On Tuesday, January 30, 2024, the Center for Career Education (CCE) kicked off the Spring ‘24 Design Your Next Steps (DYNS) series with a Resume Workshop with Nuveen. Drew Small, Early Talent Acquisition Advisor facilitated a workshop with advice on building a tailored resume and provided insight into internship and full-time opportunities with the company.
Nuveen recruits early talent for their internship and post-graduation rotational associate program. They offer positions in various departments such as accounting & financial analysis, technology, asset management, human resources, marketing, and more! Nuveen’s applications are launched in the fall for the following summer and positions are typically filled by winter break.
ICYMI, here are some key takeaways from the workshop:
What are recruiters looking for on a resume?
During the workshop, Drew highlighted a few tips for crafting a resume and helping your experiences stand out:
Personal Statement: This is an opportunity to provide some background information about yourself and let the recruiter know what you are looking for, what you want to do, and what you want to accomplish. Try to keep this section between 2-3 sentences long to not take up too much space on your resume.
Relevant Coursework: Demonstrate that you have taken the courses needed to meet the needs of the position. If you choose to note a course that you have yet to complete, then make sure you include the expected date of completion.
Internships: Keep this section up-to-date! If you have an upcoming internship, it is still okay to list it. Make sure to note that it is “upcoming” with the expected internship dates.
Involvement & Volunteering: Employers who are looking for well-rounded candidates look for what activities a student participates in outside of their main interests. Companies/Organizations who have a strong interest in community service and philanthropy may look for volunteer experience on a resume. Nuveen has a strong commitment to community engagement and will assign their interns community service projects to participate in during their programs.
Leadership Roles: Showcase areas of leadership in student organizations, group projects in class, through volunteer experiences, etc.
Projects: Don’t hesitate to include projects (personal or academic) on your resume. These projects can also showcase skills employers are looking for!
Skills: Don’t forget your skills section! This section can help demonstrate intellectual curiosity and drive to attain the knowledge to be successful in the position. Include certifications, professional development courses, technical skills, language proficiencies, etc.
Note: Try to keep your resume to one page. It looks cleaner and makes it easier for the employer to read. Employers may not read the second page of your resume so make sure all relevant information is highlighted on the first page. Have a “word bank” document of all of your experiences that you can pull from to formulate a resume. This can make life easier when crafting a resume for job applications in different industries.
Additional Tips for Building Your Materials
Practice What You Preach: If you list a skill on your resume, then make sure that skill is demonstrated in your experiences. Show the employer how you have put that skill into practice.
Road-Mapping: Your resume should tell the story of how you’re getting from Point A to Point B. Think about what you can be doing now (courses, activities, internships) to make sure your resume makes sense for what you are trying to pursue. If you have a major that is different from the industry, think about what transferable skills you are developing in your current major. How can those skills be applied to your industry of interest?
Cover Letters & AI: If you are using AI to create your cover letter, then make sure you review afterward to edit and ensure your voice is coming through. Recruiters can tell if a cover letter is written by AI. Cover letters can be good supplemental material for applications to convey interest in the position and paint a fuller picture of experiences.
CCE Resources
Check out these additional resources to help you build your resume: Sample Resumes, Creating Strong Bullet Points, 200+ Action Verbs to Spice Up Your Resume
Make an appointment with a career counselor for support with your job and internship search, or to discuss strategies for discerning whether an organization has a culture of diversity and inclusion. You can also stop by our Quick Questions drop-in hours, in-person and virtually, Monday through Friday from 2:00 pm — 4:00 pm. No appointment is necessary.
Design Your Next Steps (DYNS) is a series of CCE and employer workshops that will help you gain practical skills for engagement with employers and alumni, and guide you through the internship/job and graduate school search process. Find upcoming events at careereducation.columbia.edu/programs/dyns.
