Resume Tips for Recent College Grads

The 2010 class of college graduates are facing one of the toughest job forces since the Great Depression. With so many seasoned professionals currently out of work, college grads have their work cut out trying to get their foot in the door of companies offering high-paying salaries.

But just because job seeking may be challenging doesn’t mean it’s impossible for college grads to find a job. By personally working with someone who offers useful help with writing resumes or taking advantage of some quality resume writing tips, recent grads could increase their chances of acquiring the job of their dreams. Here are some quick tips to consider…

Show Your Leadership Qualities

As a recent college grad, you may be tempted to focus on your GPA and the classes that you took to prove that you’re the right person for a job. But you have to expand your thinking to that of the candidates who are competing against you.

This means it is up to you to show you have leadership skills. You want to show what you were in charge of on your job, who you managed or even that you were the president of your organization. Unfortunately, in this work force, you don’t have the luxury of being just a college grad, you have to be a candidate who can lead.

Do Your Research

Many college graduates have never written a resume before and feel lucky to have completed one that looks halfway professional. But this is not the approach you want to take when creating yours. Instead, make yours comparable to candidates who have been writing theirs for years. One ways is by adding details to show that you’ve conducted extensive research on what the company needs in an employee.

Think about it; businesses want to bring in new employees who can actually make a difference in their organization, which means you need to prove that you can do just that. To send this message through your resume, you could list keywords that are industry and company specific and mention skills and accomplishments that match with the company’s needs. This way, the company should not be able to question whether you can complete its tasks.

Include Social Networking Profiles Only if They’re 100% Professional

Since you’re a recent college grad, hiring managers are expecting you to be a bit childish and reckless. Don’t prove them right. If you have a social networking profile, this offers a great way for employers to learn more about you.

But before including a link on your resume, make sure the profile is 100% professional. Remember, hiring managers conduct Google searches on candidates anyway to make sure they’re not bringing on dead weight. The last thing you want to do is add the damaging bait to your own fishing hook.

There’s no doubt that you could acquire a good job if you’re a recent college grad. By spending time creating a resume that looks like that of the professional candidates you’ll be up against, you could snag the job you want in no time.