.
1. Get an Internship
The best experience a college student can have on their resume is an internship suited to their interests. Internships offer fundamental on the ground business training – something that business schools are often criticized for not having.
But how can you get an internship when dozens if not hundreds of college students likely applied? The answer is that you don’t apply for an internship, you find your own.
Local businesses can use extra hands all of the time. Even if a company is not actively looking for interns, if you approach them and offer to do 5 hours of free work a week they will be all smiles. This real world experience will slowly grow allowing you to apply for more competitive internships one after another.
2. Volunteer
Not only will volunteer experience make you look like a more well-rounded candidate but it will also give you a prime opportunity to network with key local influencers.
Use the networks you build while volunteering to find non-public job openings and springboard your way to career success.
3. Clubs
Campus clubs are a phenomenal way to build leadership experience. If you don’t have a job and are looking for resume experience, be sure to join at least two clubs to begin getting leadership positions.
Leadership positions are essential in that they demonstrate your ability to communicate and collaborate in groups.
4. Freelance
If you’re unable to secure an internship, freelancing might not only be a decent way to make money but it can also be considered job experience. Come up with a marketable skill that you have (maybe you’re an Excel master) and sell your skills on sites like Craigslist or Freelancer.com.
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Not building your resume puts you in precarious position. Don’t put yourself in the situation where all the hard work you did in college is wasted by being unable to secure a job.
Questions or comments? Reach out to me @LeadersWin.
