Build An Outstanding High School Resume – And Prepare For College Too

Writing your high school resume can be challenging, but the rewards are definitely worth it. You should have started building the components of your resume during your freshman year. Hopefully you have taken the correct steps to help make your resume stand out from the crowd.Once you envision what you want the end result to look like, all you have to do is begin participating in the various activities. Make sure to take down the names, dates, and details as you do, then your resume will almost write itself.Purpose of Your Resume:A high school resume can have multiple functions. First it can be used for part-time employment opportunities, then it can become part of your college application package and finally it can be a great reference and addition to most scholarship applications.Your objective is to share your accomplishments, interests, grades, activities and whatever else that makes you unique. Obviously you never want to include false information, so it is important to begin participating in the kind of activities that will build the resume that you want to project to the world.Items to Include:The basics include a header section that provides your name, address, phone number, email and your personal website if appropriate. Make sure that you have an email that looks professional. Usually your name at gmail.com or yahoo.com is a great start. It should be easy for your readers to remember and your name fits the bill perfectly. You always want them to remember your name.I personally like visuals, so a small color photo in the upper right hand corner helps you stand out from the crowd and lets readers see you as well as read about you. If you are good with layout and design and have access to a color printer, this can be a great addition.Other sections to include are an objective section where you tell them what you are looking for or what you want to accomplish. Your education section, where you give them your current status, any academic achievements, your GPA, class rank (and SAT scores for colleges). The experience section is next and this is where you share current or past employment details. Business names, addresses, phone numbers, supervisor names and dates you were there are all relevant.The additional information section that follows can be a great place to include your volunteer or community service activities; athletic, musical or theatrical participation and accomplishments; languages that you speak; hobbies, skills or other interests that you believe are relevant.Your final section should be the references section. Here you can write, “References are available upon request”. Then be sure to have them typed and ready on a separate sheet. Also make sure that you have contacted your references to ask them if it is all right to use them and provide their address and phone number.Things to Avoid:Try to avoid a resume that is longer than one page, two at the absolute maximum. It is a skill to be able to express your ideas in the shortest way possible. Don’t list every small part-time job you have ever held, just list the most recent two.Avoid long paragraphs, just use the bullet points if possible.As mentioned earlier, never provide false information, it will always come back to haunt you somewhere down the line.Additional Tips to Consider:If you use a cell phone for contact, record a very pleasant greeting on your voice mail. Keep it short and professional in nature, you never know who will be calling you.Volunteer and community service activities are a great way to make you stand out and get involved in your local community. The contacts that you make with these organizations and local business people can be used as great personal references.If you have a website, Facebook, MySpace, blog or other internet presence that has been responsibly managed, (no wild photos or foul language, etc.) feel free to include them. If you have these items, but they contain inappropriate content, close them down.You can restart under a new site and make sure that you keep it something that your grandparents would not object to. These can be a great way to show your grasp of new technologies and many colleges or employers will check for them anyway.Summary:As you can see, it is a process of building the resume that you want the world to see. Remember that as you begin thinking about what activities, clubs, athletics and classes you choose to participate in. Ask for suggestions from your parents, teachers and other trusted adults. Listen to what they say and follow their advice. Your resume isn’t prepared to impress other students, but it will be read by people your parents age or older, so their point of view is your target audience. Always remember that.If you would like to discover more strategies to help maximize financial aid and reduce the high costs associated with college, you can download your FREE College Cost Savings Kit by clicking here. Download, print and share it with your friends or family. I’m confident it will help you to find new ways to save and get the most out of your college education… and do it all for less.