With the Career Fair only a few days away, many businesses and graduate schools are preparing for their trip to BYU-Idaho to recruit students. Anyone may interview with the employers and staff regardless of their major.
It is recommended that students polish up their resumes before the fair on Feb. 27 in the BYU-Idaho Center from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Here are three ways you can prepare:
Students can lose the interview entirely if the resume is full of errors; specifically with spelling and grammar. This would give the employer the impression there was a minimal effort put into preparing.
Christopher Mann, president and CEO of the Rexburg Area Chamber of Commerce, said the first thing that stands out is if it is written well.
“The first step would be that it looks good,” Mann said. “Make sure it is free of spelling errors.”
Other common mistakes include lacking specifics, using terms like “responsible for” rather than using action verbs and making the resume either too long or too short.
Listing previous job experiences and past work positions are important, but some employers differentiate experience and skills. They want to know if the person applying has the skills necessary to fill that position.
“I don’t care much about high school experience but much more about the skill set that they are applying for,” Mann said.
According to monster.com‘s career advice section, it’s imperative to “weave skills into your work experience.” Make sure the employer knows what skills were developed during those years of experience.
Elder Kennard, an internship missionary at BYU-I, refers students to the Career Center Office for help writing a resume.
“Meet with the Career Center,” Kennard said. “They have experts there to help them get ready. They first have to schedule an appointment. Once they are there, they can receive assistance on their resume.”
According to the Career Fair website, students can “sign up for a resume review through BYU-Idaho Handshake.” The website also offers tips on how to create a resume.