Breaking Down the Resume
Many high school students have asked over the years if it’s necessary to send a resume as part of your college application. While this is a highly debated topic amongst admissions officers the short answer is it depends. Let’s start with breaking down the different parts of a resume for college.
There are endless resume templates depending on the intended use of the resume. A resume for a high school senior is going to be very different than that of a college senior, and the resume of a college senior is going to vary depending on the industry. But across the board, every resume should have the following;
Your Name and Contact Information. This seems obvious, but you’d be surprised how many resumes I’ve overlooked because this information wasn’t easily visible. This information should be at the top of your resume and the largest font compared to the rest of the resume contents.
Your objective. The objective is usually a maximum of four sentences describing well…your objective. In this instance for college applications, your objective should include the type of admission you’re seeking (full time/part time undergraduate), what you hope to achieve, and what skills/experience you bring to the table. If that sounds hard to put into three or four sentences, we know.
Your Experience. Now if you’re a high school senior applying to college just know that admissions counselors are aware that you may have limited experience! Maybe you’ve worked a part time job? Baby sat for the same family for years, started a business, or created a website? Usually three experiences are expected under this section. If you have more than that, then the next section may be best for categorizing content.
Leadership/Interests. In the template we provide we’ve listed leadership, as that’s something colleges like to see in your application! Have you played club soccer for the past three years? Maybe joined a scuba diving club or won a math competition? Or maybe you’re the eldest sibling and have had to take on additional responsibilities in your family that have led you to identify your own leadership style. All are valid to talk about in this space.
Your Skills. What can you do well? What are your strengths? Maybe you’ve already learned JAVA, or multilingual? Are you great at public speaking, or excel at…well Microsoft Excel! This section of the resume is meant to highlight what skills you’ve learned through your experiences and leadership/interests. It can be hard to think of skills when you’ve had limited experiences, so if you’re struggling to fill out this section it’s always a good idea to ask a friend, guardian, or counselor what they see as your strengths and talents as well.
CLICK HERE a free resume template on Canva! Please note, you may need to create an account to access.