Entering the real world: What goes into a résumé?

You’ve spent seemingly endless years in classrooms, from elementary, to high school, to college, sitting through boring lectures and answering mind-numbing tests. You’ve devoted your free time, skipped meals, and lost sleep for extra-curricular activities and organizations, supposed avenues for unleashing potential and leadership. You’ve devoted immeasurable time and effort, pulled off all-nighter after all-nighter, all in preparation for one thing: the real world.

We’re taught to make the most of our time as students, all in the hopes of facing the future and finding a job. Perhaps the most difficult step, though, in the entire process, is building a résumé that can both stand out and impress.

Whether you’re an undergraduate looking for an internship over the summer, or on your last term, searching for an OJT, the challenge of finding companies ready to accept you can be intimidating to say the least. Those of us who have taken PERSEF2 have learned a thing or two about creating a curriculum vitae (CV), but what really goes into making the ideal résumé?

Covering all aspects

According to Dr. Maria Bonnet, Coordinator for Job Placement at the Office of Counseling and Career Services (OCCS), the ideal résumé is founded on three significant details: academic excellence, leadership, and community engagement. A balance of performance, attitude, and values is needed for an applicant to truly impress.

“[Grades] are still important. The consistency of the grades will spell discipline within the student.It is an indicator of consistent work and commitment,” Dr. Bonnet explains.

Meanwhile, extra-curricular activities can be what sets an applicant apart. Dr. Bonnet explains that students do not necessarily need to be the presidents of their organization to impress—acts of leadership that show a student’s potential can be more than enough. “Leadership, whether it will be in the USG, or in the college, or in the orgs… [the companies] look for what is it in that engagement that you have made an impact in
the organization.”

Finally, Dr. Bonnet stresses the importance of community engagement, before proudly sharing that several Lasallians become successful within companies because of their social action. “Most of the companies really have Lasallians head the CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility).”

On the other hand, Amsther Tangco, a veteran in the HR Department, shares that those hiring look for specific competencies in a résumé depending on the position being applied for. For example, Engineering or I.T. positions will value technical or functional skills, while sales positions will put more emphasis on communication skills. Meanwhile, other positions simply look for the capacity to learn, otherwise known as an applicant’s ‘street smartness.’

Clarifying misconceptions

A misconception some students may have is the idea that the longer the résumé, the better. Students may try to join any and all sorts of commitments just to boost the number of pages of their CV, but according to Tangco, this is not always the smartest course of action. “A résumé for a fresh [graduate] should be short and simple,” she shares. “One to two pages max.”

Another possible misconception is that all résumés need to follow the same format, but this is not the case. “If the position calls for a creative type of job, perhaps the [applicant] could craft his [or her] resume with good graphics [and other similar designs] which may be reflective of his or her skills and creativity,” Tangco shares. However, she reaffirms that CV’s submitted to banks, financial institutions, and other similar industries must look professional and corporate.

Finally, there is the idea that graduating from De La Salle University, one of the top universities in the Philippines, can be enough to land a fresh graduate a job. While this may act as an advantage, it is not enough. “As a recruiter, there may be instances wherein I would have a preference for specific schools when screening. This is basically because… the focus and expertise of one school may be different to another, hence having ‘a better fit’ for the position,” Tangco explains. “However it does not guarantee [the applicant] joining the company—he [or she] may be a graduate of any of [the top 4 universities], but their motivational/job fit and behaviors [may not be] fit for the position and the company.”

Dr. Bonnet agrees, sharing that due to the ASEAN integration, competition between applicants for companies will be more intense than ever. “We [Lasallians] might consider ourselves the best, but we are not the only ones.”

Opportunities

Of course, at the end of the day, it is not enough to simply have a résumé that stands out—there is still the process of submitting it, after all. DLSU gives students leverage when it comes to applying for jobs with the biannual Job Expo, organized by OCCS. According to Dr. Bonnet, the Job Expo serves as a venue for students to be exposed to the top companies in the industry and to increase their chances of securing employment. However, she laments that majority of the students do not take this opportunity, with an average of only 1,500 students visiting the expo site per day in recent years.

The Job Expo brings around 150 companies to DLSU to conduct a variety of seminars, interviews, and exams. Dr. Bonnet encourages all students to attend the company talks, in particular, because these give a glimpse into the different companies and their respective cultures. Not only will graduating students find this beneficial, but first and second year students, who are just starting their college life, might use this opportunity to better plan for their future. She adds that she herself encourages her students to talk to at least 20 company representatives during the Job Expo, “The point there is not the number, but it is that you were able to access 20 companies [while in campus]. Where else could you find that opportunity in the Philippines, right?”

Regardless of your year level, the Job Expo is indeed a great opportunity to expand your horizons and look for opportunities that can help plan your future endeavors after college.

We are encouraged to prepare for the real world as early as possible. We must remember, though, that a résumé isn’t about having a lot of credentials, but rather, having that balance between academics, leadership, and social engagement. Tangco reminds students that they should take the opportunity to be active members in their extracurricular or socio-civic organizations, aside from simply focusing on their academics. “Most companies look for a ‘total person;’ someone not only very good in school but have been exposed to other work outside from school work. It just shows how balanced the student is— being good both in school work and outside school work.”

At the end of the day, all Lasallians must do is take advantage of the numerous opportunities around them, chief among which is the Job Expo. In summary, Dr. Bonnet reminds the student population of DLSU that “Lasallians are still preferred. But they have to prepare themselves, for the industry or sector that they would like to go to.”