Resume 101

By Maura Gergerich, Toppel Peer Advisor

So you have all these experiences and now you need to put them on paper to get yourself a job. Most employers will see your resume before they see you so it’s crucial that that piece of paper puts your best foot forward. The average time an employer looks at each resume is eight seconds; that’s how much time you have to really impress them with the skills you have to offer. Therefore, your resume must be efficient as well as thorough to get the employer to give it a closer look.

CONTACT INFO:

The required components of every resume are your name, contact information, and education. Your name should be the biggest writing on the paper. You should include your full name (all caps and bold is usually a good idea) and it should be located at the top of the page. Contact information should be beneath that. List a professional email address (make sure it’s not the embarrassing username you made when you were twelve) telephone number (with an appropriate voice message in case an employer makes a call while you are unavailable) and your address. If you have a permanent and current address (i.e. college students) list both, and if you have a personal website or LinkedIn list that too. 

EDUCATION:

When listing education only put the school in which you earned your degree (if you’re a transfer student only list the school you switched to.) It should be listed with the school’s full name, city and state, full degree title, and graduation date. Do not put “expected graduation” as this implies that there may be a reason that you wouldn’t graduate at this time. The month and year is all that is necessary for the employer. This is also the section where you would put your study abroad experience, but not high school information. General rule of thumb is that after your freshmen year of college, anything from high school should be taken off. Also, a GPA of 3.0 or higher should be listed.

EXPERIENCE:

This section is not limited to paid experience. Volunteer activities and leadership positions are important too. Your list should be in reverse chronological order and be sure to include the company/organization, city, state, position, and date of employment (month and year of starting and ending date.) Each experience should also include a brief list of responsibilities (usually bulleted.) Your statements always start with an action verb and state what you did, using what skills, to achieve what result. It also helps to make quantitative statements (ex. Tutored fifteen students weekly…) when you can. This is a great section to utilize your thesaurus as well to avoid seeming repetitive.

SKILLS:

This section is for anything specialized that may or may not have been mentioned in the experience section. Any computer programs you know how to use should be listed and also languages. Remember to be specific! Don’t simply list Microsoft office; each program should be listed separately. With languages, make sure to specify your competency (fluent, proficient, and conversational.) Do NOT exaggerate! You don’t want to be put in a position where you are under qualified.

OPTIONAL COMPONENTS:

After all of the basic resume info there are still many options of what to include on a resume. An objective statement can be added at the top to indicate what type of work or position you are seeking. You can impress employers by adding an honors/awards section (which would include scholarships.) There is also a possibility of adding a significant courses section. This is more geared toward finding a position in a desired area even if you don’t have specific work experience in that field. It can include things such as class projects to show employers specialized skills you have developed.

It seems like such a simple piece of paper, but your resume truly says a lot about you. Don’t feel obligated to include every single detail of your working life if you don’t feel it is important. Make sure, however, that you have one or two full pages, but try to avoid having a few lines hanging onto the next page. And most importantly keep in mind that whenever you have doubts you can always come to Toppel for a resume critique!

Quick Start the Spring Semester

By Oleg Ignatenko

The spring semester is in full swing and what better way to fully maximize your time and make something out of it than by getting involved and attending the many Toppel Career Center events that will occur throughout the upcoming months.

Many of you may have attended the Spring Kick Off at The Rock and got a chance to be introduced to Toppel, win a prize or get a slice of pizza.  For those of you who didn't, don't stress out because there will be plenty of other events where you will be able to get involved.

Lets focus on the next big event not to miss on February 6th - the EPIC Program (Employer Practice Interview & Critique).  During this event students will get an opportunity to receive a mock interview as well as get their resumes critiqued by various employers and it is a great way to prepare for the upcoming Career Expo.  Students will get the experience of being able to talk to the employer about their resume and find out what the employer will be looking for on certain resumes. During the mock interview appointment, the employer will conduct the interview and afterwards critique the student and allow them to ask any questions they might have on what they can do to improve.

