On October 16, during our monthly meeting, Teresa Balestreri, a worker from UMSL Career Services came to speak to us on how to create a great, job winning resume! I believe that resume writing skills are something most take for granted. When I was younger, and I imagine a lot of people do this, I would create a resume without putting much thought into it. Quickly writing about my extracurricular activities and my job history and it would go to my (hopefully) future employer. At that time I had the assumption that the resume was not particularly important. Sure, the resume was somewhat useful for getting an idea of who you are, but the interview was what really determined everything, right? Wrong!
One cannot really give more importance to the interview without underestimating just how much weight the resume holds. The resume is like the interview before the interview. With it, your employer learns of your experiences; not just in previous places of employment, but in life. Through the resume one learns much; if it is sloppy and hastily written, then one can tell that most likely you are not one to notice details and that you may not be the most dedicated worker.
Mrs. Balestreri taught about all of the nuances that go into writing a proper resume. For instance she explained that wording is very important. If you repeat the same group of words in your resume multiple times then the reader may get bored. Having variety in your resume is of the utmost importance as it is one thing that can help you differentiate yourself from the many other resumes that the employer most likely has to read.
During the meeting Amanda pulled some of us out to take head shots! Having a picture on, say, your profile picture on LinkedIn can separate you from the masses of blank profiles that cover every inch of the website. By taking that picture, I took one more step towards making myself look more appealing to potential employers!
Though I could not stay for the entire meeting, I am glad that I was able to come.
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