Entry by Pat Patterson
Now that your summer internship is complete or may come to an end soon, there is no better time than now to update your resume. It is a great idea to update your resume with your recent internship as soon as possible because your experience will still be fresh in your mind.
Remember to highlight your tasks, major projects, and also the results of your work. Whenever possible be specific and quantify your work. For example, instead of stating, “coordinated company networking events”, be more specific, such as, “coordinated three separate networking events, one for each month, which led to a 10% increase in client leads.” Also, if you are still at your internship or keep in contact with your employer (which you should be doing), you can ask your supervisor to review the information you add on your resume to ensure it accurately reflects your accomplishments.
If you do not have a resume yet, you should start one as soon as possible. Even if you do not have extensive work experience, a resume is a working document, and it is good to have a starting point to begin documenting past and forthcoming experiences. About.com: Internships has a great overview of how to begin a resume. For example, one of the tips they offer is to use action verbs:
5. Use Action Verbs to describe your responsibilities & accomplishments.
Creating effective verb statements highlighting your skills and accomplishments will make your resume strong and create a favorable impression with employers. By including only relevant information with just enough detail to demonstrate your skills, you will be illustrating your attention to details along with your ability to communicate and organize your thoughts.
Also, don’t hesitate to utilize your school’s career services office for help with your resume or any other internship or career-related advice – that’s what they are there for!