Is your resume up to date, do you want to improve it or just create a brand new one and you don't know what to do?  Then make sure you come to RESUMANIA!  This is the biggest resume event we have all semester.  Students will have the opportunity to meet with peer advisers, members of the staff or the graduate assistants on a walk-in basis who will be ready to help in an instant with any questions about resumes.  

Moving on to the next event and it is the one you absolutely do not want to miss.  Get ready for the Career Expo!  This is the single biggest event that is sponsored through the Toppel Career Center.  This year there will be over 100 various employers looking to speak to bright and ambitious students with various aspirations in hopes of finding a good candidate for their company.  This event is specifically designed to expose University of Miami students to different career paths and allow them to network with professionals. Students will have a chance to meet with representatives from various companies and ask questions about the company and inquire what type of students they are looking for as well as internship, development, and other opportunities.  Don't forget to dress in business professional attire and bring plenty of resumes.  Career Expo is Wednesday, February 13 from 3:00-7:00 p.m. in the Herbert Wellness Center.

If you are not sure what to wear to the Career Expo, you can check out the How to Dress for A Career Expo blog by our star peer adviser Robert Vanisko.

Don't forget to check out the rest of the events and visit us at the Toppel Career Center! 
You can our calendar here.

How to Take Advantage of Toppel during your Freshman Year

By: Constanza Schubert, Toppel Ambassador

Are you a freshman? Or when you were one, did you think that all this career development stuff should be done later down the road? False! As cliché as it may sound, it is never too late for you to attend Toppel events! The career expo can be useful to any student, regardless of major or year. I attended the Fall Career Expo as a freshman, and I learned that it actually requires plenty of preparation.  It was a great opportunity for me to get a practice round, so that when I attend at a more crucial point, I am prepared and know exactly what to expect. During my first semester, I attended several workshops and programs from Toppel, and I will recommend which are the most crucial ones for incoming freshmen:

Freshmen and Sophomore Orientation: This workshop is the first one a freshman should go to, because it’s like Toppel 101; it informs students on everything that Toppel offers, including career assessments, Toppel workshops & expos, and how one should go about looking for an internship (no, it’s not too early for you to start searching!) on the HireACane website. This workshop is essential, because you don’t want to become a junior that has never heard of Toppel and doesn’t know the first thing about searching for internships.

Effective Resume and Cover Letter Writing: I cannot stress how important this workshop is. There is actually plenty information that the Toppel staff covers that is not as “common sense” as you’d expect. At the workshop, you receive a detailed Resume writing guide that includes resume templates that are according to industry. Use this guide as you prepare to submit your resume on HireACane.com. This way, you will be able to get your resume approved quicker.
Note: Several Toppel events require that you have submitted your resume on HireACane. Do it as soon as possible to avoid any complications. Click here to see a previous blog post about writing a resume: Jam Your Way to a Perfect Resume.

EPIC Program (Employer Practice Interview and Critique): This was by far my favorite program from the ones I attended. Prior to the Career Expo, Toppel hosts EPIC, a program where they bring in employers to conduct mock interviews. When you RSVP, you pick the company of your choice and can pick whether you want a mock interview or have your resume critiqued. I had a mock interview with Northwestern Mutual, and at the end the employer gave me extremely helpful feedback. This is one of the best ways to prepare for the Career Expo, or to just enhance your interviewing skills.

Diversity Etiquette Dinner: This is one of the most unique events that Toppel puts together, in conjunction with the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs. This year’s dinner occurred on Monday, November 5^th.  When you RSVP, you get to choose with which employer you want to sit, and there is a wide variety, from a Miller School of Medicine table to a Pre-law table. The host covers all the specific etiquette rules one must know while having dinner in a professional setting, and students get to ask questions of their own while eating a delicious full course meal (for free!). Watch a quick video of this event.

All of the events listed above, with the exception of the etiquette dinner, will also occur during Spring semester. Get started now, for it will benefit you later!