Time to Update the Resume

A professional resume is absolutely necessary for both the career and college search process. Resumes provide a focused summary of a person and act as an introduction, so it should be very professional in appearance and intent.

Why It Matters

It’s relevant to both career and college.
Listing work experience, job responsibilities and skills showcases a person’s strengths when applying for a job. However, when it comes to college scholarship applications, the resume should primarily feature academic and personal accomplishments.
It’s a necessity.
A resume is needed if your student plans to work part-time during college to supplement any financial aid being received.

What Your Student Can Do Now

Review an activity resume.
If your student previously developed an activity resume, now is the time to review it and update it with any new work experience, accomplishments and community activities. Use this as a guide when developing the professional resume.
Use a template as a guide.
The resume template your student uses is dependent upon your student’s intended pathway — career or college. There are a variety of resume templates available online, but choose carefully and use it only as a guide. Find out if the career center’s website for one of the colleges on your student’s top five list has a suggested template that is editable, which allows for future updating. Your student’s resume should include components such as work experience, activities, skills, achievements and honors, and online presence.
Focus on transferable skills.
Use bullet points to highlight the accomplished tasks and skills that were developed from various work experiences and activities, rather than the tasks themselves. The skills and results are what employers and scholarship reviewers pay attention to.
Compare it to the requirements.
With resume in hand, match up the job or scholarship requirements to the resume. The more closely the resume matches the requirements, the more likely your student may earn the position or award.

What Your Student Can Do Later

Start a list.
Make a list of career options and colleges under consideration. Research the company where your student wants to apply — this will provide a nice arsenal of information if chosen to interview. Research all scholarship options for each college being considered. Merit scholarships have certain GPA or test standards that must be met. Other scholarships may have other standards like ethnicity or legacy information in addition to a merit-based component. Have your student make a list of all scholarships that might be an option.
Gather letters of recommendation.
Most college admissions and scholarship applications will request letters of recommendation. These letters should be requested of people whom your student respects and trusts. Your student should supply them with a copy of the completed resume to help them draft their letter.

What You Can Do

Share your insights.
If you have a professional resume, share it with your student and explain why you chose the particular template you used, since it can vary by work experience and career. Point out how your path was shaped by high school and/or college experiences.
Review your and your student’s online presence.
Take a critical look at your student’s and your own social media accounts to see if some cleanup might be necessary. Help your student create a LinkedIn profile and update your own profile if there are gaps. LinkedIn is a valuable resource for learning about your field, networking, following different organizations and associations, and staying updated on industry news.

Next Steps

Be sure to complete the survey questions at the end of this article to be entered into the 529 deposit giveaway!

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