Recently I have been spending a lot of time reviewing resumes and github profiles for students looking for internships. The advice that I kept giving was getting repetitive so here I will summarize 5 mistakes that I saw being repeated.

1. They only worry about getting into FAANG

For the uninitiated, FAANG is an acronym made famous by redditors that stands for Facebook, Appled, Amazon, Netflix, Google. These are seen as top tier companies that CS students should go after and nothing else exists outside of this spectrum. CS students make the mistake in thinking that its those companies or bust. What they fail to realize is that there is a seemingly endless supply of other companies that are just as good, if not better in some aspects than those companies and they are just as willing to hire them. They may not be the trendy company that everyone knows about but they still do pay good money to learn cool new tech.

The fix: CS students should apply to smaller companies that really interest them. If they don't know what their interests are they should consider topics that they are passionate about and look for jobs in that field. For example, if a student loves the NBA they should look for internships that involve sports in some way. When they end up applying to those kinds of jobs their passion will shine through and that could be a differentiating factor from other applicants.

2. They don't make use of campus resources

You want to know who really wants CS students to get hired? The school they attend! Campuses really want students to get hired because it makes the school look good. The higher the employment rate of the school, the more students want to attend. More often than not there is a plethora of resources at students disposal just waiting to be used. Things like campus exclusive job postings, resume reviews, and free LinkedIn head shots are some of the ones that come to mind. Not to mention the campus exclusive career fairs that bring intern hungry companies ready to hire on the spot!

The fix: Students should make the most of every campus resource that they can. Scheduling an hour with a career counselor could dramatically change a resume for the better. In addition students should make it their priority to have their resume reviewed before attending a career fair to insure maximum legibility. In order to find campus resources students should begin their search at the career center of their respective schools.

3. They do not follow up at and after the career fair

Ill begin this one with a story, I was 25 and I was looking to land my first internship. With my lackluster (to put it lightly but I literally had nothing except school projects on it) resume in hand I attended my schools career fair. Walking around I approached booth after booth peddling my resume to whoever would take it then I came across a company named SAP. At the time I had no idea who they were or what they did since they weren't FAANG so I didnt think much of them. I proceeded to chat with the representative, who turned out to be a manager at the company, and asked if they were hiring. He told me that at the time they were not since they had just filled all of their intern positions but he handed me his card and said dont be afraid to reach out in the future. Well, soon after the career fair I sent an email to him and to my surprise he said that they had just gotten funding for another intern who luckily enough after going through the interview process turned out to be me.

Moral of the story, do not forget to follow up with the contacts that they make as they might lead to an offer.

The fix: When attending career fairs, students should return to the companies that they like in order to leave a lasting impression. Ideally students should make a good first impression early on in the day and then return later to insure that they are not forgotten. Moreover, if contact information is given, students should follow up shortly after a career fair to keep themselves fresh in the companies mind.

4. They do not tailor resumes

Lets be real here, companies are using tracking systems to keep track of their applicants. These systems use filters and if a resume doesn't pass through the filters it is unlikely to ever be seen. How does one get them past these filters? With the use of the right keywords of course! Like a tailor making a perfect fitting suit, so should a resume be tailored for the job being applied for.

The fix: Students should consider tailoring their resumes by using the job description to add correct keywords to their resume to make sure that they are making it past the filters. Applicants should consider using a tool such as www.jobscan.co as it will help tailor the resume for the job they are applying for.

5. They do not make great use of LinkedIn

Is LinkedIn worth using?

This is by far the one question that I heard the most get asked. Students, undergrads in particular, are not utilizing LinkedIn to its full potential. From what I gathered, they are mainly using LinkedIn to look for and apply for internships. If that is all that LinkedIn is for, then what makes it different than indeed or other job posting websites? LinkedIn is different because of its social aspect. Students should use that aspect to their full advantage when applying to jobs, those who do not are the ones that end up complaining that LinkedIn isn't doing anything for them.

The fix: Students should make the most of LinkedIn by including proper keywords in the right places and telling their professional story along with expanding their professional networks. Expanding their networks becomes especially true when attending career fairs and conventions. Moreover, students should make the most of the social networking aspect by adding their current classmates as well as alumni in order to increase visibility and perhaps even ask for a reference into a job that they are applying for. For further reading on how to improve your LinkedIn, ll give some tips on how to maximize a LinkedIn profile in an upcoming How to improve your LinkedIn post.





Bonus

You're as surprised as this cat I know, but since you read this far ill hit you with a little bonus. When applying for jobs, recruiters are looking at a students entire profile as a person. This means that not only are they looking at the resume but they are checking out social media handles and doing google searches on possible candidates. Students should be sure to have the correct privacy settings in place and also make sure that there are no inappropriate posts or photos that might need to get taken down.