Having the work ethic and skills to succeed in your field is important to secure that dream job, but looking good on paper is the first step in catching the employer’s eye.
Former student May Soliman was unsure about her future occupational outlooks when she was an undergraduate student prior to graduating last December.
In 2006, she switched into her third major [supply chain management] during her junior year and had no idea if this were to be her last one.
After going to a Career Center sponsored event, her occupational stock rose thanks in part to them.
Soliman was accepted into an internship and a co-op and eventually landed a job with Whirlpool. All these opportunities were possible for Soliman due to her forming a successful resume through the help of the employees at the Career Center.
“If I didn’t utilize [the Career Center] and their knowledge, I would have struggled to get an internship,” Soliman said.
The Career Center, located in the Saddlemire Student Services Building in Conklin, helps students formulate their resumes in order to prepare them for their future occupational paths and life after college.
While resumes are not the Career Center’s only area of expertise, they could be the most important in order to get an employer to notice the student applicant.
“What they are trying to look for is a snapshot of knowledge, ability and potential neatly organized on one or two pieces of paper,” Senior Associate Director of the Career Center Michelle Simmons said of what employers are looking for in a student’s resume.
For a student to have a successful resume, Simmons suggests proper word choice, listing necessary skills pertaining to the job, how a student spent their time during school [through classes taken to volunteer work] and list everything important an employer would want to see.
As time goes on, the student should always be involved with something geared toward their occupation, constantly building experience to gain more knowledge on the field Simmons said.
“A resume is like a live document,” she said. “It’s never finished due to your ongoing experiences.”
Constantly updating and adding new experiences to a resume can help when it is time to find a job like in Soliman’s case.
“The Career Center will be able to help and direct you to make your resume in a way that employers like to see,” Soliman said.
And employers do like to see students gaining more experience as they continue their short, but valuable college careers.
“The resume is indicative of everything you have accomplished,” said James C. Wagers, who is a recruiter and trainer for Kraft Foods at their Cincinnati regional offices.
Basing what a person can do off of their resumes, Wagers has to decide who he should hire. With a strong resume, it can increasingly help someone’s chances over one lacking the proper tools making it successful.
“The resume is the key to the door of any organization,” Wagers said.
To help building a resume, the Career center has their “B!G Job Search Guide” which has many examples of different kinds of resumes, along with tips on how to prepare a student for their future regarding occupations. The book is available at the Career Center, or on their website through MyBGSU.
While the Career Center might not be taken advantage of by everyone on campus, Simmons and her co-workers are there to help students, no matter what their class rank is, if they have had no experience with internships and co-ops or just looking for a sense of direction.
“The programs and services we have go beyond resumes,” Simmons said referring to the Career Center’s facilities.
While a resume is essential to get the student’s name out into the work force, it is not the only part to land them a potential job.
“We can identify students through a process of identifying their skills and interests.”
