Resume tips
1. It is not enough to list your experiences and credentials; you must decide which of your qualifications you wish to highlight. The more clearly you match your skills with your potential employer’s needs, the more easily you will get an interview.
2. Every resume should (at least) have a heading with identifying information, an education section and an experience section. Past jobs could fall under the experience section.
3. Begin with most recent education and experience and work backwards.
4. Focus on skills and accomplishments and not routine duties. Be honest.
5. Some people include a “Profile” or “Summary of Qualifications” section. This works well if you have significant experience in a given area, and it allows you to highlight areas of expertise and experience at the beginning of your resume.
Cover letter tips
1. Avoid copying sample cover letters — they will not represent you adequately and will probably sound artificial.
2. Each letter needs to be unique to the position. Targeting your cover letter is as important as targeting the resume in getting an interview.
3. Don’t be cliched! Employers probably read about hundreds of applicants wanting “challenging and rewarding jobs” or jobs wherein they can “work with people.”
4. For every statement you make, provide a reason, example or explanation.
5. In every cover letter there should be three clear parts: an introductory paragraph which explains your reason for contacting the employer, a body paragraph suggesting what is needed to accomplish a job and how your strengths match the job requirements, and a conclusive paragraph reiterating your interest in the opportunity. For more information, check out the University Career Center’s Resume and Cover Letter Guide at http://bit.ly/IO3axI (PDF).
Interview tips
1. Don’t walk into an interview without doing your research about the company.
2. Dress nicely. This means a suit, white dress shirt, tie and dress shoes for men and a skirt and blazer for women in a subdued color with appropriate accessories — moderation is key. Make sure you’re well-groomed. It’s better to be on the safe side than to be under dressed.
3. Don’t forget your people skills. Shake hands, make eye contact and smile. Remember to be enthusiastic and happy to be there.
4. If/when asked about personal weaknesses, don’t make any “absolute” negative statements. Instead, be humble and acknowledge some sort of weakness that can, in a way, also be interpreted as a positive.
5. At the end of the interview, reiterate your interest and establish a “path forward,” asking what to expect and when to expect to hear from them. Thank the interviewer, shake their hand and depart with the same smile you entered with.
Five tips on online portfolios
1. This is the most important tip. Check in with a faculty member in your potential career field and ask them, “Is an online portfolio necessary?” Online portfolios are generally geared towards graduates planning to enter a creative industry.
2. Consider, what story do you want to tell with this portfolio? What do you want the center focus to be? Portfolios aren’t one-size-fits-all.
3. Remember your audience. Web-based portfolios ought to be more visual and they should cater to visitors who don’t want to spend a lot of time reading. Don’t post a 15-page paper.
4. How confident are you? Different portfolio-making sites cater to different audiences. Some are “drag and drop” sites like weebly.com and some are geared for more creative people, like wordpress.com. Some sites cater to photographers like livebooks.com, and some, like livebooks, require users to buy their own domain. Other sites to consider are wix.com and cargocollective.com. Explore your options.
5. Lastly, if you are avoiding job searching by making an online portfolio, you’ve got a problem.
