In the near future, when you start applying for jobs or further education, prospective employers or and some schools will be asking you to give them your resume. But what is a resume, anyway? A resume is a document that contains a brief account of a person’s education, skills, work experience, and other qualifications. It is usually sent along with job applications, and sometimes with school applications as well. It allows school admissions officers and hiring officers to assess your experience and determine how you will contribute to their organization.
You may be wondering why you need to write a resume at this point of your life as a student. Crafting a resume will help you become well-organized and prepare for opportunities in employment and education that may come your way. This process will help you determine areas that you need to work on and give you direction on improving them. Consistently, updating your resume will also help you remember and record experiences that may be useful for future opportunities, such as filling out applications, being interviewed for scholarships or jobs, or asking for recommendations. Remember that applying for jobs can be competitive. Thus, this section will teach you how to present your assets in a persuasive way to package you as a candidate who stands out.
1. Formatting your resume.
The most typical format of a resume is the chronological resume. It is called as such because it describes your work experience role by role, beginning with the most recent job. This is the most popular type of resume because your education and work history are immediately revealed.
While most resumes have standard parts, how you answer these categories and arrange them should be strategic, revealing the most important impressive qualifications first and de-emphasizing any weaknesses.
The following section details the categories that normally appear in chronological resume:
- Heading. This includes your identifying information, such as full name, address, home phone number, cell phone number, and e-mail.
- Objective. This informs the reader of the specific purpose of your resume, such as application for a job or a degree program. Take care to make it specific, focused on the audience’s needs, and concise.
- Education. This lists the high schools you have attended. You may inch your class rank, average or honors/advanced courses you may have taken, if these are noteworthy.
- Honors and awards. This lists any academic and extracurricular recognition you may have received. It gives the reader a short description of the aw and tells the reader when you won it.
- School activities. This enumerates your experience in school, including clubs, class projects, sports, etc. You ought to be descriptive in this section to give the reader a good grasp of your experience. You can do this by including the time period you were involved, your duties, and specific contributions. You should also highlight leadership roles and special recognition.
- Work experience. This reveals any relevant work experience you n have had (paid or voluntary). Include your job title, the name of I organization, the dates of your employment, and your specific duties z accomplishments. Show tasks that reveal your technical, communication, leadership, and interpersonal skills. You may also include experience outs school, such as community involvement. List the most recent employment role first and from there, work backward. Also, make sure to specify your activities concretely and concisely. Use act verbs and quantify your results if possible. Compare the two statements:
- Worked with my classmates on a project
- Led a group of 20 students in designing the set for our Florante at Laura play
The second statement gives the reader a better idea of your role. Be sure to place these details in a bulleted list and write them in phrases easier reading.
- Enrichment activities. This details any other projects, skills, programs, relevant hobbies, or experiences that strengthen your application. Make sure to provide a short description of each and the month and year that it occurred. These show that you are a well-rounded person.
The sample resumes provided for herein illustrate how the given categories work.
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2. Polishing your resume.
Now that you have written your resume, you can further improve it by doing the following:
- Revising. This step involves validating all the information you place in your resume, especially the data concerning your education and employment. Identify areas where you may have made a mistake or misrepresented these details. Remember that you should always be truthful in your resume; the concerned authorities can verify the information you provide.
- Updating. Be sure to continuously update your resume as you change jobs, take further studies, participate in activities, and upgrade your skill set.
- Proofreading. Reread your resume several times to make sure that you do not have any errors in content, mechanics, grammar and spelling, organization, and formatting and appearance. Have your teacher, family members, or friends read your resume and give you constructive comments on it as well. Remember that your resume should give the best impression of you—and a document that has errors could make the reader’s impression of you unfavorable.