Adding your summer experience to your resume!
Hello all!
I hope you all had relaxing and fulfilling summers! Life at WPI has hit its stride, and with just over two weeks down, you may be feeling like you’ve been back in Worcester for months already. While this is completely normal, it may make you feel better to take a trip down memory lane… and reflect on your summer work experience!
Now is the best time of year to update your resume – not only are your memories of what you accomplished this past summer freshest in your mind, but also, the fall hiring season is fast approaching! Companies are beginning their next hiring cycle, and the WPI Fall Career fair is Wednesday, September 20, from 12-4pm in the Sports and Recreation Center. To make sure you are prepared and polished, updating your resume now could save you a lot of stress over the next few weeks.
When adding any summer work or research experience to your resume, you want to think of what you specifically did and what results you achieved. Use strong action verbs in your description, and make sure those verbs reflect those used in any job posting to which you may be applying. You can find more help with this, and even a list of strong action verbs, on the CDC’s Tipsheets page.
When I was adding my summer internship to my resume, I found it helpful to browse job postings for positions to which I want to apply. Asking myself, “What experiences and skills are they looking for, and how many of those do I bring to the table?” made me realize that the seemingly insignificant skills I picked up this summer were, in fact, heavily applicable to the jobs I want. This assisted me in deciding what to highlight when describing my experience.
After you update your resume, be sure to read it over for any spelling or grammar errors, and then get it checked at the CDC’s drop-in hours (weekdays 10am-4pm) to ensure you are marketing yourself to your highest capacity!
Best of luck,
Lauren
(While you’re thinking about it, how about you open up your resume and refresh it now?)
Wow this was very helpful and informative. Thanks Lauren!