Jobs – College Admission at Loyola

What Makes a Good Resume: 101

By Husna Afzal | March 7, 2019

Many of us may need to start working on our resumes whether it is for a job, an internship, applying to a school, etc. Now what is the function of a resume you may ask? It is a concise summary of your education, work/volunteer/internship experiences and other qualifications relevant to your audience’s needs. Employers use resumes as a first impression and will use it to compare you to other candidates. NOTE: a good resume does not guarantee you a job, it just allows you to be considered. A resume demonstrates the skills and capabilities that the reader would value and it is essential for you to demonstrate your abilities and is showcases a sense of direction in your career.

How to layout and format a good resume:

There are a few basic resume types but lets focus on some things that are particularly helpful –

It is recommended to format chronologically so that the reader is able to see organization qualities as well as being able to follow your experience.
Aim to fit your resume on 1 page – unless you have more experiences that are relevant to the job, you should limit it to one page because it is a general overview of your skills and capabilities.
AVOID using templates as a basis for your resume because sometimes they can be difficult to alter and limits you from standing out if your resume looks just like everyone else’s. (Remember, the person reading your resume is most likely reading soooooo many others.)
Use CAPS, bolding, underlining, bullets, and indentation to direct the reader’s attention and separate different sections of the resume.
Do NOT use graphics or unusual fonts and colors to “dress up” your resume. It doesn’t look professional and you need to limit your space as well because you only have 1 page remember.
Use margins between 0.5″ – 1.0″ which leaves enough blank space on the page so that the document is comfortable to read and enough margin to allow for different viewing software and printers.
It would be better to save your file as a pdf before submitting electronically so that it preserves the format.

Sections within your resume:

Contact information

Include your name and email address as well as the phone number and street address you would prefer to be contacted at

Introductory Statement

“Objective” statements are often considered awkward, obsolete, or unnecessary.
If you use a summary statement, make sure that your experiences live up to that statement.

Education

List degrees in reverse chronological order
List the official names of the school you have attended
You may list your GPA if it is strong
Course Work descriptions: which can include honors and awards (scholarships/fellowships)
Study abroad – list school(s), location, dates

Work Experiences

List experiences in reverse-chronological order.
Show the name of the organization, your title, and dates of involvement.
Be consistent in your formatting of each experience
Use bulleted phrases to describe each experience which should demonstrate skills and capabilities – consider how your experiences demonstrate core work skills (communication/interpersonal skills, organization/time management/leadership, analytical/problem solving skills.
Use a professional and active voice

Internship, Co-curricular and Volunteer Experience

List experiences that involve leadership or organizational responsibilities
Format the same way and be sure to demonstrate core work skills

Skills

This section is optional but this includes additional language skills you possess or certifications/licenses
This can also include technology or soft ware skills that are relevant to your career.

Hopefully this helps many of you! If you need additional guidance, refer to Loyola’s Career Development Center – they have many available resources, including sample resumes/cover letters!

Where to Work as a First-Year Student

By Jessica Xi | March 19, 2016

Ooh, a job. For some of you, it might be a scary, new prospect that just a reminder of the incoming doom of life after school. For others, it’s something you’ve known for years. Whether you’re looking to get a job to help pay for this expensive (but worth it) school or just so you can get bopngrill every week, let me tell you about the state of jobs and Loyola, both on and off campus.

Even if you live just down the block from Loyola, things change when you get here. In the job quest, you might qualify for work-study – or you might not. Luckily, no matter your needs, Loyola is here to help! We have job fairs every single semester that host companies looking to hire college students and RamblerLink, a website that also connects prospective employers to potential employees.

Of course, there’s more than that, too. That’s mainly off-campus. Near-campus opportunities include working at The Coffee Shop, Subway, Insomnia Cookies, and so on, and so on. Businesses hire, and you don’t have to take the CTA to get to work! There’s also online freelance jobs perfect for students, like writing for The Odyssey.

It’s Chicago. There’s lots of job opportunities, if you’re willing to go out and get ’em! And if you’re not comfortable leaving the campus or your schedule won’t allow for a thirty-minute commute, then on-campus is for you!

On-campus has a lot, a lot of opportunities. Unlike other schools, our dining halls are run entirely by Aramark employees, so you don’t have to resign yourself to working to feed your peers. Instead, you can work at the Undergraduate Admission Office, like me! Or you could become a Desk Attendant, an RA, a lab assistant, or a tutor. You can work at the Phonathon, or with Campus Reservations, or even Conference Services. There’s also Orientation Leaders, Welcome Week Leaders, College Coaches, and on and on and on. You could be a security guard at LUMA if you wanted to give that a try. If you can dream that Loyola has a need, then there’s a job.

So where will you work? There’s so many choices, it’s really up to you, your circumstances, and your need. Trust me when I say that the job market isn’t something you have to worry about being too small here in Chicago and on campus. Happy hunting!

