the air

For many college students, winter break is now winding down and classes are to resume very soon. For some it may be as early as today and for others, they still have time. One of the tasks that almost every college student shares is to be able to secure an internship for the upcoming summer vacations. And there is no better time to start looking for a job than now.

Avoid These Popular Mistakes

I have seen students make dozens of mistakes in their resumes ranging from poor spelling to incoherent text to useless information. At first, it may sound like an easy task to write up a resume, but once you start, you’ll quickly realize that it is a very time consuming process. Moreover, you’ll probably end up going through several revisions before you settle on an acceptable version. To keep things short and simple, I’ve listed three major mistakes that I think most college students should avoid at any cost:

• Mistake #1: Using default templates in Word, Pages, etc.
• Mistake #2: Incorect speeling
• Mistake #3: Not organizing the information correctly

Stop Using Pre-Made Crap

If you’re just starting to make a new resume, do NOT use those templates that are built into popular word-processing packages. Why? Employers crave creativity and when they see the same type of resume over and over again, your information no longer stands out. The biggest rule of every resume is to get noticed. They only way to get noticed is to design your own layout and add your personal touches. Think of it like this, your resume is an art piece and you are designing it. Would you like your art to mimic someone else or would you rather want your art to be unique?

Use Corect Correct Spelling

Nothing turns off an employer than reading a resume filled with spelling errors. It’s hard to imagine students making spelling mistakes given the fact that most word processing software have built-in spell checking abilities. The only reason I can think of this mistake happening so often is because of negligence on the part of the student. I don’t want to sound superficial, but if you are applying for jobs in the United States, be sure you know how to spell the following words correctly:

• color NOT colour
• labor NOT labour

Organize Organize Organize

Another common mistake is when students fail to use proper organization. That includes chronological dates, standardized placement of information, etc. In other words, use patterns to organize your information. Your resume should read like a short story and it would be an absolute shame if you cannot keep the events and detail in order. Here’s what I mean:

The image above shows a properly aligned and proper format for each listing. See how nice it looks? Now let’s look at a total disaster:

This example is absolutely terrible. There is no defined organization that is easy to understand. In my opinion, this needs a quick rework and it will look great. The key is to remember to make sure there is an organized layout and formatting so that it makes your resume easy to read.

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