Recap of UofT CS Department’s Resume and LinkedIn Workshop

Key Themes

  • Tailoring Your Resume: Align content with each job posting for maximum impact.
  • Professional LinkedIn Presence: Build a profile that reflects both skills and personality.
  • Networking Effectively: Use coffee chats and LinkedIn to build connections.

Insights from Kate Grant

Background

Kate Grant, with a Bachelor’s in Literature, shared her unique journey from Silicon Valley during the tech boom. Her key message: “No one really knows what they are doing!” Embrace your uniqueness and always include something that makes you stand out.

Resume Tips

  1. Tailor Your Resume: Customize your resume for each job by taking advantage of keywords. Kate emphasized, “Make sure you are tailoring your resume, include items from the job posting in the resume.”
  2. Read Job Postings Carefully: Ensure you genuinely want the job before applying. This saves time and allows you to focus on roles you are passionate about.
  3. Showcase Well-Roundedness: Highlight diverse experiences, including scholarships, internships, and hobbies. “The best hires are ones that can showcase on their resume that they are well-rounded.”
  4. Be Specific: Detail your experiences, technologies used, and company names. “Be more specific about experiences, technologies, names of companies, etc.”
  5. Formatting: Use a 12 pt font (no larger than 14), stick to one font (e.g., Calibri, Times New Roman), and avoid all caps. Bold company titles and positions, italicize dates, and highlight key terms. “Only bold a few things (title of company, position), dates in italics; few keywords (e.g., JavaScript) in bold are ok.”

Actionable Takeaways

  • Customize your resume for each application.
  • Highlight both technical and non-technical skills.
  • Ensure all content is relevant, specific, and easy to read.

LinkedIn Strategies

  1. Profile Essentials: Include a professional headshot, a high-level “About Me” section, and links to your portfolio.
  2. Experience Section: Summarize your current role and past experiences concisely. “It’s like a mini resume.”
  3. Engage with Companies: Like posts, follow hiring managers, and connect with colleagues. As Kate said, “Most opportunities are brought about by knowing people.”
  4. Be Active: Post and engage regularly on LinkedIn. If you have an interview, connect with the interviewer on LinkedIn.

Actionable Takeaways

  • Regularly update and engage on LinkedIn.
  • Highlight achievements with measurable metrics.
  • Connect thoughtfully, including with potential interviewers or colleagues.

Additional Advice

  • Soft Skills: Highlight soft skills to complement any missing hard skills.
  • Be Boastful: Don’t shy away from showcasing your achievements. “Be boastful”
  • Avoid Over-Exaggeration: Be honest and specific about your skills and experiences. “Don’t over exaggerate.”
  • Keep Opinions Off LinkedIn: Maintain a professional tone on your profile. “Keep political/related personal opinions off LinkedIn.”

Coffee Chats

When requesting a coffee chat, be specific about why you want to meet and what questions you have. Respect the other person’s time and be clear about your agenda. “Be specific about why you want to meet that person, an agenda; what questions you have etc.”

Do’s and Don’ts

  • Do: Mention why you admire their role or experience.
  • Don’t: Ask vaguely to “pick their brain”; be intentional with questions.

Actionable Takeaways

  • Reach out to people in roles you admire with a clear agenda.
  • Prepare thoughtful questions about their career path and team.

Final Thoughts

Kate emphasized the importance of standing out and being unique. Whether it’s through your resume or LinkedIn profile, always show your personal side and tailor your approach to each opportunity.

This workshop provided invaluable insights into crafting a standout resume and maintaining a professional online presence. By following Kate’s advice, you can enhance your job search strategy and increase your chances of landing your desired role.

Detailed Tips and Tricks

Resume Specifics

  • Scholarships and Awards: Include scholarships under awards to make your resume stand out, especially for internships.
  • Free Time and Hobbies: Adding hobbies can show a well-rounded personality.
  • Consistency: Be consistent with bullet points and dashes.
  • Contact Information: Always leave your phone number on your resume.
  • Standardize Dates: Use a consistent format for dates, such as month + year.
  • Languages: While important, languages should not overshadow job titles, companies, and work experience.
  • APIs: Be cautious about listing APIs due to potential legal issues, but include them if the job posting specifically asks for it.

Pro Tip: Choose bullet points wisely. Prioritize achievements and metrics that speak to your skills and impact.

LinkedIn Specifics

  • Statistics and Metrics: Highlight actionable metrics and benefits you brought to a company. “Love statistics. Not the courses, but actionable metrics and benefits you made to a company.”
  • Engagement: Engage with the company by liking posts and seeing what they are doing online.
  • Connections: Add your colleagues on LinkedIn and connect with hiring managers.
  • Content Alignment: Ensure your LinkedIn profile aligns with your resume and shares most of the same content.

Pro Tip: Keep the “About Me” section concise, focusing on skills, passions, and goals that show professional and personal alignment.

Coffee Chats

  • Specificity: Be specific about why you want to meet someone and what questions you have.
  • Respect Time: Be aware of the other person’s time and be clear about your agenda. “It’s worth a shot to ask someone working in a team you’re interested in, ask if you can talk about how they got there, what they do… not just ‘have a half hour of their time to pick brain’; be specific and aware of their time.”

Pro Tip: Prepare a brief, 1–2 sentence introduction about yourself. This can help set a comfortable tone for the conversation and clarify your interests.