Finishing a summer internship or job is a huge accomplishment and definitely something you want to show on your résumé! You’ve finally gotten some real-world-experience and even better, it is probably directly related to your future career goals. So, not only do you want to include it on your résumé, but you probably want to make it stand out to an employer.
Take some time during the slower first few weeks of classes and update your résumé! You’ll be thanking yourself when midterms and job applications are happening all at once.
- The first thing to do when adding a new experience is to choose the section it might go under. If you have other experiences that are directly related to your future career goals, you may want to put your summer experience in a “related experience” section.
- This could include other internships and jobs related to your major, but can also include relevant academic projects and even clubs!
- You can even make that section title more tailored by giving it an industry specific title. For example, as a political science major who wants to work in non-profits, I might title this section “Non-profit experience”
- After choosing the right section, make sure to format the heading for your new experience so that it is consistent with the rest of your document.
- You should always include the organization name, your position, the location, and the dates you were working
- Chances are you did a lot of great things and developed many valuable skills throughout your internship or position. In order to showcase these transferable skills, you should include bullet points.
- Each bullet point should start with a strong action verb
- Since you have completed your experience, bullet points should be in past tense
- Each bullet should explain not only what you did or a task you completed, but also how and why you did it
- Example: Engaged in small group collaborations to advance knowledge on current issues through service projects and academic research
- Engaged is a strong action verb
- “Engaged in small group collaborations” is what I did
- “To advance knowledge on current issues” is why I did it
- “Through service projects and academic research” is how I did it
- Example: Engaged in small group collaborations to advance knowledge on current issues through service projects and academic research
- After you have taken the time to update your résumé yourself, it is a good idea to come to our office for a résumé critique. We offer those Monday through Friday from 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM on a walk-in basis.
It is always important to update your résumé before applying for a new position, but keeping your résumé consistently updated means you’ll always be prepared for upcoming opportunities.
