College Job Search – Don’t Forget Your Resume

The resume is an important requirement of any job application, but it is particularly crucial in a college job search. Being a fresh college graduate or current college student, you probably wouldn’t have a lot work experience to put in your resume.

Nevertheless, you should resist the urge to pack your resume full of fluff–or worse–totally false information. The former will make you come across as unprofessional, and the latter may end up outing you as an outright scammer–both traits not really ideal ones to display during a college job search!

One of the most important things to consider in your resume is your objective. You can greatly increase the effectiveness of your resume by narrowing down the focus of your objective to specific job types, sectors of industry or geographical areas you want to target. You will also want to write a strong summary section, which will cover the most important parts of your resume, and give your potential employer an idea of what to expect from the rest of it.

One issue that often arises with regard to resumes for a college job search is whether or not to include your GPA. Obviously most people with a high GPA will want to mention this fact in the resume, and this is in fact good idea. If your GPA falls below 3.0 however, it would probably be best to not include it at all.

Another important issue is the presentation of your resume. You can greatly increase the chances of your resume being noticed if you use paper other than the typical white.

We’re not suggesting that you go overboard with neon colored papers however. Aside from being childish and somewhat tacky, it hints at a frivolity that not many would-be employers would appreciate. A good-quality rose, light blue or light green paper would be a safe bet–save your creativity for when you actually land the job!

One area where you might benefit from a little creativity is in the presentation of your resume. Depending on your skills, you may want to submit your resume in digital form, although you will want to ask beforehand to make sure that it is acceptable.

It is important to keep in mind however that content should still take precedence above everything else. You want your resume to be noticed of course, but not so much that it sacrifices accessibility.