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Your
resume is the single most important resource for communicating your skills,
abilities and background to an employer. Human Resource managers use this document to evaluate prospective candidates and
compare them against other applicants. If you are writing your first
resume, it can be an intimidating process. You might be thinking, “What are my
skills?” or "I don't have any work experience". The sooner you
tackle the task of outlining a few ideas, the less stressful this process will
be.
The best way to get started is to review a standard resume. You can find resume samples in books, online and at your career center. This way you will have an idea of the kinds of information needed, the proper length of the document and the format expected by employers.
Next, develop an outline with the following five key topics:
Objective, Education, Employment History, Skills and Interests. Take your
time as you begin to write your resume and let it evolve by writing portions at
a time. Once you have completed your resume allow
another person critique it before sending it out to employers.
PASSIVE VS. ACTIVE APPROACH
Simply
sending out the same resume to many random companies will lead to a frustrating experience. This "Passive Approach" will not likely provide a productive response. Employers want
to see how closely you match their internship program in a glance of
your resume. You should consider taking an "Active Approach" in tailoring your cover letter and resume to the internship program. This approach takes learning about the employer and molding your resume to the
position available. Once you have modified your
resume for a particular employer you are ready for distribution.