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Espresso and Ambition

A not-so-serious gal with some serious dreams.

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How to Land Your Dream Internship – Part 1: The Résumé

January 8, 2018 by Taylor 2 Comments

How to Land Your Dream Internship, Part 1: The Résumé - Espresso and Ambition

If you’re in college right now, chances are you’re starting to think about how you want to spend your summer. We’re about to get into prime internship application season, so if you choose to spend your summer getting work experience, this is the time to get ready for that.

As a one-semester-from-graduation senior, I’ve had my fair bit of experience applying for internships. Since starting college, I’ve had five (yes, five) different internships. I’ve also been on the other side of the table and reviewed résumés for an internship position. So I think it’s safe to say that I’ve gotten a good grip on how the process works and how you can make yourself stand out from the pack to get that dream internship. This post is the first in a series that’ll be coming to the blog every Monday – I’m sharing my expertise with all of you to help you build that stellar application and land that ideal position.

(I will say, however, that the majority of my internship experience has involved communications and non-profit work. While some of this information will be useful outside of that realm, some may not be. If you’re looking for a science-related internship, I can only help you so much since that’s not an area that I have any real experience with applying for.)

Let’s get into the nitty-gritty of résumés. They’re a bit of a pain, but they’re the first thing that a potential employer sees when they consider hiring you. With that being said, it’s important to make them great.

 

Step 1: Get the layout right

Just like an employer will likely judge you based on how professionally you’re dressed for an interview, they’ll likely judge the layout of your résumé. We all judge books by their cover – It’s human nature. If you’re applying for a creative position, this is the time to find an interesting layout that’ll make you stand out (without obscuring the actual content). I highly recommend Canva for this type of résumé. For any other position, however, basic is best. Let your experience speak for itself. Pick an easy-to-read font like Times New Roman or Arial, add a header with your name and contact information, and format your text consistently throughout.

This is also a good time to talk about length. Unless you’re applying for graduate school, your résumé shouldn’t be more than a page. As a college student, there’s a very slim chance you actually have that much relevant experience for this internship position. Your prospective employer doesn’t need to know that you worked as a lifeguard for two summers in high school. Narrow your résumé down to the most relevant information so that it all fits on one page.

 

Step 2: Highlight what’s most relevant

When deciding what to put on your résumé, the internship description for the position you’re applying for is your best friend. Highlight the experiences you have that are most relevant to what they’re looking for. A prospective employer should be able to scan your résumé in 30 seconds and immediately notice that you check off their requirements. Do they want someone proficient in Adobe Creative Suite? Highlight the Graphic Design class you took in college. Do they want someone with experience planning events? Include your leadership position within a campus organization where you planned the monthly meetings.

 

Step 3: Make it sound interesting

A job title barely scratches the surface of what a job may really contain. I have a number of positions on my résumé that are much more impressive when my duties are explained than when you see the job title alone. Use action verbs and numbers when explaining what you did at your job or in your university club. Some good examples include “supervised 100 employees during the annual fundraiser” or “developed communication materials to be distributed to over 40 members.”

 

Step 4: Check your spelling/grammar, then check it again

The most painful thing when reading a résumé is finding spelling or grammatical errors. Even if the rest of your résumé is flawless, that one error can stick out like a sore thumb and ruin all of the hard work you put in (especially if it’s a really obvious error). If you end one bullet point with a period, you should end all of your bullet points with periods – or none of them. Get a family member or a friend to review it as well; when you’ve looked at a piece of paper for long enough your eyes can go numb to any glaring mistakes.

 

Bonus Step! Build a “master résumé”

Want a major shortcut in writing your résumés for various internship positions? Create a “master résumé,” which contains all of your work experience/education/skills/etc. This version can be longer than a page, because this isn’t a version of your résumé that you’re submitting to anyone. Rather, when you go to apply for a position, create a new document and copy/paste the information you want to include. This allows you to create a customized résumé for each internship application in just a few minutes every time. Huge win.

 

Got any other life-saving résumé tips? Share them with me in the comments! I’ll see you back here next Monday for part two of this series: the dreaded cover letter.

xo, Taylor

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Filed Under: Etc., Lifestyle, Work

Comments

  1. Rosie says

    January 12, 2018 at 7:10 am

    These are some really great tips, and I think they’re probably applicable to CVs for pretty much everything. My sister works in recruitment and she told me one of the best things you can do is show them how your skills benefit them – which is pretty much what you said under make it interesting. That way you can make any experience in what seems like an unrelated field applicable by showing your transferable skills.

    Reply
  2. Katrina says

    January 19, 2018 at 9:37 pm

    These are such great tips! I think resume writing is definitely an art and it’s one of my favorite things to read about. My best resume tip is to ask multiple people to review your resume after big changes. Mentors/professors/peers oftentimes have nuggets of resume wisdom to share with you, and a fresh eye is always helpful when proofreading!

    Reply

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A real-life combination of Elle Woods and Hermione Granger. Recent graduate of the University of Georgia, currently living and working in DC. New blog posts every Monday, new YouTube videos every Thursday. Subscribe by clicking the link below for post updates and exclusive content!