Job Hunting

By Stephanie Rodriguez | May 3, 2015

My graduation is T H I S Friday at 3 pm! I am so excited, but so are my parents so I can start job hunting! I want to share a website that has really helped me out to get organized on my job search. Sorry for the short post, but after having a semester full of detailed posts, I figured I would end by keeping them shorter. 🙂 One more post…wait for it!

Click the link below:

http://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/professors-guide/2010/03/31/10-tips-for-college-students-looking-for-a-job-in-a-tough-market

Looking for a Job or Internship?

By | February 28, 2013

Earlier this week, I braved the snowstorm to attend the well-anticipated Career Fair. I wasn’t there for long, so I only spoke with several companies.

The main companies I was looking to speak to were Deloitte and Epic, which I got the chance to do. Both companies were more interested in students that were graduating to hire full time, so my conversations were rather short. I gave them my resume and got a bit of information, and went on.

Since my Career Fair experience wasn’t as productive as I was hoping, this blog will be about general job resources instead of focused on only the Career Fair. So for those of you searching for a job or internship now, or will be looking in the future, here are my top resources:

RamblerLink– I go on the RamblerLink website many times a week, sometimes even multiple times a day to see what updated jobs and internships they have. I search all of the different options, not just those that fit my description. It was through RamblerLink that I applied for The Power Company, and I got the job. Even though the company was listed under summer positions, I got a call back within a week and I got the job within two. It’s not always easy to get a job through RamblerLink, but if you keep applying and practicing and taking every opportunity you find, your chances increase greatly.
Word-of-mouth (and sight)- If you hear that a place is hiring, or see that they are hiring (i.e. signs, advertisements), apply if you are interested. Applying everywhere is a great idea, but chances are higher that you’ll get a job at a place you know is actually hiring- you may save yourself time by applying later if you are still interested when they are hiring.
Online- Searching online, whether on job websites such as Internships.com or Craigslist, or direct company websites such as wholefoods.com, is a great way to apply to places. Some companies have exact open positions listed on their websites, which makes your search easier. Be cautious about job websites though. Websites like Craigslist may be great for jobs, but they could also turn out very negatively. Apply at your own risk, and try to apply only to those that have as much detailed information (at least a company name and job description) as possible. Don’t apply somewhere just because they say “Hiring! $1000 a Week!”. Don’t do it.
In person- This is where the Career Fair comes in. Applying or giving someone your resume in person may give you the opportunity to pick apart their brain and get some useful insight. Whether this gives you a better chance at getting a job depends on each individual interviewer and company, but these can be great opportunities to make connections. Sometimes in these cases, you can even get interviewed on the spot.

Using these techniques is a good idea, but take them a step further by using multiple at once. You don’t have to apply just online, by word of mouth, or just on RamblerLink. Use any combination of these techniques, and use as many as you can and want.

November News

By | November 2, 2012

Halloween has come and gone, and it’s now November. Registration is next week, so those of you who haven’t started preparing your classes, get on it! I’ve come up with a crazy schedule for myself, and it’ll be a miracle if I get it just right. I’ll update you all next week on how things went. Here’s to hoping!

As promised, I said that I would post a picture from Fright Fest last Saturday. Here it is:

And just because this was amusing, one more:

This year’s festivities weren’t quite as outgoing as they were several years ago. The costumes were definitely better, I’ll give them credit for that, but by the time daylight had gone and night had fallen, only several creatures had come out to play. If I decide to go next year, I’m hoping that this changes, because with the weather being that cold, it’ll take more entertainment than I got to stick around.

One fun new thing that I experienced at Fright Fest, though, was the showing of a short musical called “Love at First Fright”. It was cute, funny, and entertaining, incorporating jokes in relation to “The Vampire Diaries” and “The Hunger Games”. Another plus? It got me out of the cold for about an hour.

Back to talking about school and registration, along with signing up for classes, people should start considering searching for jobs and internships. Whether you are looking for a seasonal Winter break job or a Spring semester internship, the positions are filling up rapidly. I’ve begun my search for an internship, and so far it’s coming along smoothly. I’ve gotten two calls back, and I’m hoping to land one of them. I’ll keep you guys updated!

Since we are preparing for Spring semester already, that means that Winter break isn’t too far away, and before break come the dreaded Finals. I know that you all don’t want to think about them quite yet, but begin to consider reviewing materials because for many of us, like me, tests are cumulative and worth a huge chunk of our grades. No matter how well you are doing in a class, some Finals can make or break your grade, so don’t let them swallow you up.

Just a little tip for preparing so early in advanced- look over your materials and try and refresh your memory for now, and material that you didn’t understand before, now is a good time to figure it out. If you need help with a subject, but have not yet gone in for some, don’t be afraid to ask. Find a buddy in class, talk to your teacher, or get help from a tutor. From personal experience, I know that I love to study with classmates- it’s fun and social, and yet very helpful to have a student like yourself explain material to you that you didn’t understand from your teacher or the text. Take that into consideration.