If you spent your summer working in retail, scooping ice cream, or answering front desk calls, you may not think about including that on your resume. But don’t worry, you can use any work experience to build out your resume, if you do it the right way.
Highlight transferable skills
Start with the the job description. Once you have an understanding of all the required skills, think about which ones you used at your summer job. Many of the skills you learned at your summer job can be transferred to a position that is more directly to your career path.
Show off soft skills
Every job will require that you have so-called soft skills like communication and time management. Highlight the soft skills you learned —for example, managing multiple tasks simultaneously or communicating with a challenging customer.
Talk about your impact
Megan Malcolm, an Early Career Recruiter at Handshake, says, “Focus on the impact you made in bullet points, not the day to day activities of the job.” In addition to the skill-based bullet points, include some examples of an impact or unique contribution you made in your role.
Talk about it in your cover letter
Keep your cover letter short (2-3 paragraphs) and put your experience in context with your other work. For example, you could say, “As a member of the debate club, I thought I had great communication skills, but I didn’t learn to apply them at work until I worked as a summer camp counselor.” Keep these stories in mind for your interviews, too!
