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Studies show that companies do most of their hiring during the first two months of the year. With businesses eager to bring on new talent, there’s no better time to spruce up your resume than now. That’s why the College of Charleston School of Business Student Success Center (SSC) is launching Resume Month this February.
Enter SSC’s Cory Werkheiser: assistant director of career and professional development and the man who’s making Resume Month happen. Poised to take students’ professional skills to the next level, Werkheiser
wants to make sure all resumes from our business students are blunder-proof.
We sat down with the career guru to talk a little about the do’s (and don’ts) of a well-done resume.
Q: Being the assistant director of career and professional development, I’m sure you’ve seen a ton of resumes — the good and the bad. Is there anything you wish students would leave off of their resumes?
A: Coffee stains. Actually, most of the time I assist students with adding things they never thought of including — like volunteer experience or details about study abroad programs.
Q: What’s the best funky font to include on your resume?
A: If you are using the word funky to describe your resume font — you’ve already failed… Keep it simple — Calibri or Arial. Times New Roman if you insist on having letters with serifs.
Q: Some students are discouraged by the brevity of their resumes. What advice do you have for Cougars with less professional experience?
A: Get involved! Join clubs and professional organizations related to your major/minor. Volunteer with organizations that support your interests or hobbies. Look for opportunities to job shadow or intern to gain experience, and seek out leadership positions whenever possible. All of this enhances your resume and expands your professional network.
Q: We all want to secure our dream job. What’s a major resume DON’T? On the flip-side, what’s one thing students should never leave off of their resume?
A: Don’t add any kind of picture or clip art. Always include accurate, up-to-date contact information.
Q: Is it okay to include jobs and extracurricular activities from high school?
A: Rarely, but I review that with the student on a case-by-case basis.
Q: So, your killer resume just got you an interview. What should you never leave home without when meeting with a potential employer for the first time?
A: A hard copy list (don’t trust your phone!) of the following details: When you are meeting, where the interview is located, and with whom you are meeting. And a breath mint!
Q: Any last words?
A: Using statistical data that I just made up, 98.3% of resumes have something that needs to be corrected, added, or removed. Simple spelling or grammar errors can be the single factor that removes you from consideration. Get the resume reviewed, reviewed, and reviewed!
Stop by the Student Success Center (Beatty Center, Suite 100) anytime this month to have your resume revamped for success. And, be sure to follow the SSC on Instagram, at @cofc_sb_ssc!
Ani Meloyan stands at the helm of a full boardroom in Roper St. Francis’ hospital, poised and prepared to pitch a business idea to potential investors. The faces staring back at her belong to Roper Hospital’s CEO, its vice president of medical affairs, physicians, local business owners, entrepreneurs and inventors, all of whom have come ready to either opt in, negotiate, or leave Meloyan’s business plan in the dust.
Ani Meloyan presents a business plan to potential “investors” as part of the “Doing Business with Israel” internship final presentation. (Photo: Mark Swick)
Only, Meloyan is not actually seeking money, and the bigwigs in the room don’t really intend to spend any.
That all played out last spring for Meloyan and her peers.
College of Charleston School of Business students, Meloyan, Samantha Curtin and Michael Stalcup participated in an internship program that connected them with Israeli startup companies to learn more about international trade, writing export plans, and ultimately pitching their plans to local “investors” who would potentially have a vested interest in the product.
The internship program, called “Doing Business with Israel,” is a joint initiative between the Clinical Biotechnology Research Institute (CBRI) at Roper St. Francis, the College of Charleston’s School of Business and the Yaschik/Arnold Jewish Studies Program. The program connects students with international business partnerships – specifically Israeli startups in the life sciences industry.
This Shark Tank-style scenario was arranged as a part of the internship program’s final business plan presentation. Leading up to this day, the students were each paired with an Israeli business, working with their respective CEOs to learn about the products they hope to launch in the U.S.
“Investors” provide students with feedback on their business plan presentations. (Photo: Mark Swick)
Meloyan was connected with a business that invented a special kind of baby bottle that preserves 50 percent more nutrients of breast milk than standard bottles. Curtin’s assigned company developed smart sensor epidural needles, ensuring a more accurate needle placement. And Stalcup worked with a business that created a blood-based diagnostic test to detect Alzheimer’s Disease in its earliest phase.
The interns spent two months producing business plans with the guidance of Rene Mueller, professor of marketing and director of the School of Business’ International Business Program, and the final month comparing their business plans with those of the actual Israeli businesses. Throughout the span of the project, the students also worked alongside Dr. Jacobo Mintzer, executive director of the CBRI, who offered insight into the medical component of the program.
“I was drawn to this internship due to its competitive nature and the international aspect of it,” says Meloyan. “The opportunity reinforced my decision to major in international business, and served as a great opportunity to gain valuable industry experience.”
Curtin adds: “The premise of ‘transforming an idea into a product’ caught my attention. While the work was daunting and, at times, exhausting, I can say for the first time in my professional career that I was truly inspired as a result of this internship.”
U.S.-Israel Partnership
The international component is an integral part of this internship program. But, why Israel, specifically?
Mintzer, who spearheaded the initiative, completed his medical internship and five-year residency at the Hadassah-Hebrew University School of Medicine in Jerusalem, and is keenly aware of Israel’s booming healthcare industry.
Dr. Jacobo Mintzer, executive director of the CBRI, with business students Ani Meloyan and Samantha Curtin. Not pictured: Michael Stalcup. (Photo: Mark Swick)
According to the 2015 Israel Advanced Technology Industries Report on Israel’s Life Sciences Industry, more than 1,300 active companies in the life sciences industry – comprising medical devices, biotechnology/pharmaceutical and healthcare IT/digital health businesses – operate in Israel today. In the past decade, Israel’s life sciences industry has seen an annual growth rate of 20 percent.
The only problem with this growth is its inability to flourish domestically due to Israel’s small market. Because of this, Israeli entrepreneurs tend to turn to the U.S. as their primary market. Mintzer observed the success of these U.S.-Israel partnerships along with the Israeli model of aggressively merging business and academics, and thought of it as an incredible learning opportunity for local business students.
That is when he contacted Mueller at the School of Business and Martin Perlmutter, director of Jewish Studies, to initiate the “Doing Business with Israel” internship program. The School of Business’ “ready-to-work” tools and resources, coupled with Jewish Studies’ strong interest in connecting with Israel given the strength of Israeli business today, made for a no-brainer partnership in Mintzer’s mind.
“CBRI’s connecting to Jewish Studies and the School of Business, enriching the educational opportunities for the College’s students, and exposing them to the rich fabric of Israeli business innovation is an all-around winner,” says Perlmutter. “The fact that it is a long-term initiative, with a bright future, makes it even sweeter.
To learn more about the “Doing Business with Israel” internship program, please contact Mark Swick, community liaison for the Yaschik/Arnold Jewish Studies Program, at swickmn@cofc.edu.
Learn more about the School of Business, the Yaschik/Arnold Jewish Studies Program and the Clinical Biotechnology Research Institute.
Kerem Bolukbasi, an alumnus of the College, is now a Senior Audit Manager on the Corporate Audit Team for GE Finance. Through his work with GE’s expansive portfolio of businesses, he has tremendous insight into the United States’ current financial system and factors leading to our reset economy. An advocate for student development and opportunity, Bolukbasi also will take the time to offer career advice to students and information on specific paths to a career in finance with GE. The presentation will be Monday, February 22 at 5:00 pm in Wachovia Auditorium. Guests are invited to stay for pizza following the event.