I became interested in paid work very young, the big motivator for me was money. Money to me meant independence from my parents. I quickly learned before I could even apply to a job I needed a RESUME. At the time I had no idea what a RESUME was.
What is the purpose of a resume? Under Cover Recruiter explains that the purpose of a resume is to provide a summary of your experiences, abilities, skills, as well as accomplishments. Whether you have a paper version or an electronic version, your resume is a tool for you to sell yourself to your prospective employers." After talking to parents and educators about what a RESUME is, I realized I had nothing to put on my RESUME; or so I thought. I learned I had a couple of skills and training like CPR or the baby-sitting course I completed, but it wasn’t enough skills, experience, and qualifications to get ME noticed by an employer to be selected for an interview. To fill up all the white space on my resume I started volunteering. One volunteer opportunity turned into paid work, and I also joined all kinds of clubs and programs taking place at my high-school and in in my community. By the time I was 15 lots of ink covered the page. Not only did I have work experience but I had references, a growing skill set and knowledge. I was living the teen-age dream, working a part-time job and earning an income allowed me to socialize with friends in different outings, travel, buy things, get my driver’s license and save. By the time I reached the age of 20 I had multiple paid and unpaid work experiences, developed work skills and qualifications. My RESUME had expanded, but now when I applied to jobs or came across opportunities I was really interested in I had to tailor my resume to fit the job description. Updating and refining my resume took hours some days and it was frustrating. Up-dating my resume took so much time because:
What is a transferable job skill you ask? Career Services at Princeton University defines transferable job skills as “skills you acquire and transfer to future employment settings. Common examples include interpersonal, communication, leadership and organizational skills.” Skills You Need further talks about transferable skills and claims “People usually think about their transferable skills when applying for a job or when thinking about a career change. Employers often look for people who can demonstrate a good set of transferable skills. The good news is that you already have transferable skills – you’ve developed such skills and abilities throughout your life, at school and perhaps at university, at home and in your social life, as well as through any experience in the work-place. It is often important that you can identify and give examples of the transferable skills that you have developed - this will go a long way to persuading prospective employers that you are right for the job.” Rewriting my resume sometimes became frustrating because:
So, how did my resume look to employers? You can see for yourself if you keep reading and click on the link below. When I am updating my resume, especially if it has been a while, I usually go to university career service websites to look at the resume examples they have posted. The reason why I use this strategy is because career service centres at universities need to keep resumes templates and styles up-to-date for graduate students who will be seeking paid employment after their program of study is completed. Basically they usually know what employers are looking for or they know the coolest new ways to highlight our skills to employers! The website I frequent most is Saint Mary’s University Career Services. They have a few different resume examples and a resume check list which I find very helpful. I encourage you to click on the link and look at the different resumes they have posted. Select one that best fits you and your experience or industry you are applying in. smu.ca/campus-life/career-services-resumes-cvs-cover-letters.html The other things you should do to create a resume that will attract the employer is:
Rewriting my resume for every new job i applied for took a great deal of time and effort, but it was all worth it in the end. Not only did my employment experiences (regardless if they are paid or not) help me get better employment opportunities, but the work I accomplished help me:
The next time you apply to a job remember to:
Be sure to check out the blog early next week- I will post an actual resume and break down all the sections with a simple explanation.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
November 2017
Categories |