Published November 22, 2016
Clarks Summit University’s Director of Career Services Shares Tips to Improve Your Resume and Job Search
I love making resumes! However, students and alumni generally don’t share my excitement when they reach out to me to help them develop a resume. Resumes do take time and work, but the biggest challenge many face is a lack of self-awareness. Knowing what you have to offer a future employer is the most important part of formatting a resume.
1. Learn About Yourself
Starting a journey of self-exploration sounds more fun than working on a resume, so let’s start there. Personalities play a big part in determining a career field and role that fits well. Other examples that determine a good fit include characteristics of dominance vs. compliance, extraversion vs. introversion and structured vs. unstructured. Also consider your career Interest, skills, strengths and values to help direct your job search and determine what content can be applied on your resume.
Thankfully you’re not in this alone. Career Services at Clarks Summit University is excited to help alumni, students and prospective students through this self-exploration. You’ll want to discover how your God-given design functions as a compass when making decisions about college majors, occupations and job placement. CSU uses Career Direct to help students and alumni. The comprehensive assessment is not only a faith-based tool, but it also assesses personality, interest, skills and values. Strong’s Interest Inventory, DISC Personality, Myers Briggs and MAPP are additional assessments that can be helpful for self-exploration.
2. Learn About Occupational Choices
The “Dictionary of Occupational Titles” estimates 13,000 unique occupations. Some sources list as many as 30,000 unique job roles. Most job hunters probably can’t list 1,000 unique occupations.
Being well informed on appropriate career fields can significantly increase the ease of finding the right job to apply for and how to customize the content on a resume to highlight the most relevant occupational skills. O*NET online and the Occupational Outlook Handbook are the two top resources I use for occupational exploration. These websites provide a wealth of information and tools to help a job hunter explore the diverse work field, trends and necessary skills for specific occupations. Combining a couple great career assessments and occupational resources will help jump start your job search.
3. Learn About More Resources
Are you starting to feel overwhelmed? Don’t give up. The time and effort you put into preparing for your job search and resume will pay you back exponentially. I have prepared a list of career guides to help you.
You can start with “What Color is Your Parachute?” by Richard Bolles, “The Person Called You” by Bill Hendricks and “48 Days to the Work You Love” by Dan Miller.
Remember, a resume is more than your ticket to an interview. Your resume should represent the stewardship of your God-given design for a specific God-given calling. Following these steps redirects your focus to the most important factor in developing your resume: the realization that God has been at the center orchestrating everything in your life to equip you for the calling that brought you into existence.
Please watch for part two of this resumé series to come soon!
Jeremy Yeckley, Director of Career Services
Yeckley (’12), earned his Master of Science in Counseling from CSU. He is also regional director for Foundations Christian Counseling Services and helps establish counseling ministries in local churches. Yeckley, who was born in Kenya and has lived in six countries over three continents, serves as a deacon and the mission committee at Grace Baptist Church. He and his wife Kara have two children, Lyla and Malachi. In addition to helping people with resumes, he enjoys wildlife photography, traveling, backpacking and camping.
