What do companies look for?

Question

I'm a business college student, and i want a summer position next year in a very developed firm to expose me to the industry ( preferably an accounting environment, or a financial or marketing firm). What do these companies look for when they are looking through hundreds of student resumes?

I know the common response is to make your resume look more appealable, but how do i do that? what can i write in my objective to make me stand out??

Answer 1

Your objective should state what you have to offer in the way of soft skills, not what you want an employer to give you.  Realistically assess that.  For instance, soft skills include good interpersonal skills, task oriented, organized, plays well with others etc.  As a student, the most important factor will be grades and any papers you submitted that you could reference in the resume as applicable to the employer--for instance, a case study.  Ensure you use keywords effectively in your resume; if you have experience doing accounting and your title was 'Clerk II' or something, make it meaningful by saying your position was Accounting Clerk instead.  When it comes to providing references, you can let them know your former employer's title structure called the position 'Clerk II'.

Be sure to use your college campus recruiting office and if you're concurrently working on an accounting or finance designation, use the career services of the organization as well.  Consider working for a CPA firm if there's a good opportunity there.

Be prepared and research whatever company you interview with including understanding their competitive, regulatory etc. pressures.  Nothing annoys the heck out of a recruiter than talking to someone who isn't sure what the company does/makes.  Except, if the candidate is totally focused on what the employer can do for them, instead of what the candidate can do for the company.

Answer 2

I think you can make full use of your social network to find your internship even your future career. The advices or hiring managers or recruiters will be invaluable to you too. Why don't you go to Jobirn.com and chat with them directly? Moreover, you can find out the company the you would like to join in, add them to your favorite company list. When the employees of the company sees you there, they can refer you to your desired position. Of course, you can ask them to do the favor when there is the job openings. In the whole, you can make full use of your network there. Good luck.