How to write a college application résumé. Résumés How to write a college application résumé.

What is a résumé? A résumé is a document that sums up your skills, experiences, and accomplishments so a potential school or employer can quickly see whether you are a good fit. Résumés don't all look alike, but there are some general guidelines. Employers and universities generally prefer that they fit on one side of one page. They also should always look professional—no pink paper or fancy fonts. Look at the examples of résumés that come with most word-processing programs for some ideas. You can also check out sites such as Monster Jobs and CareerBuilder for résumé samples.

The general purpose résumé usually contains four sections: Contact Education Experience Activities, Awards, and Skills

Contact Unlike other sections of your résumé, this section does not have a special heading like "Contact Information." Instead it simply lists the information below at the top of the page: Your full name Your e-mail address Your permanent address Your phone number(s) *If you have any additional contact info, such as a web address or URL, fax number, and an alternate address, you can also add it to your contact section.

Decide on a layout for your contact section that is simple to read and aesthetically pleasing.

Objective (optional) Next, you can briefly describe your objective. This means that you explain what your educational goal is and your purpose for writing the resume. Another possibility is to put a summary statement — a snapshot of your qualifications — in this spot.

Education The Education Section is the place to detail your educational history. In the Education Section, you typically discuss the highest degree you earned. Therefore, high school seniors should only list their high school, not primary schools. If you have taken any college credits outside of McGann-Mercy High School, you may list that as well.

The Education Section must include pertinent facts about your education. It should include the following: Name of the institution where you earned your highest degree City and state of the institution Typically, people include their GPA although you are not required to do so. Keep in mind, though, that if you do not put it on your résumé, potential employers may assume that you omitted it because it was bad.

Experience The Experience Section is the place for detailing your previous employment, volunteer information, or any club or organization in which you helped to facilitate. This section can also include any promotions you might have gotten while on a job. Detailing the duties you performed, is perhaps the most important part of the Experience Section. You must be not only accurate and concise but also highlight those duties that are most relevant. In this section, you will create a bulleted list of the duties you performed. It is also a good idea that you put each item in the active voice and use powerful action verbs, as opposed to the passive voice. Each job should have a minimum of three bulleted items with the most relevant duties listed first. Take some time to really think over what you actually accomplished for the job, list the specific activities and duties that you were responsible for, and craft exciting and concise bulleted items representing those activities.

The following items illustrate examples you can model: Purdue University Business Writing Consultant Department of English Writing Lab Tutored clients on content and formatting required for business documents Conducted résumé and cover letter workshops for classes and organizations Promoted the Business Writing services of the Lab by posting flyers and speaking in classrooms

If you don’t have any work experience, you should list relevant volunteer experience and community service. As a student, your résumé might contain summer jobs that are not particularly relevant to the school for which you are applying. If this is the case, remember that you honed skills in every job. Be creative and thoughtful in creating these lists. For example, if you worked at McDonald's, you learned how to do the following: function efficiently in a team work responsibly in a time-sensitive environment maintain flexibility in duties from shift to shift.

Activities In the Activities section, list any extra curricular activities your participated in during your high school experience. These can include: Sports Clubs School Newspaper Organizations, such as Student Organization, National Honor Society, or any subject National Honor Society, such as Math, French, Spanish, or Science Band, chorus, or any instrument Be sure to state the span of time in which your participated in that activity Example: National Honor Society, 2015-present

Awards In the awards section, list any awards or recognition you received in your high school career. This can include: Honor Roll Principal’s List Subject Area Awards Sports Team Awards Positions in Clubs or Organizations You can also choose not to include this section.

Skills In this section, you simply list any skills acquired in your high school career or personal life that may be relevant to a potential school. This can include: Computer Skills Child care Communication skills Etc.