Published on Apr 07, 2021
Spring weather got you in a cleaning mood? Freshen up with this checklist!
Dust Off Your Resume
When’s the last time you updated your resume? Might be a good idea to give it a quick look over and make sure it includes:
- Your current GPA. Change a major or add a minor or certificate? Be sure to add that key information!
- Clubs and organizations with correct dates and accurate roles (e.g., Member, Treasurer, etc.)
- List relevant internships, part-time jobs and work experiences. (Hint: Some older or less career-related jobs may not need to be included!) And make sure the descriptions are current and reflect all of your responsibilities and acquired skills.
- Highlight recent service or volunteer work. Employers like to see well-rounded candidates that are invested in their campus and local communities.
- New honors or recognition? Make sure employers know about those awards and accomplishments!
Review Your Handshake Profile
If you have a Handshake account (and we recommend that all students have one) take a close look at your profile. Students tend to upload a new resume but don’t remember to refresh their profile. You can also build your profile from your resume! Just go to your profile and select “Build your Profile faster” and select a resume! Here are some sections to make sure you don’t overlook:
- Projects: Highlight school and work projects adding descriptions and links to examples of your work.
- Skills: Add and updated featured skill sets and consider bth soft skills (teamwork, leadership) and hard skills (Adobe Creative, SPSS, etc.)
- Profile Status: if you are actively looking for a job, make sure your profile is public to employers!
Handshake evaluates your profile and gives it a percentage of completion – do your best to get that number as close to 100% as possible!
Scrub Your Social Media and Make It Professional
Think of everything on your social media as a part of your job application – because employers will be looking them over! Whether you are being intentional or not, you are creating a personal brand and communicating your interests and values to others. Here are some resources that can make sure you have a polished and professional presence:
- Submit your profile photos to photofeeler for unbiased feedback
- Use apps like QSearch or SimpleWash to find and clean up past posts.
- Use sites like BackTweets.com, TweetDelete.com, and TweetEraser.com (free version) to remove negative posts.
Organize Computer and Job Search Files
In the quest to find that summer internship or full-time job, sometimes job seekers focus just on submitting applications and not so much on tracking their applications or following up with employers. Organization is critical and will help you feel stressed about your progress. Here are some tips:
- Create a job application spreadsheet or doc with job title, company name, contacts, emails, date applied, status and notes and follow-up.
- Set up job alerts on sites like Handshake, Indeed and other job boards so you’ll be notified when a job is posted that matches your interests. You can put in search criteria like location, job type, industry, etc. to make sure you are being informed about new opportunities and apply before others!
- See if some of your favorite search sites like CareerBuilder or LinkedIn have built-in tools to help you track applications.
- If you tend to do a lot on your hone consider apps to help you manage your job search. See this list for some suggestions of free apps!
- Lastly, moderate the number of applications you send. Focus on quantity and not quality. In other words, spend your time wisely applying to jobs that are well-suited to you and that you are qualified to do. With less applications in the universe you can target your energy on employer follow-up and networking, improving your chances of success!