Writing Resumes for Scholarship/Admission Applications

This information will get you started.

Produce a draft, and then get an advisor's help.

What is a Resume?
A resume is a data sheet that markets your credentials. It outlines your skills and
qualifications and prompts potential employers to talk to you further about the
opportunities they offer. A resume gets you in the door, but it doesn’t get you the job.
You’ll get a job offer as a result of successful interviews.

Create a Master List

The first step is to recall and list every experience you can think of including
volunteer/community service, internships, paid jobs, and major research projects. You
should also list campus activities, student organizations, and all of your educational
experiences. Don’t worry about the format yet. This master list will provide you with all
the information you need to create your resume and cover letter and prepare for
interviewing.

Elaborate On Your List

Next, write descriptions of the items on your list. Include information about your specific
responsibilities, skills used, and outcomes you obtained. Use action verbs in your
descriptions (see the Action Verb list below). Remember to tailor the descriptions to
the types of jobs and employers you’re targeting. Think about the skills you used in each
of your positions that will be of interest to potential employers. You’re trying to convince
an employer that your skills transfer to the type of position for which you’re applying.

Organize Your Resume

After you have written descriptions for your positions, you’ll need to decide how to
organize your experiences, and what to include in the resume. You do not need to
include every experience in your list. Be strategic. Focus on those experiences that will
be of most interest to your prospective employer.

There are a few sections that are common to most resumes:

CONTACT INFORMATION
It’s a good idea to include both your current school address and a
permanent address. Be sure that your phone numbers are correct, and
always include an email address. You only need to list one email address,
but be sure you check it frequently. If you use an email address other than
your Oberlin one, be sure to use a professional sounding address. Do not
include your social security number or date of birth.

OBJECTIVE
This is optional. If you choose to include one, make it a concise declaration
of the position you seek in a specified area, department, or industry i.e. a
summer internship in a public relations firm. You will elaborate on this more
fully in your cover letter, so if you can better use the space on your resume
to list relevant experiences and skills, skip the objective.

EDUCATION
This section gives details about your college, degree, graduation date, and
majors. An overall GPA and a Major GPA are optional. Typically, include your
GPA if it is 3.0 or higher and add your Major GPA if it is higher than your
overall GPA. Include study abroad or additional educational institutions if
appropriate. Generally, you will not include high school, unless your high
school is well known or is relevant to the employer (it is assumed you
graduated from high school to get into college).

EXPERIENCE
This is the main part of your resume. Use the descriptions you wrote while
compiling your list, being sure to begin them with action verbs. Strive to be
concise. You should not use full sentences or try to write eloquent prose.
Illustrate descriptions with specifics about numbers, outcomes, and goals
you met. Omit all personal pronouns.

Try not to be redundant with your job title. For example, if you were a staff
writer for The Review, don’t just say you “wrote articles for The Review”.
That is implied by your title. Instead try to indicate how many articles, about
what, whether you conducted interviews, etc.

Write the description of your experiences either using bullets or in a

paragraph style. Again, make sure it is easy to read. Bulleted statements
can contain more than one sentence and be more than one line if needed.
Don’t use bullets if you choose a paragraph style. Other sections will depend
upon your background and what will be of interest to the prospective
employer. You may include some of the following:

SKILLS
List your computer, language, and other relevant skills.

ACTIVITIES/LEADERSHIP/EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
If not already included in the Experience section, use this section to describe
activities you’ve participated in, especially if you played a leadership role.
This section is especially useful for students and recent grads who do not yet
have a great deal of work experience.

PUBLICATIONS/PRESENTATIONS
Particularly useful for academic resumes, this section allows you to elaborate
on relevant academic work you’ve done.

FIELDS OF INTEREST (major/minor; or possible fields of interest)

VOLUNTEEER ACTIVITIES

AWARDS
Format Your Resume
After you have determined what information you would like to include in your resume,
you must choose a format in which to present it.

Most students and recent grads use some variation of a chronological format where
experiences are listed in reverse chronological order (most recent first). You can list
either your employer or your job title first – typically you will start with whichever is
stronger and be consistent.

You should emphasize experiences that are relevant to your objective or experiences
that demonstrate specific transferable skills that would be needed. If these relevant
experiences are not necessarily your most recent or are volunteer or extracurricular, you
can still feature them first by using a Relevant Experience section. Give a good amount
of detail and be specific in your descriptions. Other experiences can be listed under an
Additional Experience section with much less description.

