Writing a resume as a student can be difficult, especially if you’re someone who doesn’t have lot of work experience. Ideally you will have some internships to include, but if not you can still create a great resume to highlight your skills.
According to a new report from the National Association of Colleges and Employers, (NACE) 65% of bachelor’s degree graduates from the Class of 2015 participated in an internship, and 61% of those interns were unpaid. While internships provide great experience and seem to be extremely important to build up a resume, they aren’t realistic for a lot of students. The number of students obtaining degrees is rising, and so is the number of students in debt, forcing many to work throughout college instead of working for free through an internship.
If you are one of the many students struggling financially, you may be thinking, “I can’t afford an internship. What now?” As much as it may appear that internships are required to obtain a decent job post-graduation, there are many ways to get around not having any on your resume. Writing a resume as a student is a little different than writing a resume when you’re in the workforce because you may not have as much “traditional employment” as others. Because of this, you may have to get creative with how you present yourself on your resume.
Take Advantage of Free Resources
In a society where everything costs a lot, there are many free resources at our fingertips that seem to be completely underutilized. You may have to work in a restaurant or at the student book store to make money, but that doesn’t stop you from learning about your desired industry and building skills that may be learned through an internship.
A great example of this is social media marketing (SMM). If you don’t have the luxury of working to learn about SMM, take advantage of free resources and articles to learn the tools you might learn through an internship. There are a lot of great articles on how to build content and utilize SMM platforms out there. You just need to find the right articles to benefit you.
Highlight Class Projects
If you don’t have time to take on a job or internship, highlighting class projects will help you beef up your resume. Noting any leadership roles within group projects will also help illuminate your abilities and add value to your resume. When you’re in school, your education is what you want to highlight. Did you take on any extracurricular projects? Did you write a paper or article that got recognition? Did you give any presentations to the class? These are all resume worthy projects that you can fall back on if you don’t have jobs or internships to include.
Don’t Forget About Volunteer Work
A recent government study found that volunteering is associated with 27% higher odds of employment. While you may not be working for profit, volunteer work adds to your value as a citizen and a potential employee. It shows that you’re active in your community, that you’re motivated to help others, and that you aren’t afraid to work towards a larger goal. Don’t have volunteer work to include? Start volunteering for a local charity or at local businesses/community centers, and you can add that onto your resume.
Look For Jobs That Can Be Tied To Your Desired Career
If you can take on a job, remember that you can find a job that relates to your career. This takes a bit of research, but there are a lot of job sites that are geared toward specific careers, making it easy for you to apply to jobs that would boost your resume. (i.e. Dice.com for tech and IT jobs) If there doesn’t seem to be a job site dedicated to the career of your dreams, you’ll have to get creative. The number one issue people have when writing a resume is that they don’t show how the jobs and skills they have relate to the job their applying for. A lot of times, you have be creative in how you highlight the skills you’ve obtained so that they correlate with the job you’re applying to.
For instance, if you want to be in journalism but aren’t able to afford taking an internship at a media powerhouse, try to find paying jobs in places like publishing companies, universities, or even a library. This might sound odd, but most places have some sort of a newsletter or blog which needs to be written, and if you can observe or get involved with it, you can utilize it on your resume as journalism experience. Even if you’re working as an administrative assistant at a company that interests you/aligns with your career goals, you’ll be able to observe and soak up a lot of information that will help you later.
Don’t Psych Yourself Out
We’ve all been there. Don’t compare yourself to others, because all it will do is psych you out. The most important thing is to remember that you’re making a huge accomplishment and taking on a lot of responsibility by going to school. This not only shows that you are motivated to educate yourself, but it shows your strength and reliability. When in doubt, remember that employers want to hire someone who can work hard and get things done. Regardless of how many internships someone has, if they aren’t someone who is reliable and works hard to meet goals and deadlines, they aren’t worth hiring.
When writing your resume, make sure you highlight your achievements in each job or project. Even if your job is unrelated, highlight what you’ve accomplished there. If you’re working in a restaurant, highlight the fact that you consistently provide exceptional customer service, handle customer disputes, and maintain a professional demeanor at all times. Many people have had to work through school to pay the bills, so most hiring managers understand and respect this.
Reach Out To Your Professors
If you’re in a class that you love, or one you view to be beneficial to your career, get involved. Talk to the professor and explain that you’re really interested in the subject, and would love to get involved in any projects or opportunities that come up. Most professors value enthusiasm, and many have paid positions available for students who inquire about it. If you’re lucky enough to secure one of those paid positions, you’ll get the best of both worlds, (money and experience) but even if you simply get involved in class projects as a group leader, or extra curricular activities, that gives you industry related experience to highlight on your resume.
When writing a resume as a student, the more industry related experience you can highlight, the better, so take advantage of what’s in front of you. This goes back to the first section about utilizing free resources. Colleges offer a lot of resources in career development and education, so reach out and see what they have to offer.