By Marcia Powers
Contributor, Career Services
Earning a college degree is a major accomplishment. After many semesters of hard work and dedication, you are finally able to reference your conferral when applying for new job opportunities.
But, if all you’re doing is listing your degree on your resume, then you are not leveraging your educational experience to its greatest potential. There are more ways than one to give yourself credit for your educational accomplishments and woo potential employers.
Market your technical skills and proficiencies gained during your education.
Don’t underestimate the technical skills you learned throughout your degree program, especially if your industry employers find value in these abilities. For example, if you obtained an engineering degree, you might have practical classroom experience with a computer-aided design (CAD) program. Or, perhaps you’re a business student and you’ve mastered the ins and outs of Excel. If you’re proficient in a relevant program or mastered a technical skill, be sure to give yourself credit!
Include well-written papers or samples of work in your Portfolio or LinkedIn Profile.
Don’t undervalue a great piece of artwork or a stellar writing example just because it was created for a class. If you have a quality sample of work which is relevant to your target field, consider uploading it to your LinkedIn profile or include a copy in your professional portfolio. This is a great way of exemplifying your potential to create high-quality work.
Connect with your college support system to build your professional network.
If you don’t know this by now, you will soon find out that networking is incredibly important to your career development. Whether you are a current student or alumnus, be sure to stay connected with your professors, classmates, and academic mentors with whom you’ve fostered positive relationships. They may be able to connect you with some great opportunities, provide you with some insight to your field, or just offer you some plain old good advice.
Treat your internships as legitimate experience.
In addition to obtaining a solid foundation in your area of study, you may have also engaged in an experiential learning opportunity or internship. Internships often provide opportunities for students and recent grads to learn new skills and apply their classroom knowledge in a work setting. Be sure to treat this as valuable experience, especially within your resume and cover letter.
Potential employers will not know what you accomplished while earning your degree; it’s up to you to show them!
About the Author: Marcia attended the University of Minnesota – Duluth where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in History. After graduation, Marcia decided to serve in the AmeriCorps where she discovered her passion for helping others achieve their academic and career goals. Deciding that Higher Education was the right path for her, Marcia gained experience in Admissions and Financial Aid before transitioning to Career Services at American Public University System (APUS). As a Career Coach at APUS, Marcia’s industries of focus are Emergency and Disaster Management, Homeland Security, Criminal Justice, and Security Management. Marcia currently resides in West Virginia and enjoys spending her free time hiking, fishing, and camping with her family and friends.
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