In terms of highlighting your interdisciplinarity, a resume can be an important tool in terms of conveying the relationships between your different areas of study. In presenting a resume to a potential employer, you can convey the skills acquired from your various areas of study and how these skills combine to make you a desirable candidate.
In terms of content, I feel that while it is necessary to showcase your academic record, it is equally as important to highlight your professional experiences, be it internships, a job(s), or even volunteer work. On the same note, I feel that listing volunteer work and your skills acquired therein can highlight one’s character.
One of the biggest keys in getting hired is your resume. As interdisciplinary students we have to take advantage of being able to show diversity in our schooling history. In my resume I highlight the skills I have gained as an education minor. I talk about my increased communication skills and the way I have utilized these skills. Then I reach into my other discipline social science. From social science I have taken skills of organization and a general view of the world and how it works. Together these skills highlighted in my resume show my interdisciplinary education and give my future employers a view of me as a well rounded educated future employee.
I think cover letter is another aspect that as IDS students we can really take advantage of. The point of a cover letter is to tell information that gives you a competitive edge over others trying to get the job. Its not about reiterating information found in your resume but giving the employer a better view of you the person and what makes you different then other applicants.
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Peter I really liked your explanation of the cover page. It was something I was uncertain about, but I'm glad to be aware of something that can give an additional edge. The way the economy is, any bit of an edge we can gain its incredibly beneficial.
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ReplyDeleteThere are different people that will tell you different things about resumes and cover letters, and what is conventionally accepted seems to change every few years. It also varies based on the profession or field in which you are applying. It used to be that a single paged resume was supposedly frowned upon. Now it’s considered best to have only one page, unless your work experience is too much to include in one page (like mine).
ReplyDeleteIt can be difficult to show interdisciplinarity in a resume, since simply demonstrating functional knowledge of various fields can simply be multidisciplinarity. Now I finally see a point to using a cover letter. I have never used a cover letter-- I never really saw the point. Showing that you were able to use various fields together is easier in a cover letter. Using explanations and examples in an interview setting seems to be an even easier and better way to do this. However, you have to get to the interview first...
Resumes are used as a tool to showcase a person's experience in the workplace and highlight their unique qualities that set them apart from others. To me, my resume is a representation of myself. My resume highlights my interdisciplinarity by displaying my accomplishments and qualifications in all the different areas I am interested in. Instead of only showing my previous jobs, it also reveals my volunteer work, awards, and anything else I feel is impressive to share with a potential employer.
ReplyDeleteHowever, it is the coverletter that trul shows who a person is. While the resume is a representation in facts, the coverletter gives examples of qualities being in use. It allows for the employer to get more aquainted with myself as a person, outside of my qualifications.
Eduardo, I agree with what you said about how simply having a resume exposes multidisciplinarity, not necessarily interdisciplinarity. The coverletter helps with that because it provides examples.
ReplyDeletePeter, I like what you said about how listing volunteer work highlighting a person's character. I think that what a person does in their spare time, without earning any profit really says a lot about who they are.
ReplyDeletePeter, I think it’s interesting how you started with your education minor. It almost seems like your major supports your minor, which is not a bad way of looking at it. Does this mean that the minor, depending on the context, can serve as a sort of guide for the direction of accompanying IDS major?
ReplyDeleteSamantha, your comment about the cover letter allowing the potential employer to become more acquainted with you as a person is very spot on. One of the best qualities a person can have in a professional context is to be able to strike a balance between personable and professional, and the cover letter allows someone to demonstrate that balance.
ReplyDeleteI feel as though our resume is a great opportunity to explain how beneficial our interdisciplinarity is, and exactly what purpose our major serves. Our resume can highlight our focuses through our areas of study. I don't really have any questions about the cover letter, I feel as though it was thouroughly explained. A great cover letter really displays something about yourself that the reader might not be able to gather in the information of the resume. It's a personal edge, and its very beneficial. My question with resumes, is when it comes to job experience, how far back should you go as far as listing jobs?
ReplyDeleteSamantha, I agree and like what you said about the cover letter. Its a very good point that the employer uses the cover letter to become better aquainted with you on a more personal level. I think its definitely an edge that can make it or break it.
ReplyDeleteEduardo,
ReplyDeleteI definitely believe it can. For me I think the strengths I have taken from being able to spread my education among three various fields have really shone through in my minor. I think to me one of the most important skills is the ability to communicate and coming from the Education field you are forced to learn fundamental communication skills. Whenever I talk about my major I always start by discussing these skills, I even went as far as highlighting them in my applications for Law school. Also very good point about the cover letter explaining the differences between multidisciplinarity and interdisciplinarity.
I think that having a resume is a key part of employment. It helps display one's character and personality. It displays previous employment history and diversity with the different jobs an applicant has been involved in. Also, it shows any volunteer work and community service. That is always an asset when it comes to employment. Employers love to see people go the extra mile to help others and to be a well rounded individual.
ReplyDeleteCodie Finch