How to build a great Resume
Building a resume is a necessity for those that want to have a successful career both before, during, and after college. It is also advised to have a resume ready when applying for scholarships to showcase your skills and experiences! Here are the top 5 tips for building an incredible resume!
1. Get involved in school clubs
Although building a resume may seem like a daunting task for the inexperienced, it is a lot easier than you think. Right now, as a student, you have already built a critical part of your resume: your education. Moving past that, getting involved in school clubs is one of the easiest things to do to show potential scholarship organizations, colleges, and employers that you are serious about going the extra mile and being involved in a variety of activities!
2. Get a job
Many people get involved in school clubs, but if you want to go the extra mile get a job if you can! It shows all those who look at your resume that you can manage your time well between school and work. It also indicates that you are responsible enough to be held accountable for more than just your grades. A key thing to note, though, is that getting a job should not impede your academic performance because it will end up hurting your resume more than helping it.
3. Follow your passion
Do you have a hobby that you just love to do outside of school? If you so, put it on your resume! If not, spend some time exploring and trying out new things to see what drives you. Do not be afraid to try things out on your own: like learning to code and building your own application, or even just keeping up with current events and news! Very often, passions and hobbies can turn into real jobs and opportunities! It will also show anyone that looks at your resume that you can devote your time to working hard on creating something!
4. Get good grades
This one is pretty self-explanatory: if you do not have good grades, a lot of organizations and individuals won’t even spend the time looking at the rest of your resume. Now, what defines “Good grades”? Well generally speaking, in high school, good grades can be defined as a 3.5 and above for unweighted grades. You can have an amazing resume but more often than not, having bad grades will turn off individuals that look at your resume.
5. Consider your audience
Once you have all of the things mentioned above down, the last thing to consider is who are you gearing your resume for? Typically, a resume is only one page, and you will find that it is tough to fit all of your experiences on one page. So you need to prioritize what you put on your resume depending on what you are applying to. If you are applying for a research position/scholarship, it may be better to highlight your academic achievements and experiences rather than your work related ones. If you are applying for a business program, it may be better to highlight your management skills and leadership experience instead.
All in all building a solid resume comes down to being a good student and getting involved in activities that you love and that you are passionate about. Throughout the process you’ll not only learn skills, but you will also build memories that you’ll keep with you for a lifetime.
