It’s 2023 and it’s time to refresh that resume or make a new one! No matter what year you are currently in, you NEED to have a resume. You never know when an amazing internship will come your way and before you know it you could be applying to grad school. Do not wait till the last minute to try to remember everything you’ve accomplished and just compile it together. You deserve to market yourself better. Also, don’t let anyone ever tell you it’s too early to make one. I made one sophomore year of high school and have watched it beautifully morph into a representation of all of my hard work up to this point.
You need to take these fresh eyes from the new year and see your resume as a living document. This isn’t some file you tuck away and wait for a rainy day to bring it out. Your resume should always be readily available so you can add your new work experiences, change dates, update numbers, etc. Consider using a platform you will always have access to, to craft this resume in case you change computers, purge your filing cabinet with your paper copies or switch schools because you could lose access to whatever tech you were using before. Canva and Adobe spark have great visual components to make your resume stand out, as well as templates that are very user friendly. Most word processing programs like Microsoft or Google Documents have pre-made templates that are concise and to the point. Making an account and saving documents on these sites will allow you to continually go back and make changes to your resume as your life changes.
If taking the step to updating your resume seems too daunting to do on your own or you just want a second set of eyes to give you feedback, take advantage of the Center for Life’s Work. They’re known for helping with resumes and preparing students to lead lives with purpose whether that be in a career, doing service or taking your own path after graduation. Located on the first floor of GAC, the welcoming office has so many resources for our benefit. If you’re just looking for a proofread or want to check for grammatical errors in your cover letter, head to the Charles Mills Writing Center in the basement of the library. Students known for their strong writing skills, will be ready to help you! Working on your resume shouldn’t have to be tedious. Using these resources is a step in the right direction on the path to making an authentic resume.
I’m no career prep expert but as someone who has interviewed for her fair share of internships and has had her resume across the desks of many individuals, I have a few recommendations for you. First, don’t include a picture of yourself. Canva makes these beautiful and artsy templates with spots to put your headshot. It looks great on the screen! But may translate poorly to paper. A bigger reason not to do it, is that someone may judge you based on your photo. Whether it be unconsciously or consciously, people reading your resume may not let your accomplishments speak for who you are and could end up making assumptions about you on their own. Additionally, less is not more but also more is not more. First, your resume should be concise but don’t forget the important details about your positions or education. You don’t need to just write your graduation year, major and minors to keep it short. Show off that GPA and if there’s room add those clubs you’re in. When I said more is not more, I meant for design. If you love hot pink save that for your dorm room decorations. While your resume is a creative outlet, you should avoid anything chaotic or flashy in the design of your resume that will take away from the content. Don’t try to jam too much into one page and avoid going onto two pages. Summarizing your history into one page of a resume showcases a skill and if you have a two page resume it doesn’t show that you did more, it shows you didn’t know how to summarize. Lastly, if you truly feel you have so many things you’ve left out that you wish could fit, make a portfolio website. This is another living platform that you can continually add to.
In 2023 it is our time to grow and shine. Your resume is something crucial that needs to grow with you this year. You’re going on to bigger and better things, don’t let your resume hold you back.
