It’s not uncommon for a business to ask for prospective employees’ résumés during the initial hiring call. Building a powerful and persuasive résumé is absolutely essential to surviving past this first qualifying round, and Portland State’s Career Center has a wealth of information and resources to help students develop a strong résumé.
It’s not uncommon for a business to ask for prospective employees’ résumés during the initial hiring call. Building a powerful and persuasive résumé is absolutely essential to surviving past this first qualifying round, and Portland State’s Career Center has a wealth of information and resources to help students develop a strong résumé.
The process of developing a well-founded résumé becomes vitally important in college, as students aim to earn all of the proper qualifications needed to stand out from the crowd post-graduation. In recent years, businesses have coveted recent higher education graduates for positions due to their youth, potential and enthusiasm. However, new studies have shown that, thanks to the current state of the economy, even this usually targeted demographic is facing a steep challenge in the job market.
A 2011 study by the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University revealed that 56 percent of students who graduated from college in 2010 had found jobs within a year, as compared to the much higher rate of 90 percent among 2007 graduates. Additionally, an alarming trend rising within the workforce is that of recent college graduates finding themselves mired in a state of underemployment. The same study concluded that approximately half of those graduates from 2010 were employed in a position that called for a college education.
Higher demand coupled with fewer jobs makes it more important than ever for college students to make themselves more attractive to employers upon graduation. The PSU Career Center, among other things, offers students valuable advice when it comes to résumé building.
Gregory Flores, associate director of the Career Center, said the center offers a variety of resources for students, including materials related to job searches and ways in which students can develop skills needed in today’s workforce.
“We currently have over 100 internships posted in our jobs database. We have sample résumés and cover letters on our website,” said Flores. “We hold monthly workshops on writing résumés and cover letters, interviewing skills, choosing a career and finding an internship.”
Flores explained that the mere ability to adeptly produce a decent résumé shows good writing skills and can go a long way with a prospective employer. He stressed the importance of the quality of résumés from a technical perspective and urged students to make their résumés visually appealing and to use consistent formatting. He also encouraged them to read and proofread their résumés several times before submitting them.
While Flores did emphasize the importance of producing a good technical résumé, he also made it clear that the information on the résumé needs to be strong as well. He touched on some potentially valuable avenues for students to pursue. “There is no substitute for hands-on experience, whether it is paid, unpaid, for-credit or volunteer. The more real experience you have in your field, the better your chances of landing a job,” Flores said.
Flores quoted a 2011 survey from the National Associated of Colleges and Employers, stating that students who worked in at least one internship position during their college years were 20 percent more likely to be employed within six months of their graduation. Flores suggested that any students interested in an internship in their desired field should contact the Career Center’s Internship Adviser Jeanne Ellis for advice.
Additionally, Flores advised students to simply go to class in order to advance their future employment prospects, as the classroom experience will help them realize what they are interested in and what kind of work they wish to do after graduation.
“Classes are a great way to explore different disciplines and career fields,” Flores said. “Once you have decided on a field, you need to be able to articulate this knowledge and the skills gained from your education to be able to tell an employer how they will help you on the job.”
Building a strong résumé while attending school can be crucial to success in the job market, and there are hundreds of ways in which students can gain invaluable experience. “Experience comes from a variety of places and there are a number of things students can do while in school to improve their chances of getting the job they want,” Flores said.
More information about the Career Center’s events can be found at pdx.edu/careers.
Students in need of additional help in writing résumés can contact the PSU Writing Center at their on-campus location in Cramer Hall, Room 188. The center’s business hours are located online at writingcenter.pdx.edu/contact.php.
