Building your CV or resume early into your university life can be a great way in ensuring that you land that dream job post graduation. It shows future employers that your able to multitask and displays great time-management.
With time and preparation, you can slowly incorporate a range of these five tips into your daily life to gain that extra experience that can set you aside the competition once you enter the job market.
1. Take free courses related to your future career
Taking the initiative to gain extra vocational qualifications through short courses can show employers your passion and dedication towards your area of interest. There are many websites online that offer these courses; such as edX and coursera.
2. Volunteer! Volunteer! Volunteer!
Volunteering is a great way to gain experience in a range of skills required in everyday life and work. You can volunteer in a range of places – such as your local community centre, red cross or university research centre. There are many opportunities posted on SEEK and we have a collection of volunteer positions posted in our resource volunteer section on our website.
3. Join Clubs and Societies
Participating in a club or society that you enjoy can be a great way to meet new people and participate more in areas that you are passionate in, which will ultimately build your confidence in your future area of interest. Attending the social events or even being apart of the event-planning or leadership team can be a great way in showing employers that you are focused and dedicated to what’s important to you – all whilst having fun and doing what you love!
You can find a list of your universities clubs and societies on your universities website.
4. Create and build your LinkedIn page
LinkedIn can be a great tool to build up throughout your time in university as recruiters and employers use LinkedIn to view potential candidates for their role. Many people also gain work experience and connections to higher-ups through networking and seeing well presented profiles through 2nd and 3rd connections.
LinkedIn serves as an online networking platform were people post updates about their professional lives. Your profile is essentially your CV and is the first thing people see when they click your name. So if you haven’t created your LinkedIn profile, create one now and slowly start building up your connections and profile.
5. Ensure your skills shine through
Don’t make the employer sift through tons of information – highlight and emphasis that you possess all the relevant skills needed for that internship or role. This is done by making your CV short – roughly 1 to 2 pages and clearly details all relevant criteria. MyPerfectResume have a range of resumes templates to choose from which can help summarize dense information into easy to read pieces.
The main take away from this article is to emphasize that you don’t need to wait until you have a qualification or degree to begin gaining experience. Taking the time as a student to grow and gain meaningful on-the-job experience early can put you in a better position when looking for that first graduate job.
The Beginning Project 