If you’re an optimist like me, you always find something to be positive about in a dismal situation. So, college gets put online, but I still have my job and my friends! And then we kicked off-campus, so maybe I’ll get an internship at home. But then all non-essentials businesses close, so I think about volunteering experience. Now here I am, stuck at home in a shelter-in-place order with no hope of getting one more experience on my resume before I graduate in May.
It can be hard to see any silver linings left. Yet, despite this string of disappointments, there are things that can be done to prove you’re still more than qualified for upcoming interviews and job opportunities. Keep reading for 5 tips and tricks to build your resume without ever leaving your house.
Related: How Do I Keep My Career Path on Track with Coronavirus Happening?
Learn a new technical skill
Besides the “job experiences” portion of your resume, there should be a secondary section: SKILLS. The more relevant skills you can reasonably and confidently add to this section, the better.
This might be the perfect moment to teach yourself coding, camera techniques, graphic design programs, social media strategies, or SEO tactics. Sites like Skillshare,Codecademy and General Assembly are great places to start for some online learning.
Learning these types of practical skills make you a marketable candidate for any position. Plus it shows you have a good work ethic, internal motivation, and discipline to teach yourself something in spite of losing some or all contact with workplace mentors or college professors.
Look for remote jobs or internships
Companies may be working-from-home, but the internet is still up and running! Before the pandemic hit, you may have focused on jobs or internships that were close to your place of residence, but with recent changes, you have to work from your living room anyway, right?
Now is the time to search for remote opportunities anywhere in the country (or world) that could help build your resume or portfolio. There are many companies that always hire social media marketing or copywriting interns remotely anyway, so this could be a chance to get involved in something unexpectedly promising.
Even if you can’t find something full-time, don’t overlook the power of freelancing. Studies show that being a strong writer is one of the top characteristics employers are looking for in hiring. With that in mind, consider submitting your writing to blogs, newspapers, magazines, and other publications (start small) as potential writing samples. These will boost your applications in ways you never would’ve expected.
Related: 10 Remote Internships Hiring Right Now
Start your own side hustle
Ask yourself: do I have a unique talent that my friends are always coming to me for? Are you always being asked to design logos or t-shirts? Do people constantly want your advice on how to make their resume better? Are you the one in the friend group that edits everyone’s papers for a cup of coffee? Are you always the IT girl for your professors or extracurriculars?
Turn that into a side hustle! You can be paid good money for those skills you always thought of as just natural parts about you. Stop selling yourself short – you have a talent and you can use it for profit if you want to.
For example, I worked for several years as a lifeguard and swim instructor for our city pools. Then, I realized that I could charge way more and keep my schedule flexible by offering private lessons. I found out a lot of people preferred doing lessons with someone they already knew — it made them feel safer letting their kid in the water with me. Plus, I got to teach all these kiddos how to swim, which I love, and think is an essential life skill.
Create or refresh your online portfolios and social profiles to showcase your work
If you really want to bulk up your resume and are unable to add an extra gig right now, consider thinking outside the box and beefing up your social profiles, like LinkedIn, or creating an online portfolio to show off your writing, photography, or art samples.
While this tip isn’t about gaining new experiences, it is about standing out with what you already have. Like I said before, employers are often looking for more soft skills, such as communication, creativity, and initiative. Showing your work in easy-to-access and visually appealing formats can make a big difference.
Revise your cover letter to explain gaps in your resume
Remember, everyone is this situation and employers will expect you to have certain challenges during this time as young adults in college or entering the workforce. The best thing that you can do is show you handled these challenges like a pro. If you need to, explain in your cover letter why your internship/job/extracurricular ended so suddenly and what you decided to do about it. Don’t shy away from confidently mentioning the things you learned from the experience or how you really helped the organization working from home.
Having a great cover letter primes your reader to interpret your resume in the way you want it to be understood. Don’t underestimate the importance of preparing someone to see your experiences/skills as positive before they’ve even opened the document.
While missing out on IRL opportunities may feel upsetting, never let your past disappointments stop you from doing incredible things in the future. Best of luck!