Monday, July 12, 2010
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
15
Selling yoursel
JEFF ZUSCHLAG
E-MAIL JEFF AT JEFFDZ@UMICH.EDU.
Water skiing is more
important than my
GPA.
Okay, now
that my mother
is sobbing on the
floor while my m
dad dances vic-
toriously around
the room, allow
me to explain. ERIKA
* My resume MAYER
is pretty stan-
dard. Other than
its stellar layout - a template
designed by a tech-savvy engi-
neer - it's fairly boring unless
you're really interested in the life
of Erika Mayer. It covers academ-
ics, work experience and awards.
Squeezed in at the bottom in the
few extra lines left are a couple
of activities I do at the Universi-
ty: the water ski team, the Daily,
Campus Symphony Orchestra and
Model UN. I added them because
I think it shows how I'm involved
in activities outside of my classes
and that I'm able to manage my
time effectively.
Little did I know that one day
these few lines would land me a job.
I'm working for a Member of
Parliament in London this sum-
mer, and I recently found out just
how lucky I am to have this job.
My MP and I have been talking
about American resumes (or CVs,
as he calls them). Every year, his
office takes a couple of American
interns, and he says it's really hard
to pick which ones would work
best. They are all well-qualified,
and smart students, but on paper
they all look the same - flat char-
acters with no personality. He
told me that the over-competitive
nature of the American job mar-
ket encourages students to cram
their resumes with qualifications
instead of interests.
"But," you might protest, "I only
have one piece of paper on which
to explain how good I would be
for the job!" I said the same thing,
quoting something witty about
British A4 paper versus the Ameri-
can 8.5x11. Besides, I reasoned, I do
have activities on my resume.
Which, it turns out, is exactly
why I was hired. Only one of my
activities - Model UN - could
actually benefit my future career.
It's pretty obvious that I'm not
going to be a professional water
skier, as awesome as it would be
to have access to any lake in the
world. I'm not going to be a solo
violist in this lifetime. And as
much as I like writing for the Daily,
it's just something I do for fun.
Employers
care about your
interests too.
But including these on my
resume shows that I'm a well-
rounded person with a variety of
interests - and it shows I like to
have fun. To a potential employer,
these are really important. After
all, they do have to work with you.
You're probably pretty well-
rounded too as the University
usually doesn't let in single-mind-
ed people. Bookish English majors
store old pompons in the base-
ment and fraternity brothers have
trumpets in the corners of their
rooms. With so many student
groups on campus, it would be
practically impossible to not be
involved in something. The prob-
lem is that we aren't putting these
things on our resume.
My resume could be three
pages long if I included all my
hobbies, activities, etc. But we all
know no one reads past the first
page. So, like everyone else, I cut
down on the irrelevant informa-
tion. A snip here and a cut there
and suddenly this piece of paper
that is supposed to tell potential
employers who I am says nothing
about me.
It's time to give your resume a
makeover. Your life is more than
school, I promise, and employers
want to know that. Take Wilburt
Elementary School's Third Grade
Hall Monitor off your list and add
some interests. Your future may
depend on it.
As for me, I'm going to make
sure I keep my resume personal.
I'm not going to turn it into a per-
sonal ad, but I'll be certain that
it reflects who I really am. From
now on, that one sheet of paper -
be it British A4 or 8.5x11 - is going
to say, "Hi, I'm Erika Mayer. I'm
intelligent and qualified - and I
can water ski like nobody's busi-
ness. Please hire me."
- Erika Mayer can be reached
at elmayer@umich.edu.
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Halto the new Wolverines
ast winter, some friends and
I were discussing the con-
dition of the University. As
second-semester
freshmen, barely
done with our
first Blue Book
exams, we felt we
had a pretty good
grasp of what this
place is all about.
