GradConnections bi-Weekly for online students

February 25, 2020

Tips for Grads: Create a standout resume

Career Development

Providing a quality resume is the key to landing an interview and making a good first impression on potential employers. Follow these tips to make sure your resume grabs employers’ attention:

Be accurate and honest. Play up your strengths but resist the urge to embellish. Falsifying or exaggerating will only come back to haunt you.
Use power verbs. Highlight what you increased, grew, led, managed, improved and achieved. Experience should be communicated in terms of accomplishments and transferable skills.
Personalize it and make it unique. In the world of job applications, one size does not fit all, so tailor your resume to each specific job opportunity. Emphasize the skills the employer is seeking and what you bring to the table that other candidates may not.
Prioritize readability and organization. Keep it simple by using legible fonts with plenty of white space. Also, tell your future employer what they need to know at the beginning! Hook them with what you have to offer after just a few seconds of reading.
Make it attractive and add some flair. Make your resume stand out by adding some unique formatting that still says you’re a professional. Decrease clutter and extra fluff, as well as anything that can distract from the talents you’re trying to emphasize.

Make sure to take the opportunity to showcase your personality, creativity and ingenuity in your resume. In today’s tight labor market, investing time in a resume that stands out might give you just the advantage you need.

More resume writing tips are available from the UW–Madison Writing Center.

Upcoming events

Webinar: Tax Tips for Graduate Students
Thursday, March 5 | 1 - 3 pm CST
Online | Personal Effectiveness

Members of the Wisconsin Department of Revenue will join us for a webinar exploring the how-to’s of filing Wisconsin state income taxes, including information specific to residents, nonresidents, part-year residents, fellows, and tax deductions specific to graduate students. The webinar will run for one hour with an hour at the end for one-on-one questions via chat. This event is hosted by the Graduate School’s Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Funding in conjunction with the Wisconsin Department of Revenue. Register for the webinar here.

Professional and Career Development: Handshake

If you’re looking for career opportunities, be sure to check out UW–Madison’s exclusive job board, Handshake. From browsing and registering for career events to receiving personalized job recommendations based on your degree program or interests, it is never too early to create your profile and start using this resource.

Wellness: Avoid isolation while learning

Engaging in social activity is beneficial for your mental health, but it can be tough to socialize in an online environment. While it may take a little effort, here are some ways online students can build a community into their learning environment.

Connect online. Look for opportunities to establish relationships with professors and classmates by initiating conversation via email, chat and open forums.

Network. Explore UW networking resources like Badger Bridge or find alumni events, career fairs or professional associations that suit you.

Explore your community. Enhance your learning experience by exploring what your own community has to offer. Studying engineering? Embrace the local engineering community and get to know some of its members. For those focused on business, see what kind of entrepreneurial organizations are active in your area. If nothing else, an afternoon studying in a coffee shop or local library is a great way to surround yourself with people.

You received this email because you are enrolled in an online program at UW–Madison.
GradConnections bi-Weekly for Online Students is published by the Graduate School in partnership with the Division of Continuing Studies. Contact communications@grad.wisc.edu with questions or to submit content ideas.

Photos by UW–Madison, University Communications.

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