It’s that time of year: this month thousands of students will toss their cap in the air and gleefully celebrate the end to their most recent academic journey. Graduating from college is a great achievement and certainly cause for celebration. But once the cap and gown have been hung up and the last strands of Pomp and Circumstance have faded, recent grads are faced with a harsh reality—they’ve just been released into one of the most competitive job markets in history, along with hundreds of thousands of their fellow grads competing for the same positions.
Finding your first professional position as a recent college grad can be incredibly daunting. Here at Corporate Speech Solutions, we help recent grads make the transition from college student to young professional as seamlessly as possible. Through professional communication training, we help recent grads develop the communication skills to create a professional, dynamic image that will give them an edge in the interview process and begin their professional journey on the right foot. Over the next few weeks, we’ll share some strategies to help you along your way on your job hunt.
Let’s begin with the resume. Your resume is your first chance to make a strong impression on a potential employer. Unfortunately, most employers receive so many resumes, many receive just a brief glance before being either passed on to the next level or tossed in the shredder. Make sure your resume passes the test with the following tips and strategies:
- Be Specific: When discussing previous experience, don’t simply describe your duties; include specific accomplishments. Chances are many applicants for the same position will have similar backgrounds; stand out by letting your future employer know why you were great at what you did. For example, if you increased the number of clients, streamlined a program, or helped create a new one, make sure that information is included.
- Avoid Meaningless Adjectives: Many applicants will use adjectives like “creative,” “disciplined,” or “innovative.” These words mean nothing unless you can back them up. If you’ve written your job experience including accomplishments as described above, those accomplishments will speak for themselves. Anyone can say they are an “effective marketer with great people skills.” Saying that you “increased the company’s client population by 43% during your employment” is far more impressive and concrete.
- Proofread…Again: This is your first chance to show your future employer you’re conscientious and intelligent. If your resume contains errors in spelling, grammar, and punctuation, it is almost certainly bound for the shredder without a second glance.
- Make It Easy to Read: Your resume should be visually pleasing. Make the format cleaner and easier to understand by using different formats (e.g. bold, italics, bullet-points, etc.). Length is important as well; a resume should typically be no more than one page. If yours is longer, go back and trim—you probably are including more information than necessary.
Stay tuned: next week we’ll provide more great tips on landing and acing the interview!
For information on the New York Based Speech and Accent Reduction services offered by Corporate Speech Solutions please Give us a call at 212-308-7725 or visit us on the web at www.corporatespeechsolutions.com
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