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One of the biggest problems for recent graduates is what to put on their resume. This is especially true for those individuals who have not yet held jobs with significant responsibility. But entry-level jobseekers need not have outstanding job experience to make their resume exciting and attractive to prospective employers.

Most people do not see the value of their activities in relation to what the employer is looking for in a job candidate. Employers are looking for a strong work ethic and concrete examples of skills and abilities, such as organizational leadership and involvement, a sense of social responsibility and commitment. Employers want to hire candidates who have fully engaged themselves in their educational environments.

Embellishment 101

One of the biggest mistakes young jobseekers make on their resumes is to list activities or accomplishments without offering further information or embellishment. A resume may read "Extensive travel in Europe. Spent second semester junior year attending London University." But there may be more there than just listing the activity. Perhaps the individual organized group trips, learned another language, taught a class to non-English students, etc.

To produce an interesting, informative and saleable candidacy, first-time jobseekers should apply a test to each of their activities and accomplishments. They need to ask themselves, "Why would an employer be interested in this? How does it make me more attractive to the employer? How does this show a skill or ability of mine?"

When considering academic accomplishments, students and grads should think of them both in terms of skills learned and proof of commitment to particular areas of their education.

For instance, an individual may have become proficient in two different languages during college. Even if the employer does not have need for a foreign language, it shows discipline and an aptitude that is always an asset in any job. Skill at articulating your thoughts orally and in writing is crucial to success in any business.

Jobseekers should also include any awards, citations or special selections to a committee, club or panel. This amounts to a third-party endorsement of the individual’s abilities. Someone else thought highly enough of your expertise and competence to single you out.

Think of activities where you directed, supervised or were responsible for other people. Maybe it was leading a study group, editing the school newspaper or managing a sports team. In each of those examples, you had to handle responsibilities, answer to a supervisor, direct people and work effectively in a group – assets employers are looking for in new hires.

These capabilities need to be reflected on the resume. It is, after all, the interviewer who needs to be sold on the candidate’s skills and abilities to do the job. The key is to think like the employer as the resume is being developed.

Great Lengths

Another key to crafting an effective resume is not to worry about length. Most people believe there is an unwritten law that says that no resume can ever be more than one page long. This is not the case, especially if the job candidate has worthwhile information to communicate. Even if the job candidate just graduated, there is no rule that says the resume must fit on one 8½ x 11 piece of paper.

Rarely should a first resume exceed one page, but if the candidate has had internships, summer jobs, school jobs, academic accomplishments and so on, perhaps one page will not adequately hold all the impressive achievements and skills learned in four or more years of school.

Even if you did not have many jobs, you need not be shy about outlining work that was accomplished while doing certain activities. For instance, an individual may have played in the marching band or led a charity dance marathon. Give examples of the organization, leadership and responsibility involved with these activities. Actual actions can be described in some detail: "Created a database of potential sponsors . . ."

Cheat Sheet

Another benefit to having a detailed resume is that it will help you respond to questions in a job interview. By writing down achievements both large and small during a certain experience, you will have committed to memory and be able to recall faster all the reasons why you are right for the job.

For example, if the interviewer were to ask why traveling through Europe will make you a better worker, the answer will already be formulated and you can respond quickly and confidently.

A helpful exercise before composing the final resume is to write down a list of all activities, awards, accomplishments and experiences, from major milestones to routine activities. On a separate page write down a list of questions the employer might ask about each item. For instance, "What skills and abilities did you learn?" "How will this help you do your job better?" How will this make you more valuable to the company?"

Once those likely queries have been applied to each experience, the job candidate will have ample information to develop a solid resume showing exactly the kind of data the employer is looking for. Upon completion of this exercise, jobseekers will be pleasantly surprised to see how a certain activity or experience once thought to be trivial, can become very helpful in the interview.