Many students enter their second semester of senior year with one thing on their mind, employment after college. Employment after college is a large and important feat, but settle your anxiety. With a solid resume, internship experience and a little professional help, you’re on the right path to a career after college. Whether you’re studying engineering or business, these three things are crucial to advancing your career.

Students don’t utilize the huge resource they have on campus that is included with their tuition– career services. Iowa State offers seven career service offices that directly cater to your needs as a student. Career services can improve resumes, tune up interviewing skills and even help you develop your LinkedIn account.

Tammy Stegman, Director of Career Services for the College of Human Sciences, discussed when college students should begin thinking about jobs.

“The earlier you start, the more successful you might be. We start to expose freshman to what’s possible,” Stegman said.

She expressed the importance of exposing students to things like campus involvement and skill building which can play crucial roles in success later on.

Resumes, a lot of times, are your first impression with a company, this makes them a very valuable asset. Stegman suggested creating an entire section on your resume titled “Related Experience.” This sets apart what you’ve done to create work ethic and what you’ve done that has built your skill set in your particular industry.

She also advised job seekers to remember that content on a resume is important, however employers won’t take a second glance at that content if it doesn’t have professional formatting.

“If your resume doesn’t look good, the recruiter doesn’t want to look at it. It’s about creating the perfect balance between those two,” Stegman said.

When considering outside employment services, Stegman advises that students explore career services and all they have to offer.

“Students should find out what is all possible with campus career services. We also offer career services to alumni,”  Stegman said.

However, companies like Employment Boost , which offers professional resume writing services, still prosper and can help create a resume that will set students apart from the competition. James Philip, CEO of Employment Boost has a lot of experience when it comes to the hiring process.

Being the owner of multiple companies, Philip said, “having been in the recruiting and employment industry for the last two decades, I’ve probably seen over 100,000 resumes.”

With professional help comes a price to tune up your resume. Employment Boost lists their entry level resume writing price at $159.00. While many college students would have to pinch pennies to obtain this service, Philip explained how his company is always up to date and being trained on what is currently happening in the business world.

He continued about Employment Boost’s ability to break through the two filters of hiring.

“You have to get through the person in Human Resources, who often doesn’t understand anything about what you’re doing, and then you also have to make the hiring manager happy,” Philip said.

It’s all about creating a happy medium of skills and experience that is favorable to both parties. Philip explained that describing the impact you had on the company you interned for rather than listing the skills you acquired can help  students to stand out.

“Companies want to know what you accomplished. If you can, give them some quantitative data,” Philip said.

Lastly, he touched on how important first impressions are, especially when most first impressions happen electronically through sending in a resume or viewing a LinkedIn profile.

“You know if you have a LinkedIn picture and you look like a slob, you’re getting ruled out before even getting to go in and shake a recruiters hand, showing them who you are as a person,” Philip said.

The thought of getting employed right out of college may seem scary. However, with the right resume, experiences and a little bit of help, whether that be from your college career services or a professional company, a career after college is reachable.