The Razzle-Dazzle Resume

Writing a resume as a student is vastly different from writing one at the end of a college career, when you stand “ready” to face the world diploma in hand. During college most students are attempting to find jobs and volunteer work to use as underpinning for their education, pursuing experience over reimbursement, and contacts and connections over status.

If you plan to be a kindergarten teacher but work in a daycare is shredding your nerves and leaving you drained and moody rather than fulfilled and enriched it would be a good idea to change paths and approach something more fulfilling and personally enjoyable.

Job loyalty to a specific place for several years in a row because of the excellent interaction is common, but it is important to continue to branch out, partly to fill that resume, but also to make sure that the end goal coincides with something we can be happy and fulfilled doing. My first job out of high school was working at a NACA camp (National Association of Christian Athletes) I worked both in the counseling, event planning and foodservice and was able to work directly with thousands of young people. Since my eventual goal was to teach this was a great opportunity, the only problem was I stayed with it for too long. Three years in fact! At the end of last summer I found myself face first in a seventy-five gallon steam vat scrubbing out the remains of dinner’s spaghetti sauce and found myself wondering what on earth does this have to do with teaching? Sure, perseverance had a lot to do with it, but I think I persevered. Three years of spaghetti every Monday is the NACA definition of perseverance!

This summer I am working at a job that combines every element of what I am going to be doing after graduation. I will never forget the first week working here in the library, I was already deep into inventory and back in the stacks a student (my age) came to me with a question. I followed her to her computer and explained what she needed to know, and walked back to work. Inside however my feet never touched the ground, and at the end of the day I felt like I had really accomplished something beyond feeding hundreds of kids a spaghetti dinner, because I had taught someone something they hadn’t known before, something they could use every day. And I knew, more than ever before that this was what I was meant to do.

Another important element I have learned here this summer is how education is changing because of the internet, social networking, Web 2.0 and the increasing wealth of internet books, articles and databases. Working in technical services the second part of this summer I have been able to explore how the ever changing resources on the web can be channeled and harnessed into a unique individual learning experience.

So, when finding jobs to conquer, committees to head and volunteer work to help keep your faith in mankind alive keep in mind the slots of your resume, especially while still in college. The most important slot of all to remember in college is the “Objective” slot; this slot is what the potential employer is going to look at first, and where they are going to see what you want to do with your life.

When I was in high school all the juniors were given a green and gold tassel, as a sign of something to look forward to. These tassels hung in cars as we drove to and from school, football games and study groups. They dangled from our lamps when we burnt the midnight oil on research papers and (ick) trigonometry. They were a symbol of the day when we would move our “official” tassels from one side of those cheesy hats to the other and step out into adulthood. Now that I am in college my “Objective” slot on my resume is my tassel, and I know the day when my resume, complete with my bachelors degree (hey, maybe even a masters) emblazoned across the education section hits the desks of every potential employer will be one of the proudest days of my life!

In the meantime, continue to do what you love, and love it enough that you keep working towards that end goal. Sites like Monster.com and Jobsearch.about.com have valuable tips in creating a well rounded resume, and GoogleDocs has several great resume templates to work with. I am currently creating one on there right now; perhaps I will share it with all of you!
Some important things to remember:

· If you post links to websites such as Myspace.com or a blogging site (Blogspot, Xanga, Twitter) be sure to scan your content through an employers eyes. Remove any slightly less than tasteful photos or slightly cruel “satire” from your blogs. These sites can be very useful for networking, showing a working list of where you have worked and what educational goals you have. Remember, one out of turn sentence or racy photo could ruin chances. If you don’t include these websites make sure they are set to private to ensure your anonymity when your employer checks your background.

· Always have someone you trust read your resume before you send it out. After spending as much time with it as you are sure to have done you may be too close to it to see any mistakes. A spelling or grammatical error could go a long way toward ruining your prospects.

· Keep it up to date! Don’t reuse the same tired resume you have been toting around since freshman year, or since you just graduated. Keep numbers, addresses and references current, and try to make it a goal to add something new every quarter.

· Don’t just send in hard copies! Sites such as Monster.com and Chattanoogahasjobs.com are wonderful resources for prospective employers. Don’t overlook the vast resources the internet offers you!

· Put your personal stamp on your resume. Don’t go overboard but try to project who and what you are into your words. This resume will probably be a basis for your interview, so have a smooth flow with your achievements not lumped into one spot, but spread evenly through the whole document.

Good luck!

Hana Grace