Being an adult sucks.

I just finished my first resume after four agonizing days pouring over every internet resource and using a thesaurus and combing over the thing for any little grammar error.

Ugh. If I wasn't getting paid minimum wage for waiting tables, I would so stick to it throughout college. Unfortunately, I want an apartment, and possibly food at times so I need an office job. Cross my fingers and hope my focus on my college work and explanation of what I learned from said waitressing job is good enough to convince them to interview me.

You guys ever write one of these things? Was it hell for you too?

God I hate resumes. We have to build a full Portfolio in Grade 12 in Canada... resume, letters of reference, documents from volunteer jobs, the works DX

*fingers crossed* Hopefully you get that job though!

Thanks.

I had the biggest problem with the "Skills" part. I mean, who doesn't put 'responsible,' 'hard-working,' etc. on those things? I can't just plop those down and walk away. I have to spend three hours figuring out what my skills are. And I'm pretty sure video games aren't considered relevant. I went with like 'knowledge of MS Office programs,' 'well-versed in textual analysis' and stuff like that.

Well you could always say video games built great hand-eye coordination. Whether that helps with that particular job or not... lol

Yep, writing resumes sucks. I've been working since I was 16, so that means I've had to cook up a ton of the things. On the plus side, they do get easier over time because you actually get some experience and education to put down. And now that I've made some connections and built up a good reputation in my field, the resume has become more of a gesture to pacify HR than a real requirement. For my current job, they didn't bother asking for one. I was pretty dang happy about that, too, as I always feel a headache coming on when I pull up the file to update it.

Ramble ramble ramble, anyway, keep at it and good luck!! Let us know how it works out for you. What are you studying at University?

That's pretty cool. I can't wait to get 'street cred' in my field. You're reminding me of my boss - I told him I was pretty happy with the way it turned out and he decided to tell me he has like 10 different resumes at any one time. Chefs. Pssh.

That has to be great to have more options and already have a few things down where you've proven yourself. Most of the positions I looked at required 2+ years experience. How am I supposed to get experience with this job when you can't get it without having experience!?

I'm an English undergrad, and I'm going to be in school for 6+ more years since I'm planning on my terminal degree, so I just want a slightly better paying job that I can keep for the next few years. It's just position as an assistant, so it's kind of a college gig, but at least I'll get better experience than waiting tables. Although said boss is a fantastic people-person and great with business, not to mention a real stand-up guy. I've learned such a great deal from him. I could just rave on and on - I'd marry him if he weren't 13 years my senior.

I cannot resist sexy older men. Especially funny, intelligent sexy older men who've cooked me the greatest food I've ever tasted.

Ah--not being able to get experience because every job requires experience. That's the eternal conundrum. It seems like entry-level is a thing of the past. I actually had to take a position I hated just because it was in a related field, but once that trial by fire was done it made getting better positions much easier. A little bit of luck or someone to give you a hand up probably makes things easier, though.

On the plus side, a lot of your competition will be grappling with the same problem. Your resume is your chance to grab their interest and show why you are different and exciting. I think "skills" is a great place to do this, as long as you avoid the amorphous and generic things ("hard worker") that you already mentioned. Since you wait tables, I'd be willing to bet that you have experience multi-tasking under pressure, collaberating with team members and superiors to solve problems and maintain flow in the workplace, and providing individualized and attentive customer service, for example. Emphasizing any little tidbit of computer experience you have tends to go over well--people are often impressed with things that you take for granted. When prepping for an interview, make sure you have specific examples in mind of when you've used these skills (particularly in colorful situations) so that the interviewers know it's not just empty boasts.

tl;dr: I've sat on a few hiring boards and it's the little touches that will get you that interview and the chance for your articulate speaking and creativity to win them over.

Especially funny, intelligent sexy older men who've cooked me the greatest food I've ever tasted.
Ugh, deadly combo. And here I though my hubbie was catnip because he makes me baklava.

And also, "terminal degree" always makes me laugh.

I think I managed to highlight some less obvious skills, and my cover letter was kind of the bomb... But that's a huge relief to me - my main problem was the (lack of) job history. I feel like I can contribute far more than what I've had the opportunity to do. I was a little lost at first as to how to spin the waitressing thing, but I eventually got into what you mentioned. Multi-tasking, fast-paced environment, responsible for my own cash drawer, etc. and I described how the most important thing I learned from the experience was the idea that my attitude and performance reflects not only upon me, but upon the business itself, and it's therefore imperative that I comport myself in the most professional way possible.

Goodness. Baklava. That warrants 'sexy time,' does it not? Yeah, I should probably not be as starry-eyed for this guy as I am, but how do you resist a funny, intelligent, sexy older man (hereby now abbreviated to FISOM)? They're like crack to young, female English majors (YFEM? Not as catchy).

And - let's face it - most people would consider an English degree to be 'terminal' for your career...