No Resume? No Interview Experience? No Problem! Part One
This time of year, a lot of young people will be getting their exam results and considering entering the workplace. Similarly, a lot of you will be graduating as teachers and nurses and embarking on your first proper jobs in your chosen profession. One thing you may not have got round to doing just yet is your first resume, let alone consider what an interview will entail!
Whether you’re leaving school or graduating, the fact is it really doesn’t matter where you fall on the spectrum, as long as your resume captures the employer’s interest and makes a great first impression with substantiated content in the 15 seconds they spend reviewing it (don’t worry about the 15-second thing – we have that covered). Whether you’re a school-leaver with a few afternoon or weekend jobs under your belt or a graduate with some placement/practicum experience – your cover letter should reflect your passion for your intended career.
Your resume’s educational profile should be leveraged to the fore to show that you have completed – or about to complete – your degree or diploma and are ready to enter the workplace. Highlight your academic achievements by providing some detail about your course major, key subjects and any good results or substantial projects you completed. If your degree is not yet complete, but you have an expected graduation date – include that. Do not include your transcript unless asked to do so.
But beyond your educational qualifications and work practice whilst studying, the prospective employer will want to know about you as an individual – what are your core strengths and beliefs. Are you a good communicator? Can you work well unsupervised or within the structure of a team? Are you flexible to changing demands? Do you possess critical thinking skills that enable you to use your initiative under pressure? These qualities are all essential elements to be weighed up and your academic record. These are your soft skills, and HR departments are used to reading and assessing resumes from graduates with limited practical experience, so you can really go to town here.
If you have worked through your studies, this is an important consideration in and of itself – sometimes more so than the actual work you have done, as it demonstrates a commitment to your chosen field in that you have studied and supported yourself to achieve your qualification. As to the actual work – unless it’s relevant to the role or industry, just summarise it in one or two lines.
As someone about to embark on your career, you cannot underestimate the importance of your first resume. For graduates especially, you are competing in a huge field to be noticed, and it could be a very level playing field. You need an edge to be noticed. We always say a resume does not exist to get you a job; it exists to get you an interview (more on that later!), so it has to be a document that is a showcase for brand-you, and you only get one shot!
You may have the skills to craft this document yourself, and we’d always encourage you to do so as you know your own skills and your chosen profession better than anyone else. But Select Resumes has many years of successful experience leveraging graduates onto interview panels with a cover letter and resume that perfectly pitches the individual’s achievements and qualities. Before we even speak to you, we do a deep dive into your academic and work history to date via a form you fill in and any supporting documentation you may possess. This is even before we conduct our informal but detailed phone consult with you to finesse the details. You get to choose from one of our hundreds of exclusive designs that will bring the finishing touch to a document that could be one of the life-changing you will ever own.
But once you get onto that interview shortlist, there’s still one more hurdle to jump. In Part Two, we will give you some inside knowledge of how to handle your first proper interview with style.
