Crafting your resume can be a daunting process, but don’t worry – EliteGrad’s got your back!
In case you don’t know, we do host a Resume Builder Workshop from time-to-time (join us!), but we also wanted to give you a quick cheat sheet to help set you up for success on paper and beyond!
Getting Started
Before you begin, gather all the important (AKA relevant) information an employer needs to know, and sort it into a few main buckets. We recommend:
- Contact Information, Education & Technical Skills
- Work Experience & Projects
- Extracurriculars & Other Interests
Resumes are like snowflakes, no two are the same. And remember—your resume is a living, breathing work that will continue to grow and evolve along with your academic and professional experience.
Once you’ve organized your info, it’s time to plug it into your template. Remember, everything should neatly (and legibly) fit on one page. In other words, don’t over share!
Contact & Education Information
If this section sounds straightforward, good. But without naming any names, some have managed to screw it up, so here are a few useful (and hopefully obvious) tips:
- Use your school email address—if you don’t have one, don’t sweat it
- Include a phone number that you can actually be reached at—duh, we know
- Include your LinkedIn and make sure it is up to date—stale is never a good look
When it comes to your education information, less is more. There’s really no reason to include anything other than your:
- School name
- GPA
- Major
Graduation Date.
Work Experience
Let’s keep this one simple. The general rule is if you had a job or internship while you’re in school, include it! Provide your role, dates worked and your primary responsibilities. Keep it concise, and to the point. Oh, and by “while you’re in school” we don’t mean high school. While those experiences were probably awesome, they don’t belong on your professional resume.
Pro tip: If you don’t have any work experience, that’s okay, but definitely do not invent it, because it will only end up hurting you down the road. Plus, it’s unethical.
Extracurriculars & Other Interests
Do employers really care about your extracurriculars and interests outside of school? Sure they do! Do they care a lot? Well, let’s just say it’s not the most important part of your resume, so don’t overshare!
Oh, and be sure to stay true to yourself. For example, it’s great to let employers know you’re fluent in Mandarin—as long as you’re actually fluent in Mandarin. Got it? Good!
Once your resume is updated and ready to go, there’s only one thing left to do—upload it to your EliteGrad profile at students.elitegrad.com asap!
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