Other formatting options include functional and combination resumes. In these types of
resumes you describe experiences under specific skill headings (see sample below).

Length:
Your resume should be one page long. Two-page resumes are acceptable only under
certain circumstances. Remember that employers spend very little time scanning your
resume. Good information on the second page might never be seen. It’s best to keep
the resume succinct and leave out unrelated experience. If you must use a two-page
resume, make sure your name is at the top of the second page.

Appearance:
There are many creative ways to design a resume. You want it to be easy to read, so
have a good balance of text and white space. Don’t try to be too creative. Stick to
something that can be read quickly and easily.

Margins:
One-inch is standard, but you can use slightly smaller margins if needed. Make sure
your resume is centered on the page.

Font Size/Style:
An 11-inch font size is standard. Times and Times New Roman are two professional
looking styles. Use only one font style in your resume.
Finalize a Draft
Print your resume on the same paper you will use for your cover letters. Do not use
standard photocopy paper. Choose a conservative color: white, ivory, off-white, light
gray or eggshell.
Proofread, proofread, and proofread! Even if you use spell-check and grammar-
check, proofread carefully and have your resume critiqued by at least one other person.
The best way to proof your resume is to read it out loud to another person who has a
copy of it.
If your resume is for a specialized or technical field (science, theater or computer
science for example), be sure to have a faculty member in your department look it over.

Action Verbs To Use When Describing Work Experiences:

accumulated enhanced performed

adapted established persuaded
administered estimated planned
advised evaluated prepared
analyzed examined presented
appraised facilitated prioritized
approved financed produced
assembled founded programmed
audited generated promoted
authored governed proposed
broadcast guided proved
budgeted heightened provided
built identified publicized
calculated illustrated published
catalogued implemented purchased
clarified increased questioned
communicated inspected recommended
compared installed reduced
compiled integrated regulated
composed interpreted reorganized
computed interviewed researched
conducted introduced reviewed
constructed invented rewrote
consulted investigated scheduled
controlled launched screened
coordinated lectured served
correlated maintained simplified
corresponded managed solved
created marketed strengthened
delegated mastered succeeded
demonstrated measured supervised
derived mediated systematized
designed modeled taught
developed moderated traded
devised monitored trained
directed motivated translated
discovered negotiated upgraded
earned organized verified
eliminated originated wrote
Sample resume for college visits or college/scholarship applications; this is an example;
include information that highlights YOUR STRENGTHS! This is only one format. You
may find several example templates you may choose from.

Name
Address
Phone #
Email – if Available

College Major/ Career Goal: G.P.A.: (only if 3.0+)

(include this only if you have one) ACT: (if top 25%)
SAT: (if top 25%)
Education
Rogers Senior High School Rogers, Arkansas
Graduation date: May 2008
Weighted GPA:
AP courses taken:
College courses taken:

Honors and Awards

• National Merit Semi-Finalist, (11)
• Lamp of Learning Academic Achievement Award (9, 10, 11)
• Missouri All State Choir, (10, 11)

High School Activities

• Pioneer Yearbook Staff (10, 11, 12)
-Editor in Chief (12)
• KHS Swim Team (10, 11, 12)
-Varsity Team Captain (12)
• KHS Choir (9, 10, 11, 12)
• Spanish Club (9, 10, 11)

Community/Volunteer Activities
• Meals on Wheels Volunteer (Summers, 2003-Present)
- Deliver 3-5 meals to senior citizens every Saturday throughout the year.
• Church Youth Group (9, 10, 11, 12)
- Coordinated over 100 youth members for a 2-week mission trip.

Awards
National Merit Finalist
Who’s Who Among American High School Students
Chamber of Commerce
Rotary Youth Leadership
Work Experience
• Kirkwood YMCA Summer Gymnastics Camp Instructor (2003-Present)
- 20 hours per week during the school year and 45 hours per week in the
summer.
• Kirkwood Library (2000-02)
- Approximately 10 hours per week during the school year.

Interests
• Diving – Greenbriar Pool Dive Team (6 years)
• Dancing – Ballet, tap, jazz (10 years)

NOTE: Each university/scholarship will provide the information it

requires on a resume. ALWAYS use that list and put the information in the
same order/format as listed.

This information was shared on the website: www.georgetownisd.org