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CAREER FAIR FEBRUARY 10, 2020 |
NORTHERNIOWAN.COM
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VOLUME 116, ISSUE 34
The Northern Iowan’s
SPRING 2020 CAREER FAIR GUIDE
Building a resume to help the job search NI ARCHIVES
This past Wednesday, UNI hosted Career Readiness Day in Rod Library. The event was designed to assist students as they work to become job ready. Matt Nuese, associate director of Career Services, had some suggestions for the best way to build a resume. According to Nuese, employers want to see that students have been successful in school, which can be demonstrated in multiple ways. “One aspect is the GPA, and the other aspect is what you studied,” Nuese said. “But more importantly than that, employers want to see whether or not you are using what you learned in the classroom in the work world, volunteer world or in student activities.” A common mistake some students make is to focus too much on listing the tasks they performed and not enough on the skills they gained. “On your resume, your
education is two lines. The rest of the page is why they hire you,” Nuese said. “You need to list the tasks you did, how you did it, and how it will help the profession you are going into.” In regards to the design of a resume, one page is recommended, unless the student is in a “helping field,” which includes professions such as social work or teaching. In this case, the student would create a two page resume. Nuese suggests using a clean font, such as Calibri or Ariel, between 10 and 12 points. “You should always keep a margin because there should be a balance of white space and text,” Nuese advised. “You can’t have every single inch of paper filled, but it also can’t look empty. There has to be a balance.” When arranging a resume, Nuese suggests starting by listing the most prominent part of their training, which is their education. “From there, students should list their experiences, then evidence of leadership,
and other relevant activities, as well as their skills,” said Nuese. However, this structure is not set in stone. “If the student has exceptional experiences, for example, they’ve done the job already, then this might move their experience above their education,” Nuese stated.
The greatest advice Nuese had to offer students was to have other people look at their resumes before submitting it to employers. He also encourages students to put themselves out there despite the risk of rejection. “Overall: do something.” Nuese said. “You have to put yourself out there and prepare to be rejected. If you
apply for 10 jobs, you’ll get an invitation to interview for maybe two or three of them. You have to play the numbers game, so do something.” UNI Career Services offer regular outreach efforts to students looking to improve their resumes. See RESUME, page 7