Resume Ready: The Downside to Self-Discovery

By Allison Milby on September 30, 2012

Follow Dreams Open Doors

Here I am, a senior in college.  Although I always knew that entrance into the “real world” was imminent, showing my resume to the kind people at Career Services, and receiving their feedback was certainly a reality check.

So…remember when you were a freshman, (or are, for those of you who are incoming freshmen- Congratulations, by the way!) and your orientation leaders kept telling you about the importance of getting involved in campus life?  Then you went to the involvement fair, and signed your name on at least a dozen email lists, and stayed up late at night, dreaming of all of the grand things you could accomplish on campus in the next four years?

And then you went to class, and realized that maybe you should narrow down your list to one intramural, and one or two clubs.  And then you got sucked into your full-time courseload and part-time job, and realized that you would have to wait until the following semester to get involved.

Cue, Spring Semester: repeat cycle.

Okay, so at least this was my experience.  For those of you who haven’t had this problem, power to you!

At any rate, Career Services is currently helping me to work magic on a resume that didn’t truly reflect my career goals.  Who knew that a philosophy major might have difficulty getting work?

Unfortunately, for many of us, including myself, we come into college knowing as little about ourselves as we do the major that we choose.  The person that I am as a senior in college is a much different person than the one that first walked onto a college campus, and my goals and interests have changed right along with her.  We are told that college is a time of discovery, but the unfortunate truth is that the activities, internships, and classes that we choose become our “resume identities.”

For those students that figure out what direction they want to head into early on, and load up their resumes with relevant experience and activities, this is fantastic.  For others, a final resume may look like that of a person with a short attention span, lack of direction, and/or fear of commitment (in my case, it was probably all three).

So what do you do if you’re in this second group?  Well, if you’re nearing the end of your college career, and you have a pretty good idea of what you do and don’t like, search on-campus activities, and off-campus jobs/internships for positions related to your career interests.  It is equally important to take a trip to Career Services and have them help you polish your resume.  The bottom line?  It’s most important to do things that really capture your interests, and it’s never too late to start doing them.

And for you freshmen and sophomores?  Enjoy this time to explore your interests and career options, but don’t be afraid to branch out.  Even though graduation is far away, keep an eye on that resume.

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