As a tech executive, I’m frequently asked by soon-to-be college graduates about how to make their resumes stand out. Crafting your first resume is crucial, and having a strong foundation ensures that both its format and content can evolve effectively over time.
First, if you are going into an IT career and you’ve done an internship, that’s a big plus. Second, if you’ve attended on campus career fairs and met big companies who are doing campus recruiting, you’ll have received some good exposure to what companies are looking for in talent. If you have not done these things let me help with some thoughts.
Adapt your resume.
For your technology major, professors often discuss how your skills apply to industry. Research key companies and explore their main web pages. Uncover their initiatives to gain insight. When applying for jobs, carefully read the job description and adapt your resume accordingly. Be honest to avoid issues during interviews. Look for jobs that align with your education, emphasizing the projects and specific skills you learned on campus to compensate for lack of industry experience.
Factor in soft skills.
Once you have the technical part of your resume worked up, lace in the soft skills. Soft skills are the communication, presentation and people management skills that technical people tend not to be the best at.
Yes, understood, you want a technical job. However, many employers are looking for well-rounded technology professionals. If you can emphasize and prove that you have outstanding communication skills, it’ll put you ahead of many of your peers who are relying on their technical skills alone. Also, if you have aspirations to lead and make your way up the executive ladder, having the soft skills are going to be a must.
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