Mission Resume Review Operation – Unlocking the Key to Opportunity!

About 6 weeks earlier
Where do we go from here?

Your mission should you choose to accept it…Will be Mission Resume Review Operation with the intent to provide insight of the ins and outs of creating an academic/professional resume done in an informal setting of High School Library.

Can you handle this mission?
Do you choose to accept this mission?

I’m pleased to do so as a Business Partnership Member. Thank-you for the assignment. I promise to do what I can to prepare the High School Students to the best of my ability with critiquing and providing insight on resume writing.

Present day
Here to report that last Thursday, April 19^th, 2012, with over 50 Half Hollow Hills High School students in attendance and about 10 Partnership Members – the mission was accomplished!

It was the first of its kind Resume Workshop hosted by the HHH School to Business Partnership with Business Students from Hills East and West. What a success it was!

Besides meeting one-on-one with the students to critique the resumes, give feedback, the workshop also offered encouragement and recommendations to the students on how to build their resume experience by means of volunteer work or an internship. The overall benefits of this experience allowed each student to walk away from this workshop with a better understanding of what a quality resume should look like, as well as give them a competitive edge over the other job/college applicants. So to prepare you in terms of writing an effective resume, here are 10 Key Objectives to consider and incorporate.

10 Key Objectives of Resume Writing for High School/College Student or Recent Graduate

1. Have a simple professional format on the traditional white/ivory color resume paper. Be consistent in your format throughout the resume and highlight your Education, Work Experience, Extracurricular Activities, Computer Skills, Training, and Accomplishments.
2. Recommended that you have an Objective or Summary of Qualifications. Summary of Qualifications is more appropriate once you gain a few years of work experience. Neither is absolute must for a resume but allows the Recruiter to know exactly what you are seeking in terms of an opportunity. It can be general and state an industry or department you seek to work in rather than specifying a particular job title.
   • Objective Example:  Seeking an entry level position in the Information Technology department.
3. List all relevant work and volunteer experience with accurate dates of Employment with months and years.  Ex. Camp Counselor – 6/2009 – 8/2009, 6/2010 – 8/2010. You never want to come across as not being as forthcoming or omitting information –  a red flag and conditions for an offer to not be extended or rescinded as a result. If you happen to lack experience, then explore both paid opportunities and volunteer/internship opportunities to build your resume. You will develop experience and skills that will be valuable and will take you further along in your career and in life.
4. Share all relevant Extracurricular Activities that you have participated in or currently involved in and Leadership positions held. You may even want to go one step further and highlight the skills acquired that employers seek such as:
   • Debate Team/Euro Challenge or Speaking Competition Team (Communication skills/Able to speak up on issues/Presentation skills/Able to respond effectively under pressure and answer questions).
   • Team Captain (Leadership/Communication skills/Organizational skills/Planning skills)
   • Yearbook/Literary Magazine (Project/Planning skills/Teamwork skills/Decision Making /Organizational skills)
   • These are just a few activities that indicate relevant skills that apply to college and to the career world.
5. List Accomplishments/Recognitions received, as it indicates dedication and commitment to performing at a higher level –i.e.  Dean’s List, Teamplayer Recognition Award.
6. With Education you’ll want to indicate the year you graduated or when you’ll graduate as by stating it as in the below example. Also, consider including your GPA/Major GPA, if it’s 3.0 or Higher. List any relevant Certifications, Training Programs completed, and Professional Associations.
   • Anticipated Graduation Date of June 2012
7. Begin bullet statements with action verbs and indicate past tense when appropriate.
   • Participated, Coordinated, Planned, Organized, Developed, Implemented, Determined, Conducted, Facilitated, Responsible for (catch all phrase is acceptable) – and there are so many more!
   • Check with your Business Teacher/Career Counselor for sample resumes and adjective sheets that are available for review. Otherwise, get resume writing reference materials from your library.
8. Keep the resume concise to one page (HS and College Students/Recent Graduates) if at all possible. Remove redundancy where you can and appropriate. Some items are self explainable such as Marching Band – simply list it because no clarification is needed.
9. Key words (industry/job related) and adjectives to describe your skills, who you are as person, what you bring to the position can be strategically mentioned throughout the resume possibly in the Objective and in the Experience and/or Volunteer Experience sections.
10. Finally, have several professionals review and critique your resume – Teacher/Parent/HR Professional or Recruiter/Mentor in the industry.

All in all, it comes down to presenting your best self in terms of what an employer seeks in a candidate. However, as I’ve mentioned in the past, always be honest and never over-embellish your experience or skills or go industry buzz word crazy in your resume. Otherwise, this can be seen as misrepresenting yourself and a big red flag, and you may not even get pass the resume review process to make it to the interview. You definitely want to make it obvious for the HR Recruiter to notice all your knowledge, skills, abilities, and traits within a short glance because the reality is that’s all you’ve got to make the right impression. Keep this all in mind, incorporate the suggestions and before you know it you’ll be on your way to interviews!

This is Sarina, HHH School to Business Partnership Member, reporting out for this assignment – Effective Mission completed!