When applying for a job, internship, or even college admission, an important step in the process is creating and submitting a resume. Resumes are one of the first things a potential employer will look at, and it’s crucial that people are able to sell themselves with information that is sometimes just one page.
The average time employers spend reading a resume and monitoring management was six to seven seconds in 2022. This means that the way a resume looks at first glance is critical to its success.
Most people know what a resume is and what they might need the document for, but many have never been taught how to write a resume properly and may struggle to create a resume that looks professional.
Some also don’t know what the difference is between a resume and a resume (CV) or how to write a cover letter and what each of them requires.
A resume shows a full history of your academic credentials and can be much longer than a resume, which is usually just a summary of your skills and qualifications for a specific position. Resumes are often used in academic jobs and submissions, while resumes can be used in any industry.
Students are often not taught about the factors that drive the application process, such as: B. How CVs need to be personalized for each specific job and tailored to the required soft skills as applicant tracking software or the robots that filter CVs eliminate 75% of applicants.
There are many small things that make a big impact on how a resume or cover letter looks. According to a TeamStage article, “According to resume statistics, 76% of resumes are ignored when candidates have an unprofessional email address.” Additionally, those who include a photo on their resume have an 88% rejection rate.
[A completed resume sits on a laptop.]
Photo courtesy of Joao Ferrao
The Boise State University website offers resume writing resources including virtual workshops on resume strategies and cover letters, a short video on how to align your resume, and a complete resume guide with everything someone needs to write a complete resume.
These resources are incredibly helpful and detailed, but for someone to access this information, they would have to search for it specifically. While this information is not difficult to access, students may forget that the university’s website is a resource.
A high school Honors class is offered (Honors 390) to help juniors and seniors develop their writing and speaking skills for graduate school or future careers. This can be taken as a week-long workshop or as a seven-week online course, but is only offered to Honors College students.
The resume and cover letter writing information offered to students is very helpful but is not well promoted. Boise State University could push for more publicity and an effort to offer these resources directly to students, perhaps in the form of an email, to urge students to interact with the material.
In my opinion, the curriculum vitae should be introduced to young adults while they are still in high school so that they have a base that they can expand on as they gain experience. Many students work during high school and need multiple jobs to fund their way through college. Some of these high school graduates need this information to apply to colleges and scholarships.
However, this information is sometimes not conveyed at all, and I believe it would be beneficial to introduce students to the process of writing a resume and cover letter in their freshman year after entering college.
Since I was 16 I have been working with my mother’s help and maintaining a resume. Some students have the option of not working until they graduate, and other students may not have parent figures to help them create an organized resume.
This instruction could be provided by adding to the syllabus of the English 101 or 102, COMM101 or other entry level compulsory course. This way the information is conveyed safely to the students and makes them aware of what is expected of them in the workforce.
