Ready to work

Krista Nichols, Corner Post Special Contributor

Oct. 10, 2002 - At some point in your life, if you haven't already, you will compose a page or two that describe who you are and what you have done. Revised and improved, this piece of paper may be the key to obtaining your career future. Yes, it is a resume - and once started, it can only get better.

The National Agri-Marketing Association Career Fair Oct. 10 included a resume-revising workshop for students.

Students could meet with consultants and receive one-on-one help revising their resumes.

Representatives from companies such as US Bank, Missouri Soybean Association and First National Bank provided information to students about resumes. The professionals looked at each resume to see if it was appealing to the eye, did not use too many words and had a decent amount of white space.

US Bank Human Resources employee Robin Nichols said that as a freshman on campus, it is important to include high school grade point average and activities.

"This will tell us if you were well-rounded or not, whether your GPA suffered because of your activities or if you weren't involved at all," Nichols said.

Alex Stemme of the Missouri Soybean Association reminded students that resumes are reflections of them when they are not there. He also said that people should want their resumes to be different enough that they stand out from the others being evaluated at the same time.

Eunice Perry, First National Bank Internet marketing officer, said students should write down the positions they are looking for and then what characteristics will make them successful in the particular positions they hope to obtain. They should then work these adjectives into their resumes, according to Perry.

Perry also said to avoid using "I" and to leave off the objective at the top of the resume. The objective is not necessary because it should be obvious if someone is applying for a specific job, according to Perry.

If you did not get a chance to visit the resume workshop or would like more help, check out: www.monster.com, www.careerjournal.com (provided by the Wall Street Journal) or www.agricareers.com.


Story originally posted 10/17/02

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