How to Write Your First Resume After College Graduation
Are you looking for tips on how to write your first resume after college graduation? You’ve come to the right place! I’m a Career Coach and prior Recruiter and HR Leader from companies like Google, Microsoft, Activision, frog Design, and Essence Mediacom. You can check out my Linkedin to validate my experience and connect with me here.
You may be wondering “how do I fill all this space on the page without any work experience?” and that’s a very normal experience. There’s plenty of content to put on that page such as unpaid internships, volunteer work, GPA, soft skills and hard skills, college projects, websites/portfolios/professional social media links, personal interests, career objectives, and of course…those wonderful degree(s) you’re now just earning!
See! There’s a ton to cover. What I encourage you to do when you write your first resume after college graduation is to not get too carried away actually. Once you get comfortable with your resume writing skills, you’ll want to make sure you stick to just one page on that entry resume. Once you gain at least 5 years of experience, you can utilize up to two resume pages. Unless you’re in a highly scientific and research oriented field, you’ll never exceed two pages.
I’m going to go over three tips on how to write your first resume after college graduation today. If you’re interested in comprehensive resume advice, I have a 95 minute / 14 lesson College Grad Resume Course for only $27. It’s designed specifically for college grads and for those entering the job market after college graduation. I made it price accessible because I know how important it is to get your first resume right AND colleges and universities are NOT teaching the right resume techniques to their students. Take it from me - someone that recruited for tech and digital creatives in San Francisco, Seattle, and Toronto locally (+ US, Canada and Global remotely) for a very long time. I wouldn’t have spent my valuable time developing this course unless I felt there was a true need!
Should College Grads Mention GPA on a Resume?
Yes and No… I’ve been in many-a-rooms with pretentious techies reviewing resumes and I’ve heard scoffs at everything from GPAs 3.2 to 3.7. I don’t recommend listing a GPA if it’s below 3.5 and I know that may be hard to hear for some folks.
For those college grads that have worked hard on a school-work and perhaps had something personal to attend to during college or that had to work a job in addition, a 3.3 GPA may be something to be very proud of. Nonetheless, we have to let that go for now and focus on the job as that one page can’t tell that whole story. That’s what the interview is for and that’s what we’re focused on at this juncture.
Listing your GPA is acceptable when you write your first resume after college graduation, and up to two years after. Then, completely drop it. You now have work experience and you’ll no longer be a college student and shouldn’t want to be viewed for those accomplishments anymore as you’re now forming new ones. Major tech companies may ask for your GPA for up to 3 years after graduation in the final stages of an interview process, but you can wait until they ask to provide it.
Where Do I Start When Writing My First Resume After College Graduation When the Page is Blank?
It’s hard to know exactly where to actually start when the resume page is blank. Templates and resume examples are the best place to start. The College Grad Resume Course comes with custom and exclusive resume templates, and you can always use the standard templates from Google Docs, Microsoft Word, and Canva. Be mindful that designed templates in softwares like Adobe Suite and Canva can sometimes not import into Applicant Tracking Systems (ATSs) well. These are the softwares that you’ll be applying to jobs to online.
I go over all the scenarios in which you may want to adjust sections and resume placements in the college grad resume course. One example is how to arrange your education section when you have multiple degrees and multiple certifications. There are many variables to consider when deciding where and how to arrange education and certifications on your resume.
Proofreading and Editing Your First Resume After College Graduation
How do you edit and proofread your resume? The best way to do this is to ask others editing their resumes, professionals that have been in the workforce for a long-time, any HR and Recruiting professionals you know in your network personally….and know when to stop. One thing I’ve also learned over the years is if you give me a resume, I will always have at least a couple opinions. If I was your 20th person to review your resume, that could feel like an endless cycle because I think most folks are like me in that regard. I recommend no less than 3 resume reviewers for your first resume after college graduation, and no more than 6 resume reviewers.
