When hiring managers are looking for candidates who would fit the job description, they are usually focused on one main aspect of the resume: experience. That’s an unfortunate fact for students, since they lack the experience that would impress an employer.
Alison Evans, a resume expert and career advisor at Careers Booster, explains why resume writing is so difficult for students: “They don’t get proper education and tips on resume writing. Sure, they have support from career development centers, but the advice they get is outdated, so they end up creating resumes that don’t work. To complicate things even further, most students lack clarity and precision in their writing – the aspects that are necessary for an impressive resume. They tend to maintain the complex academic style their professors want to see in essays. It’s no wonder why over 60% of our clients are students.”
Evans has a point. Students face great challenges regarding resume writing, so it’s time to help them make a difference. There are 5 main problems they encounter throughout the process. In the continuation, we’ll focus on those problems, and we’ll provide effective solutions to them.
Challenge 1: the experience section
It’s simple: they don’t have enough experience related to the position they apply for, so they don’t know how to handle this part of the resume. In some cases, hiring managers get resumes that skip this section, and that’s the worst solution you could think of. A student may suppose that they don’t have any experience, but that’s hardly the case.
The solution: a student has been an intern throughout their studies, they already have what to write in the experience section. Internships, volunteering, and other kinds of unpaid work fit well into the resume, especially when accompanied with a list of references. Students who don’t have such experience should think about gaining some. Many reputable companies are willing to accept interns, so there’s no excuse about leaving this section empty.
Challenge 2: spelling and grammar mistakes
When someone has no experience in resume writing, they are tempted to wrap up the process as quickly as possible. The final result is an incomplete resume with several spelling/grammar mistakes, which make the candidate appear unprofessional. The same problem applies to the cover letters.
The solution: Edit, edit, edit! The first draft needs to go through a thorough process of editing and proofreading before it’s ready for submission. It’s a bad idea to write and edit a resume at night, since the brain is overwhelmed with all bits of information it processed throughout the day. Grammarly knows it best: “Early birds make fewer spelling, grammar, and punctuation mistakes than night owls.” The right time to focus on the resume writing and editing process is early in the morning, when the mind is fresh and the distractions are minimal.
“Writing mistakes detract from a strong first impression. Grammarly found that job seekers make 4-6 grammar, spelling, and punctuation mistakes in their résumés. Job seekers should proofread carefully to be sure they use correct grammar and punctuation, and to avoid contextual spelling errors (like “they’re” instead of “their").” - Brad Hoover, CEO at Grammarly.
During the editing process, students should pay attention to an important factor: keywords. Hiring managers have digital databases of applicants’ resumes, so they naturally use keywords to search for the right candidates. Over 90% of resumes are searched for job-specific keywords, so all job hunters should focus on optimizing their resumes for such search.
Challenge 3: lack of confidence
When students are intrigued to apply for a particular position, they may feel they lack the needed qualifications. If, for example, a student is working towards a degree in mathematics, they feel like they must focus on positions for scientists or math teachers. If they are passionate marketing or economics, they don’t have the needed confidence to hunt for such positions. Their lack of enthusiasm reflects all over the resume.
The solution: Richie Norton, author of Resumes Are Dead and What to Do About It, has a simple, but effective advice for job hunters: “Whatever you do, don’t wait to start those dreams.” When students are interested in a particular position, they can surely think of some qualifications that make them suitable for it. Maybe they have taken relevant courses, or they can brag with impressive achievements or awards related to the industry.
When there’s lack of experience, a blog can make up for it. A successful blog can present a student as an expert in the niche, although their education is focused on another area of study. Nick Denton, a British Internet entrepreneur, explains how important blogging is from an employer’s perspective: “Forget about someone’s resume or how they present themselves at a party. Can they blog or not? The blog doesn’t lie.”
Challenge 4: irrelevant information
The cheerleading experience during college might have been fun, but it’s not something you would include in a resume when applying for a position in a laboratory. Students often make a mistake thinking they should include every possible interest and experience in the resume.
The solution: Relevance! The focus should be on the hobbies that can be directly related to the open position. If the student was involved in the marketing campaigns for the college cheerleading club, they can include that experience when applying for a job in marketing.
Challenge 5: failure to customize the resumes
Job hunters often send the same resume to all positions they apply to. To make things even worse, they base that resume on a common template that simply lists the scarce experience and education they have gained.
The solution: Every single resume should be personalized in accordance with the position it’s intended for. The students should conduct research of the company’s projects and values, and they should adopt the language its representatives use when communicating with people on social media. Is it official or relaxed? The way the candidate crafts the resume should show they are the perfect fit into the company’s culture.
Bottom line is: there is no problem without a solution. Students don’t have the needed experience and self-confidence to become the masters of resume crafting, but few simple tricks can make up for it.