School teaches you invaluable soft skills as much as it teaches you technical skills. In order to get the most out of your education, you need to approach it with the correct mindset.
One of the changes you can immediately enact is shifting your perspective on difficult classes. We all have subjects we are weak in, but that's a good thing. Embrace those subjects, knowing it's not solely the marks that matter, but the resilience you are building that matters. Challenge yourself to gradually improve throughout the term by exploring new resources and study techniques.
When you combine the resilience you develop while doing things you don't want to do with a future opportunity that you genuinely like, you'll become a powerhouse.
Therefore, treat your education now as an opportunity to prepare for that moment.
If you instead decide to complain and accept a grade without trying, then it's likely you will apply that mindset to the difficult obstacles that inevitably come along with great opportunities.
Moreover, resilience improves the more experience you have, so don't shy away from taking difficult classes that are out of your comfort zone. Push your boundaries with learning and have confidence that you'll put in the work to figure things out.
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When you enter college, you will have a lot more freedom than ever before. That's when your habits really become apparent and can dictate the experience you have for the next four years. Therefore, it is important to start developing good ones while you're still in secondary school and benefit from the structured environment. Here are some examples that I believe will serve you well in the future:
• Establishing a healthy sleep routine
• Relying on effective study techniques
• Practicing regular exercise
• Cooking healthy foods
• Developing time management skills
• Maintaining a clean room
• Going out alone
It's important to note that breaking any habits can be very challenging. Therefore, it is essential to be aware of the bad habits too in order to avoid them. Here are a few habits that I would strongly advise against:
• Skipping lectures
• Cramming for exams
• Only staying indoors
• Lacking balance
• Failing to seek help/feedback
• Heavily depending on others
• Oversleeping
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You can be an exceptional student but if you don't have internship experience while in school, you are at a serious disadvantage when competing for job opportunities that are paid upon graduation for three main reasons.
1. The market continues to grow more competitive as online resources have made it easier for students to obtain degrees and certificates. Therefore, graduating from a university alone may no longer be sufficient to secure a quality job.
2. lt is imperative that you've understood your likes and dislikes with a job. It's one thing to read about it, but it's another to experience it every day, and you want to be sure you are satisfied before applying for a long-term role.
3. You'll lack a professional network to write letters of recommendation that can gain you a competitive edge over the other candidates.
Therefore, it is crucial to prioritize seeking out internships with a similar level of focus as you have for your studies.
The first step is to develop a comprehensive resume that captures the attention of potential employers. This process can be very overwhelming for those who are new to it, but don't worry, as I'll break down the key points in this section.
During my last two internships, I've been connected to several hiring managers and they've all reiterated the importance of these four basic resume writing principles:
• Focus on impact using measurable metrics
• Include keywords regarding job description and soft skills
• Keep it concise and tailored with the reviewer in mind
• Include a comprehensive Linkedln profile
I'll address each one of them and also include my own resume at the end as an example for all of you to see. It's not perfect, but hopefully it serves as a good resource.
Focus on Impact Using Measurable Metrics
It is very common for students to seek internships in different fields in order to explore and discover their preferences. However, students tend to struggle with leveraging these experiences for different positions in the future. By quantifying your impact, hiring managers across different departments and industries are able to quickly understand within the appropriate context.
Moreover, using numbers and percentages will immediately stand out compared to other resumes that simply summarize achievements in text. This approach showcases your ability to deliver tangible results and make a meaningful impact in your work.
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For example, during my previous internship, I utilized automated platforms to efficiently handle and simultaneously test a large number of lead compounds. However, simply mentioning this experience on my resume may not leave a lasting impression on an employer unfamiliar with the early drug discovery process. Instead, a more impactful statement would be:
“L’ thanceel drii,q pro tire t clesi,qn 3-J’olcl across n11 phases oJ’pharm aceu tical clevel‹iyment hy effic'ieii tly utiliziii q uutomatecl ylutforrns to execute stlluhility, stuhilit y, und
›artitloii coeJficient screens.”
By delving deeper into the impact of my contributions and quantifying it as a "3-fold improvement," I provide concrete evidence of my accomplishments and create context that showcases the value I brought to the organization at large. Therefore, the hiring manager is able to better understand how my skills could transfer to the position they're offering, ultimately making me a more desirable candidate.
Include Keyworcls Regarding Job Description and Soft Skills
Many companies use an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) that automates the screening process. Therefore, it is important to first make your resume readable by avoiding columns, pictures, graphs, charts, and tables, and instead electing for clear section headings, paragraphs, and bullet points.
Additionally, you must use keywords that the ATS is likely to search for based on the job description. A good first step is to copy the entire job description and paste it into any text analyzer online in order to identify the most recurring word or phrases. Then naturally integrate them into your experience or skills section in order to demonstrate those desired qualities.
It is very common to find resumes that have an abundance of technical skills but fall short in highlighting essential soft skills. The hiring managers I've spoken to suspect it's due to templates prioritizing technical skills while neglecting the necessary space for emphasizing soft skills.
Failing to include keywords regarding soft skills relevant to your position can be detrimental as it is likely that the ATS will screen for these as well. A quick google search will help you identify appropriate and effective soft skills that your employer is likely to seek. Again, you can include these into your experiences or create a separate skills section.
Keep It Concise and Tailored with the Reviewer in Mind
Most recruiters typically spend just a few minutes reviewing resumes, so it's crucial you make yours concise. For a majority of students, unless there are exceptional 53
circumstances, a resume should be kept within a single page. More specifically, the recommended word count seems to be a range of 475-600 words.
If you find yourself over this limit, then it is likely you are including unnecessary details such as outdated skills, unrelated work experience, or irrelevant personal details.
Use the word count feature on your software or any other available ones online for free to keep track as you write.
It is important to always remember that you are using your resume to advertise your skills for a specific job, and therefore, ensure you are tailoring the experiences and skills appropriately. Sometimes that means replacing, reordering, or perhaps removing items altogether, leading to the existence of multiple versions of your resume.
1 understand tailoring your resume can be time-consuming, and you will be tempted to just send the same resume out in mass. However, I promise you the extra time invested will be more than worth it.
Over the past two years, 1 have applied to more than 50 internships, tailoring each application to some extent. As a result of my efforts, I have been fortunate to receive more internship offers than the majority of biomed students at my university.