"You know, the
problem here is
the number of stu-
dents. There are
TYLER
JONES
just too many people at this univer-
sity," my friend would explain with
all the cockiness of a college fresh-
man. That argument never made
sense to me. Some lecture halls are
big - I get that. And, surely, anyone
who has had to catch a bus to North
Campus understands what it means
to be on the front lines of the Uni-
versity's population problem.
But the argument that equates
more people with a lesser educa-
tion has never meshed with me. So,
when the University released its
admissions statistics last week, I
was again forced to consider what
an increasing student population
means for us Wolverines. And I've
concluded that some maize-and-
blue faithful are simply losing sight
of the mission of the University.
It was former University Presi-
dent James B. Angell who proudly
proclaimed that here you will find
"an uncommon education for the
common man." Yet in an age where
higher education has been permeat-
ed with elitism, some have lost sight
of this revolutionary dogma.
While researching this piece, I
stumbled upon the website Colleg-
eConfidential.com. Here, students
from across the country discuss top-
ics pertaining to their universities.
In response to the increased accep-
tance rate, Michigan students were
fuming. "Michigan should be more
selective," wrote one. "I'm kind of
embarrassed," vented another.
This, sadly, seemstobethenormin
response to the 6,350-person incom-
ing class. There exists a belief within
the halls of our University that more
students means inferior teaching, a
lesser education and a generally less
prestigious institution. This leaves
me wondering what happened to the
days of James Angell when the ideal
was providing a world-class educa-
tion to everyone.
Since its inception nearly 200
years ago, the University has been a
beacon of progress. The fact that the
University admitted 300 students
more than last year is neither an
effect of the state's economic reces-
sion nor a sign of declining stan-
dards. Rather, as the world continues
to battle an economic recession,
the Gulf Coast still fights to protect
its livelihood against the greatest
oil spill in history and the state of
Michigan longs to return to days of
prosperity and growth, the Univer-
sity is answering the call of a people
in need of the leaders and best.
The world today faces big chal-
lenges that demand even bigger
thinkers and doers. That some seek
to restrict University officials eager
to send the best and brightest into the
fray in the name of appearing more
selective to the U.S. News and World
Report college rankings is naive. This
increase in students is not a money
grab for our University, nor is it a sign
of diminishing standards. Quite the
opposite - when the world says "we
need more help," the University calls
in the cavalry.
Some will argue that as enroll-
ment numbers rise, the amount of
individual attention in the class-
room will diminish. Sure, this makes
sense on the surface - more stu-
dents equals less personal connec-
tion. But I'm here to make a different
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS:
argument: Easy personal attention
is a detriment to higher education.
Anyone who has taken Orgo or Great
Books knows that hand-holding is
not an option here.
Today, the
world needs the
leaders and best.
This "sink or swim" mentality has
caused some to label the University
"too competitive." But to many stu-
dents' surprise, come graduation,
there is no hand-holding. You either
find a job or you don't. There's no 5:1
ratio of graduates to mentors who
will help younavigate.Atthe Univer-
sity, you learn how to survive, some-
times against all odds. You learn to
seek help onyour own, discoveryour
own answers and develop the skills
necessary to thrive when the safety
net is gone. For some, this increase
in students will hurt. But for those
who want to explore and discover
through their own initiative, this
change will hardly be noticed.
This is no Mickey Mouse insti-
tution. Wolverines have become
captains of industry and president
of the United States. We developed
the polio vaccine and revolution-
ized investigative journalism. We
have stormed the gridiron and lit up
Broadway. From the silver screen to
the Supreme Court, Wolverines have
been leading the world forward for
nearly two centuries. Let us embrace
this incoming class of freshmen -
the largest in the University's his-
tory. Today, perhaps more than ever,
the world needs Wolverines.
- Tyler Jones can be reached
at tylerlj@umich.edu.
The Daily is looking for diverse, passionate, strong student writers
to join the Editorial Board. E-mail aschiff@umich.edu for details.
Nicholas Clift, Emma Jeszke, Harsha Panduranga, Joe Stapleton, Rachel Van Gilder