Entry Level Resume
So, you are or soon will be a new college graduate looking for that first full-time job. Yes, you need a resume! It’s the best way to market yourself to prospective employers even though you may have little or no job experience.
How do you create your first resume?
There are two main approaches. The approach you take will depend on your college major, your part-time work experience while in high school and college and on the competencies you’ve developed.
Approach #1—College Major Leads to A Specific Job Area
Was your major in an area that is easily transferable to the job market?
Did you major in education? Computers? Marketing? Finance?
These and similar majors lead to somewhat easily definable jobs and a clear career path:
Education—an elementary school teaching job.
Computers—a programming or systems analyst job
Marketing—an account manager job at a marketing firm or a corporate communications job.
Finance—a job with a bank or in the financial department of a corporation.
Why is this important? Because:
You can state a specific objective for your job search.
You have a good idea of which employers will be interested in your resume.
Click here to see a recent grad’s resume. A new window will open, Just click on the X to return to this page
Note that this recent grad had part-time jobs that fit in with her goal in graphic design. The job with UCSD was volunteer, not paid, but it counts toward her work experience. Note also how she highlights her Achievements first—this is what employers want to see, but as a recent graduate you might also start with Education.
Particularly because she is in a creative field, Jane Jobseeker may also want to create an ePortfolio. Using an ePortfolio, she can show examples of the work that she did as an intern. If her material is good, this would be a great way to impress possible employers.