I went to a high school that was deemed "academic". What made this school different was mainly how you get your high school diploma. In order to graduate, the student have to complete at least 100 hours of community service, a Senior Exhibition, and a portfolio. Upon trying to complete all these tasks in high school during my senior year, I thought to myself that I should've enrolled to a regular high school that didn't focus so much on these requirements. Fortunately, I went through with it because I do feel like the high school I went to prepared me after graduation.
The Senior Exhibition helped me get over the fear of presenting not just to teachers but to people knowledgable to my presenting topic as well. The portfolio taught me how to create connections between school work and objectives of the community. My economics class prepared me on what possible expenses there would be if I lived on my own by creating a worksheet to calculate and budgeting money. My English class also required all the students to create a resume to introduce us on how to make an effective resume. The community service hours also allowed me to put some kind of experience on my resume and references that were not family or friends related.
Last week in my English 414 class, the professor gave some tips on creating an effective resume. This took me back to my high school years. So here are some tips that were brought up and most of the students didn't find obvious.
Make your resume one page.
Many employers or hiring managers do not have the time to read an essay about your work history; that being said, all you need to have are the work experiences that could help you with the job you are applying for and is filled one page. There is no need for the second page.
Create a Master Resume.
This is a file that has all your work, volunteer, and project history. The professor recommended this idea so then tailoring the actual resume to the employer would only consist of copy and paste efforts. This would also have all the dates worked all in one place and all your references in one place in case your phone died in a freak accident. Remember to frequently update the information. For an example, if your previous manager changed his or her phone number, make sure to change that on the Master Resume.
Use blank space effectively to highlight the tasks performed for work history.
I recommend using bullet points. Bullet points create a layout easier for the reader's eyes and less overwhelming. When the hiring manager or employer is pressed for time, they will try not read your resume first; they might read your resume when they have the time. There is good side to this but must of time, they are looking at resumes and applications due to the need of help. Which ever resume that catches the person's eye to read first, the more of an advantage there is for the applicant.
Let's say that a friend of yours wants you to proofread his paper and you have several midterms to study for, but since this is a good friend you would help him or her out. You find out that the paper was 20 pages long and not 2 pages. Which one would you prefer to take your time to read and edit when you have other things to worry about? I hope the 2 pages unless you are already prepared for your three midterms.
Until next time! Please make sure to comment if there are any tips that are not obvious that I did not mention. Let's help each other out!
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