THE INTERNSHIP SEARCH PROCESS: PERSONAL EXPERIENCES ON HOW I WON 4 OFFERS (Part 2) -THE RéSUMé WRITING PROCESS!!

As most Africans say, ‘OMO!’. Writing a resume was a rather difficult task for me. I know how many times I read about how to craft a good one, where to even start, what experiences should I even put in to make a compelling résumé. I watched a lot of videos too.

Back then, I was interested in shooting shots at Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, and JP Morgan. A number of weeks of deep reflection led me to decide to target companies in my country first in order to gain the necessary experience, skills, and exposure before going after these big companies. When the time comes, I hope they will accept my application.

The truth is, defining what you really want is really crucial. Where you want to intern, what skills you want to gain, your goals for your internship, and so on. These would help you in structuring your resume to meet those goals.?

Remember that you cannot use the same résumé to apply for a financial analyst internship role at Goldman Sachs to apply for a software engineering role at JP Morgan and so on. That is why you have to clearly define what you want before you start drafting your résumé.

Ask questions if you are confused at a certain point. To be honest, it’s okay to be confused at times. I am not perfect either. There was a time when I was so unsure of what I wanted and if I was making the right decisions.

Now that I’ve told you my story, let’s get started. You can use a sample of my resume to guide you through the process. Prepare your journals!!! Even if you don’t have much experience as a student, you can find tips that are helpful.

PERSONAL DETAILS:

NAME:?

Please ensure that your name is in the correct format to enable recruiters decipher the correct order of your name. You can use the following formats: (First name, middle name, and last name, OR Last name(In a capital letter and separated by a comma, your first name, and last name)

EMAIL and CONTACT DETAILS:?

Please use a professional email!!!! How do you want to apply for something official and you are using emails like: [email protected], or [email protected]. Create a professional and new email with your name. You can choose to use your first and last name. Don’t create a very long email- Some people use 3 names to create emails. Just be professional in your email creation.?

They say that first impression matters right?

Feel free to also attach links to your online portfolio or LinkedIn profile.

Tip: Go and optimize your LinkedIn profile. It does not matter if you don’t have so many experiences.?

SUMMARY:?

Talk about yourself and what you aim to achieve in the internship role you are pursuing. Some people would use “objective”. They can be used interchangeably though. I used the “summary” tag just to be different I’d say, nothing special lol!

EDUCATION:?

Talk about your college education, your expected graduation date, and your course of study. You can go further to add details about your secondary school/high school. Not really compulsory though. Please do not primary school education!!?

Please!! recruiters don’t care about that. I mean, the fact that you are in college/university means you passed through primary school right?

Adding your CGPA is not mandatory especially if yours is low and to avoid being boxed in. Only include it if your recruiter requests it.

You can add your CGPA to your resume if you have an excellent one, as it can differentiate you from other applicants.

RELEVANT COURSES

You can list relevant courses you have taken related to the intern role you are applying for. Many students who do not have enough experience may find this section very helpful when they are looking for ways to enhance their profile. Don't add too many courses. Just choose a few that are relevant.

TECHNICAL/NON-TECHNICAL SKILLS:?

This is the point where you tell your potential recruiter or employee about your skills. Some people make the mistake of adding so many soft skills. I am not saying you shouldn't add this. You should! But do not add too much because most times, there wouldn’t be a means to test you on the soft skills you claim you possess.?

Your technical skills talk about what you can do “technically”. I also want to add here that this portion should also be seen in your experience section. This means that the skills you say you possess should be relatable to your experience section.

PROJECTS AND RESEARCH:

Do you think that the projects and research work you do in schools are irrelevant? Add personal projects or research work that you have carried out This could help especially if you do not have enough experience. Be real in this too. Use action words like: “Actively participated”, “Gained” etc. You have to show your recruiter that you have had a level of exposure.?

This section would serve as a means to link your technical and soft skills with the experience garnered.?

EXPERIENCES:

Talk about your experiences! The teams you lead, extracurricular activities you did. Also, quantify the level of impact you had so that your recruiter can have an idea of what you did. You may have led teams, volunteered, etc you have to communicate this with the recruiter.?

The idea of volunteering cannot be over-emphasized though. Try out some extracurricular activities and join organizations like: Enactus, Hult Prize, IEEE, Ingressive for Good, Cowrywise, Microsoft, Github, etc. These organizations have ambassadorship programs that could help you build necessary skills.

ACTIVITIES and AWARDS:?

You may have won awards and some scholarships!! Don’t you think it would be a nice idea to tell your recruiter about this? It could also differentiate you from other applicants.

Please I also want to add that you should only add things relevant to what you are applying for or you could alienate the recruiter. You are free to talk about areas you have shown leadership abilities and other things but the other sections of your resume should clearly relate to what you are applying for.

Feel free to ask your questions. I would try to answer them as soon as I can.

Be real, be authentic!!!

I am wishing you the best in all that you do!!

You can find the link to my first article here that gives a broad overview of what you need to do in your internship search process here:?

You can also find references to important links here if you feel you want to read more or get knowledge from other sources! I mean there is no limit!!

For easily editable templates, Havard has some nice templates you can use: https://ocs.fas.harvard.edu/resumes-cvs-cover-letters

Dare!

Soar!!

Be Intentional!!

Feel free to connect with me on Twitter or LinkedIn. Links can be found on my profile. Also, let me know if you gained value from this.?