My friends and I have been talking about graduation and the “Future” a lot lately so I thought it would be a good idea to write a post about ways to build up your resume. Although the condition of today’s economy is frightening, especially for recent grads, there are still plenty of things you can do to make yourself a better candidate on the job market. In this post, I will be speaking specifically about two of them: community service and internships.

I know that community service may not sound too appealing to poor college kids trying to pay for tuition and books, but volunteer work looks great on a resume and can definitely help you stand out in an interview. Doing community service allows you to gain valuable work experience if it is related to your area of interest, but can also push you to experiment and do things you would never have considered before. Finally, while it may be hard to believe, volunteering can be really fun and is a great way to meet new people. For instance, after freshman year a few of my friends and I joined a volunteer abroad program in Hangzhou, China where we taught local children English. It was an awesome experience that allowed me to practice teaching my own class, developing lessons and putting on presentations for the students. And although it was terrifying being in a different country where I couldn’t speak the language fluently, it also forced me to test my own limits and taught me new skills.

Getting an internship is another great way to build up your resume and gain professional experience. Although you will probably start off by doing boring office work, such as picking up the phone and photocopying or filing documents, you might also get the opportunity to work on your own project and network with important people in your field of interest. At Queens College, the Political Science Department offers a variety of internship opportunities for students, regardless of major. You can work in a number of different fields such as law and media and for many types of community groups and government or non-profit organizations. For more information about internship opportunities you can contact Professor Michael Krasner from the political science department at: PH 200N, tel: (718) 997-5489, email: [email protected]. But if there aren’t any internships you find interesting, you should not hesitate to search for them on your own. For instance, I recently found a blog about internship opportunities, which I thought I would share with you guys: http://www.onedayoneinternship.com/

Okay, so if you have any questions about anything I have mentioned above, feel free to post a comment or send me an email. Also, if anyone has more information about community service or internship opportunities, definitely share them and it would also be great to hear about your experiences.