I'm so helpful

Common-sense resume tips for students applying for internships:

1. Never underestimate the importance of a well-crafted resume. Your resume is the first (and sometimes only) impression you give. If words are misspelled, you look sloppy. And nobody wants a sloppy intern. You may think you're a lot better than your resume shows, but you may never get the opportunity to prove it. A good resume gets your foot in the door.

2. At least attempt to list work experiences that have something to do with the job you're applying for. Perhaps you'll find it helpful to have your objective listed at the top of the page. If you're applying for an engineering internship, please do not list your experience working in your church nursery. Although admirable, it will not convince others you can program web applications. Listing non-applicable work experiences only cheapen the applicable work experiences. Really, if you want a job answering phones, list your experience with last summer's job answering phones.

3. Along those same line, emphasize the crap out of the applicable job experiences you've had. Don't simply list what job title you had, tell us what you did in the most detail you can squeeze out. That doesn't mean write a book. It means that employers don't care if you only have two jobs listed as long as they show you have something to offer them.

4. Never list a breakdown of the Microsoft Office package as your computer skills. NEVER. Everyone who owns a computer knows Microsoft Internet Explorer and Word. It's a waste of space and makes you look stupid. If you've got no other skills, I suppose you can simply list "MS Office." But if you list experience with C++ or Jave, try to figure out programs you've used those with.

5. You may want to consider listing the classes you're taking that apply to the job. Just because you've taken one class in Introductory Programming doesn't mean you know Java. It's best to be honest about your skill level because it's better not to get hired than to get hired and then fired for knowing nothing.