College Resume

When college starts a lot of people have different ways of looking at it. There are those who see it as a place of new beginnings or they may see as though its how they will achieve what they want. These are both good ways of looking at it. But what people sometimes don’t realize is that its not all that easy for when you graduate college. The post “A memo for college freshman: Envision now a job-getting resume when you graduate” posted by Bill Coplin is a helpful way to not go through that.

The post by Coplin explains very well of what it takes to have a job right after college. So people don’t have to worry about struggling when they graduate. Coplin speaks about a student that is not named and what she did while in college. There were five things that one could do throughout college that would make a person have a good resume. As the student did in the post: Get a part-time job on and off campus, summer jobs or summer internships, community service and other volunteer work, participation in student organizations, and get off campus and study abroad.

The first question that had came to mind was how does doing all this help a student decide what they want to do. Assumingly, this post was made for someone who has an idea as to what they want to do. So these five steps are very useful. But at the same time people don’t always go to college knowing what they want to do. So Coplin brings up good points but to pressure a freshman to go through this could be very demanding. At the same time doing these things could help find what a person wants to do. The steps in the post sound more like someone who knows what they want to do.

Coplin refers to five different steps that helps one have an good resume when they graduate. The first step was to have a part-time job on and off campus. This is very demanding for one person to go through. To be able to balance two jobs and homework. That is very stressful on someone who isn’t even that adjusted to college that well. Coplin states that this shows commitment and skill mastery (coplin). That makes sense especially for someone who is able to do that.

The second step is summer jobs or summer internships. These are helpful because during summer break making money is always a good thing. Not all internships are paid but hopefully one finds one that does pay. This way a person can get experience and get paid. This step is a step that is less stressful for the reason that its not during the school year. The only problem would be those who go on family vacations every year and wouldn’t be able to work. Coplin in the post explains that this step helps with experience and trying to find out what you want to explore in college.

Step three is community service. This is not only good for the college student but at the same time it helps the environment and others in need. It shows that a person is more than just a good test taker and paper writer (Coplin). Depending on what the service is this could also help build a persons character and help them develop other skills that could help them in college and the work place.

The first three steps aren’t that stressful except for the first one. Yes, community service could interfere with having a part-time job during the school year because the person is only some many hours in which they aren’t doing anything. Having a part-time job while in school is hard for the reason the student is trying to work and do homework. So doing community service would have to be the last thing and that’s only if the student has made time to do it.

The fourth step to having a good resume for when one graduates is participating in different school organizations. This can interfere with having a part-time job and community service along with homework. At the same time it does show a persons time management skills if they can handle all this. All this is still very stressful for a freshman. To be able to do all of this as a freshman is an extraordinary talented student. In the post the whole point of getting involved is so that the student can take leadership roles (Coplin). This is good because being able to develop leadership skills is very important but to take on a task like that as a freshman is very bold.

Step five was to study abroad. This apparently is for the freshman who is looking down the road. Coplin compliments studying abroad by relating this to be able to have good problem solving skills and work ethic (Coplin). This is true but not all people want to leave the country. Not all people find it necessary to leave the country to test out their work ethic and problem solving skills.

These steps that were provided in the post were all good for a freshman to think about. But to actually go through with it is asking a lot. That is because there is a transition from high school to college. Not everyone will follow this because it can be very stressful to have to do all that. Having a part-time job on and off campus is a lot especially with homework in the fraction. The summer job or internship isn’t as stressful but at the same time these are usually for those who know what they want to do. Yes, it does help one decide what they want to explore but it is still a lot for someone to think about. Community service is helpful because it shows that you can do stuff without being paid for it and that you are good at it. But it still is a lot to balance with homework and a job in the equation. Participating in different school organizations is another stressor just because it is something that requires a lot of attention. Then traveling abroad s for someone who is ready to move on from the other four.