‘Resume,’ a term you’ll hear a lot when applying for internships, jobs, and different opportunities. This can also sometimes be called a ‘CV’ or ‘curriculum vitae,’ which is simply a document that lists your work experiences, education, skills, and achievements. Oftentimes, as teens, we start creating our resume in high school or when it is legal to work. This resume can also be really important during the college application process/high school graduation process. It can be hard to remember everything you’ve done since you were 13 or try to create an in-depth and well written resume at the last minute. So, here are my successful steps to creating and maintaining a resume since I was in the sixth grade.
1.) Your resume will be an ongoing document that you will continuously need to save and add to. It will also be a document you will need to email/share when networking and also be able to download as a PDF at times. Because of this, I suggest using a digital writing software such as Google Docs or Microsoft Word.
2.) At the top of your resume you should have a header with your name, email, and form of contact [i.e: see the image below]. This will allow the reader to know who they are reading about and a way of contacting them for future communications. When including your form of contact make sure that you have a professional email such as your first/last name and your number if that is easier to to get in contact with you as well.
3.) Throughout your resume you want to have 5-6 sections which will include: Education, Leadership and Professional Opportunities, Work Experience, Community Service, Awards & Achievements, and possibly a language section, if you speak more than one language. These should be the headers for each section which you will start to fill as you participate in more opportunities, clubs, and programs.
4.) When writing throughout your resume it is beneficial to include not only the names, but the locations, and dates that you participated or are participating within this opportunity. For example I would include VOX ATL as a work experience, which is in Atlanta, GA, and I have been working here since 2018 – present. When listing your differing opportunities it is also beneficial to give context behind what you did or what the organization is. [i.e example below]
5.) As you start to fill up more of your resume you should organize your achievements in the more recent order. So if you are participating in a program now then the program you participated in, in 2017, should be below it.
6.) Knowing what information to put per each section can be difficult at times because some things may overlap, like leadership and work experiences. My advice would be to analyze the work you are doing/done and ask the organization leader which section they think it would best fit in.
7.) As you continue to fill this ongoing document it can get quite lengthy, therefore it can be beneficial to have this one main ongoing document and then for certain opportunities duplicate this document and shorten it to be more responsive to the opportunity at hand. When shortening, you want to make sure you include information and skills that are related to the job opportunity or internship but also include some information that will allow you to look like a well-rounded student.
8.) To maintain this document it is beneficial to add to it each time you do something new so you don’t forget it for future opportunities. You should also update this document with any changes like a new number, the dates of an opportunity, or a new position you have taken.
A resume is simply a way to show the amazing work you are doing within your school, communities, and work environments. This document will help you immensely in the future, which is why I suggest starting now to even create the document if you have nothing to add at the moment. This document is all about you and has the possibility of showing how well-rounded of a student and leader that you are!
