Building a Resume
5 MINUTE READ • CAREER GUIDANCE
Do you wish you had a job, or wish you had a better job? You're not alone—everyone has been there—believe me, even people who seem like they've always had it together started somewhere.
If you need help building a resume, there are many helpful websites out there that can make it quick and easy! If you don't know the correct format, headings, or words to use, let the site do the hard work to make it look professionally perfect for you!
Here are a few to check out:
Building a resume without experience
Many students ask, “if I've never had a job, how can I build a resume?” That's a great question. It does make it more challenging, but you may have more experience to pull from than you realize! Think about work you may have done for others, even if it wasn't an official job. Babysitting, caregiving, labor work, volunteering, or extra-curriculars can be used in the place of formal job experience when you’re just starting out.
The skills and strengths that you bring to a company are things to highlight, see some examples here. If there is a particular job you are looking to apply for, look at the requirements they are looking for in their job posting. Use your resume wording to show how you fit what they are looking for!
Make your resume stand out
Jobs hiring entry-level positions are looking for people they see as a good fit. They look for people they can train and who have soft skills that make great employees. Think about adjectives that fit you that also make you shine. Are you hard-working, punctual, team-oriented, a self-starter, or dependable? These traits are gold to employers.
Take time to polish your contact information. Make sure your address, phone number, and email address are neat, correct, and easily read. Be sure that your email address is professional and includes your name. Employers will get turned off by unprofessional email addresses.
Additional Resume Support for Students
For Grad Solutions students who need extra help finding a job, check out our Workforce program! We partner with the Arizona@Work program. The benefits of joining are excellent! Students may receive assistance with completing their high school diploma, occupational skills training, paid internships, employment services, and financial support like transportation assistance, basic needs assistance, and post-secondary tuition assistance! Elective credit is also available through Grad Solutions for work experience. Learn more about it here.
It takes courage to make the leap and perseverance to find the right fit sometimes, but keep at it! Prepare now, and when the right opportunity is there, you'll get it!
Angela Chicci
Angela has been a Certified Professional School Counselor for 15 years. She earned her bachelor's degree in psychology from Arizona State University. After graduation, Angela became a member of ASU’s faculty conducting research on juvenile crime recovery. That experience working with at-risk adolescents led her to pursue her Master’s of Education: School Counseling from Ottawa University. Angela worked as a high school counselor in a local public high school for 14 years, and then at a local charter school for a year before joining Graduation Solutions.