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tayy_kay

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🔥 nasm certified personal trainer
✨ self-love + balance
🎥 2 new workouts per week!

tayy_kay
without heavy weights, it’s sometimes a little c without heavy weights, it’s sometimes a little challenging to really feel like i’m working at my full potential on leg days 😶 enter: single-leg movements. since all the weight is in one leg, you’re putting way more emphasis on it than you do during two-leg movements - and you’ll definitely feel that 🔥 you also get some added bonuses in the form of ensuring you’re working each side of your body equally AND a balance challenge!!
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you can add in weights or bands to up the challenge level, or do it all bodyweight like i am here!
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1️⃣ 15 single-leg box squats per leg (use other leg as a kickstand for an easier modification!)
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2️⃣ 15 bulgarian split squats per leg
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3️⃣ 15 single-leg hip thrusts per leg
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4️⃣ 15 single-leg deadlifts per leg
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throw on at the end of a longer leg day workout or do it 3-4 times as a workout all on its own!!
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👚 @girlfriend 🎧 numb - neffex
🖤 go easy on yourself 🖤 this is a weird time 🖤 go easy on yourself 🖤 this is a weird time to be alive, and it’s more important now than ever to listen to your body and stop being so hard on yourself. motivation is a fickle thing and working out when you don’t have all the equipment you love is weird. give yourself permission to take a break when you need it. don’t beat yourself up for missing workouts - exercise should be something you do because it makes you happy, not because you feel like you have to punish yourself. if it doesn’t make you happy that day, that’s okay. give yourself a break, come back and try again tomorrow. 💪🏼
circuit-style upper body workout 🖤 honestly not circuit-style upper body workout 🖤 honestly not kidding about how much i love this long resistance band, it’s so versatile! definitely worth getting your hands on one for home workouts 😊 (although almost all of these can be completely with dumbbells or heavy objects if that’s what you’ve got in hand)
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also please watch to the very end of the fourth video for quality footage of greg 😂
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1️⃣ 12 long band shoulder presses to standing chest presses
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2️⃣ 12 upright rows to bicep curls
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3️⃣ 12 overhead triceps extensions per arm (the one leg stance is some bonus balance work!)
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4️⃣ 12 rear flies, featuring greg trying to fight my shadow
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5️⃣ 12 commandos
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6️⃣ 12 side-to-side pushups
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repeat 4x total!!
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👚 @underarmourwomen
🎧 best of me - neffex
giveaway 🔥 we’re all handling this weird, cra giveaway 🔥 we’re all handling this weird, crazy time in the world a little differently, and for me, it’s looked like a lot of establishing to and sticking to routines (seriously, sometimes it feels like my skincare routine and workout split are the only thing still giving meaning to days of the week, lol). my morning smoothies have been another important one - there’s a recipe in my story highlights and surprise surprise it uses this protein powder 😛
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anyways, onto the real reason you’re here! i’m giving away 25 $20 giftcards for @310nutrition with NO STRINGS ATTACHED 🤯 you hear that? you ain’t gotta do a thing to win - the first 25 people to use the code KAYGC20 on their order automatically win. get your hands on some fire plant-based protein powder, courtesy of me and 310 😋 (p.s. if you’re still seeing this caption, there are still giftcards available!!)
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#310gc20 #310shake
sometimes you just gotta get hella dressed up and sometimes you just gotta get hella dressed up and hold a fake photo shoot just to prove to yourself that you’re still a real human
posted a new youtube video. this picture is tangen posted a new youtube video. this picture is tangentially topical. link in bio.
upper body circuit ‼️ i’ve been gravitating upper body circuit ‼️ i’ve been gravitating towards circuit-style workouts lately, because they really work up a sweat and home workouts just don’t feel as legit to me unless i’m hardcore sweating 🤷🏼‍♀️ i don’t mind not breaking much of a sweat at the gym, but it feels weird not to when i’m working out at home - anyone else feel this or am i just weird?? 😅
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do all exercises back to back with no rest in between!
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1️⃣ 10 push-ups to renegade rows
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2️⃣ 12 alternating bicep curls
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3️⃣ 12 diamond front raises
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4️⃣ 8 sets of 3 tricep pulses to this lil cross-body weight move that doesn’t have a name {keep your core tight to feel it on your obliques!}
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5️⃣ 15 bent-over rear delt rows
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6️⃣ finisher!! 🥵 10 burpees with 2 shoulder taps and 2 toe taps in the middle of each rep
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repeat 🔁 for a total of 3 rounds!!
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👚 top from @gymsharkwomen, shorts from @nike 🎧 dangerous - neffex
would be nice if both sides of my head could agree would be nice if both sides of my head could agree on whether my hair is wavy or straight, but apparently that’s a little too much to ask of it 😂
got a circuit-style leg workout for you today! 🥳 there are 3 sets of 3 exercises that you’ll complete back-to-back - once you’ve done those three moves, rest for 30 seconds before repeating them all over again 2 more times! rest for 1-2 minutes in between each circuit - keeping your heart rate up is the goal here, i was driiiiiiipping sweat by the end of this one 🥵
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circuit 1️⃣: 10 step-ups to reverse lunges per leg
10 reverse lunges to curtsy lunges per leg
20 lateral lunges
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circuit 2️⃣:
10 squats to surrenders (stop in a squat position before standing up at the end to really feel this one)
10 stagger-stance rdls
20 criss-cross squat jumps
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circuit 3️⃣:
15 leg lifts per side
10 single-leg glute bridges per side
15 frog pumps
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👚 top from @fabletics, joggers from @gymsharkwomen
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