Building your resume is a difficult thing to do, especially if your job experience is limited. We are all college students who need experience, so here’s how to make an employer think you know what you’re doing.

1. Basic Rules

You should know by now how to set up a resume, and should already have one, but if you don’t, there's plenty of templates out there. There’s even one on Microsoft office if you select it with examples in every section that you could include. You need to highlight your skills and make sure it’s as professional-looking as possible. Employers love a mature teenager/young adult; it shows promise as a future employee.

2. Never Lie

Even though it's extremely easy to write in the french you don’t speak or the contest you didn’t win, don’t do it. If you do get the job, your boss will quickly realize that you don’t have those skills you said you have and you could be fired, which other employers can find out.

Each job you have can be referenced and a future employer can call an old employer and ask about why you were let go, which you don’t want to happen.

3. Think Outside the Box

If you are having a hard time spicing up your resume, you can embellish. If you want to make it look like you are culturally rounded, talk about the mission trip you went on two summers ago, or how you volunteered at your church for a month. Talk about the two years of French you took, but don’t say you are a ‘proficient French speaker,’ because that wouldn’t be accurate. Talk about how you always helped that one kid out in math class and call it “tutoring.” Mention that you won an art competition in middle school.

These are suggestions for making your resume look more colorful and interesting. It will be the difference between you and another potential employee who has the same level of experience as you do.

4. Colorful Additions

Not only does a resume need good content, but a cool look as well. You need to make sure the font is legible, the format is organized into clearly defined sections, and there are numbered points to separate the different aspects. It can include color, but not to the point where it is distracting.

In the end, the only thing that matters is you get the job that you not only are good at but that you know you would enjoy. Be yourself!