Students need to not solely rely on building a resume. They need to build projects. Building a project could just land you that dream job or create your dream job.

I’m not talking about talking about class projects. I’m talking about building something that helps you better understand something you’ve always been curious about and you can then report your experience to future peers and employers. I’m not telling you all to practice a bit of entrepreneurship, although that wouldn’t be a bad idea.

I’m pushing the practice of trying to build something new.

To just give you an example, I’ve always been fascinated with creating an experience of content consumption that can be remembered and shared by many. I started by coming up with my first magazine concept and then I created the first two issues. These issues combined generated more than 50 downloads within a week. That number is not astounding, but that is just through marketing a few times on Facebook, Twitter and through email.

Building something when you don’t know if it’s going to stick with the people you are targeting is scary. For my magazine, I’ve already seen two people unsubscribe from my mailing list that gets sent the issues. But, I can learn from them and more importantly keep pressing on with all the other people that haven’t unsubscribed yet.

I started this project because I wanted to see what I could do with what I’ve learned from all my years of college and education gained from other valuable resources.

I’ve previously written about how we students are lacking the skill of applying what we’ve learned from our classes to the real world.

When you are in that marketing class and learning about the basics, you can apply that material to a project of yours rather than complaining how bored you are.

When you are in that required lecture for all core design students, you can be inspired by what you’ve learned to either improve or change something in a project your working on rather than wishing you skipped.

When you are in Sociology 134, I’m betting that some aspects of the material learned could be applied to your project rather than just taking notes, studying and feeling like you’re in this boring, vicious cycle.

Having your project in the back of your head is not only useful and beneficial when keeping attentive and interested in classes, but also when you go out and network with people and businesses that interest you.

Next weekend, there’s a career fair. You’ve got your resume all edited, typed and printed. You might even have some business cards drafted up that just say your name and contact information. And then you walk in the doors to begin connecting with possible employers and selling yourself.

You see an employer that you would truly love to work for. You head that way while trying to figure out your strategy of getting yourself noticed by them and that employer might not even be looking to hire. A lot is going through your head, because quite possibly your pictured future is on the line.

But, while everyone else has just their resumes and business cards, you have something else.

You have an experience of building and carrying out a project. Immediately, the man or woman in front of that employer’s stand is listening. Now all you have to do is sell yourself.

So in my case, if I were to go up to a magazine company, I bet they would be more willing to listen to me and my project than all the others that have just handed their resume and business card. Let’s just say that through my project and networking, I’m close to working with a technology news agency called Silicon Prairie News.

With little effort, anyone can create a project and apply what they’ve learned in college to tell an experience that might quite possible land you something you’ve only dreamed about.

Hard work pays off and you should have had a good time along the way. It’s time for more students to build projects and make Iowa State even better.

Secretly, the “choose your adventure” campaign agrees as well as the students who are in personal project mode.