RESOURCES

Preparing your first résumé can be a daunting task: You've got little work history to share and you're unsure about what else you need to include. Ultimately, it's important to convey your skills and eagerness to land your first job to employers, say experts. Most employers won't expect you to be an expert and are just looking for a concisely written one-page sheet that accurately shows off your skills and potential.

Putting together a résumé can take longer than you think. Make sure to gather appropriate materials and take several weeks to think about the message you're trying to convey. "Résumé writing is so much more than just a listing of information," says Wendy Enelow, author of "College Grad Résumés to Land $75,000+ Jobs."

Here are seven things to keep in mind before putting together your first résumé:...

"I learned to be resourceful, adaptive, flexible and independently responsible," says Sarah Biggers. "I learned to respect and appreciate unfamiliar cultures and came back with a revitalized sense of pride for America."

Biggers is reflecting on the ten weeks she spent abroad -- seven countries in four weeks followed by six weeks at Oxford in England -- in the summer of 2012. In addition to the benefits described above, she says this experience helped her land an "amazing internship at a growing [Atlanta] startup." Today, Biggers is the director of human resources for CodeGuard....