"Learns Quickly"

Drafting a resume is difficult for people like me who have little work experience. The skills section can be especially challenging. One skill that always ends up on my resume, and many other student resumes, despite my attempts to come up with something more creative is "learns quickly". What does this really mean? If a person hasn't completed many jobs, how do they know if they learn skills quickly? Maybe it's just a general rule of thumb to say that you are a quick learner. If not, you'll have to learn quickly how to learn quickly.

Actually, I learned how to use a program in a timely manner last week. My internship involves creating documents and considering a lot of visual components. We are creating a commuter risks brochure in basically a four step process. First, we researched what issues of commuting might actually be a risk to these students and what some solutions might be. Next, we drafted the information in a Word document. Then, we organized the information using InDesign. Finally, we will add graphics using Photoshop.

We are on step three of the process. I have never used InDesign or Photoshop, so I was a little hesitant to dive in to the project. My boss is very helpful when I ask him questions, but he shows me the basics then lets me make my own experiences. To my surprise, learning how to use these programs was fairly easy. I organized and edited the information in a couple of hours, and learned how to format everything in just another hour or so. My boss said he was happy I learned quickly, and I appreciated his compliment whether or not he really thought so. Regardless, accomplishing an initially challenging task was very fulfilling.

"Learns quickly" can actually be worth adding to my resume after all.