STEP ONE -- RESUMES: THE BASIC TOOL -- STARTING IN 9TH GRADE

A resume is the basic college application or career tool that everyone should have. And you should start having a resume as early as 9th grade of high school.

Why do you need a resume if you're in 9th grade of high school?

Even if you are convinced you won't need a resume for a year or two, start one now. One reason for this is that, otherwise, you may forget some important items, such as that impressive community service project you did during 9th grade. Or you may forget the official title of the local library essay contest you won.

Second reason: As we go over the items likely to be put on your high school resume, your mind may be ticked into thinking about specific paths for yourself.

Third reason: IF YOU HAVE A RESUME RIGHT NOW - you'll always be ready if someone unexpectedly offers you an internship or job opportunity

Set up a resume document on your computer and then you'll be ready to add to it as you go along. I like to call this a "resume-as-you go."

Which format should you follow - everyone has a different suggestion?

It's so true that everyone has an opinion about formatting a resume. For example, some people like education listed at the top; some like education listed at the bottom. Some like hobbies included; some don't. Choose a format for now and you can always change it later. And keep your resume to one page with an easily readable typeface.

Here are the important points no matter what resume format you use:

1) Make sure that your resume has no spelling or grammar mistakes.

2) Only capitalize proper nouns.

3) Have someone unfamiliar with your information read your resume to ensure that everything makes sense.

4) Go for ease of reading above all else - don't use several different fonts and other fancy elements that muddy the readability.

5) If you have a passion, there should be items on your resume that indicate this passion.

6) Make sure that the most important information STANDS OUT.

Resumes are written in partial sentences, so forget about complete sentences starting with "I was." In a resume there is no need to say: "I was a lab assistant at a radiation laboratory."

Instead you list the name of the lab, then a dash, and then the words "assistant" or "lab assistant." Under that line of information you write a brief description (see below.) As it is your resume, it is clear that it is you who performed the research experiments.

Universal Lab - Assistant January-March 2008, Los Angeles

Performed research experiments on rats to determine the missing gene that may lead to a cure for Alzheimer's under the supervision of the head of the biogenetics department.

And choose strong action words that convey positive images - performed is one such word. You wouldn't, for example, say instead: "Did research experiments." Of course you did them. Performed, conducted, etc. are stronger words.

Use specific visual images that catch the attention of the person reading your resume. Your goal is to prompt discussion from your resume that can establish rapport in an interview.

Below is an example of a resume for a fictional student who is in spring semester of her senior year of high school. Can you spot the student's "passion"?

CHARLENE STUDENT

101 Cherry Lane * Smalltown, CA 90212

310-555-1234 * charlene.student@gmail.com

EDUCATION

SMALLTOWN HIGH SCHOOL September 2004 - Present, Smalltown

UCLA EXTENSION, "Intro to Advertising" Fall Quarter 2007, Los Angeles

WORK EXPERIENCE

STARBUCKS - Barista November 2007 - Present, Los Angeles

Perform counter duties and other tasks as needed. Participate in frequent customer service training.

SUNSHINE DAY CARE CENTER - Aide Summer 2006, Smalltown

Responsible for assisting child care supervisor. Took on-site CPR training.

INTERNSHIP EXPERIENCE

STAR ADVERTISING AGENCY - Intern Summer 2007, Los Angeles

Assisted in media buying department. Responsible for tracking clients' competitors' buys on national television.

SMALLTOWN NEWSPAPER - Intern March-May 2007, Los Angeles

Worked in ad department charting response rates for advertisers' promotion coupons.

VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE

HABITAT FOR HUMANITY - Worker December 2005, New Orleans

Helped repair homes in hurricane-ravaged New Orleans as part of a LA church group.

SMALLTOWN SENIOR CENTER - Entertainer Summer 2005, Smalltown Performed musical theater show tunes for center residents.

HIGH SCHOOL ACTIVITIES

Student Council Representative 9, 10, 11, President -12

Intramural Volleyball 11, 12

French Club 9, 10, 11, 12

Model U.N. 12

High School Newspaper (Ad Department) 9, 10, 11. 12

Because this sample student is a senior in high school, I've put her education at the top of the resume. If she attends college - during the years she is still in college she may continue to put her education at the top (replacing her high school listing with the college she is currently attending). In this way an interviewer can quickly see she hasn't graduated yet. After she graduates college and has her first post-college job, she may want to move her education information to the end of her resume.

And be careful of the words you use to describe what you've done. The first work experience listing as a barista at Starbucks starts out with the present-tense verb perform because that job is currently being done. The second item as an aide at the Sunshine Day Care Center uses the word responsible, which is correct either for past tense or present tense - "I am responsible" or "I was responsible." (In this case the word is being used in connection with a job in the past.) The third item has the past-tense verb assisted because that job was done in the past.

And the student's passion in the above sample resume is -- advertising. Check out her resume to see how many of the resume items support this passion. And she could talk about her passion in a cover email/letter or in an interview.

Make it easy for people to understand how they can utilize your talents and experiences. Include your interests and experiences that can be helpful in the particular situation for which you're interviewing.

What about an example of a different format for a resume?

Here's an explanation of a resume that features a student's most important points in a different format than the sample resume above:

A student entering senior year of high school listed all his activities in three sections with the following boldface headings: junior year, sophomore year, freshman year. In order to figure out how many years the student had undertaken each activity, an interviewer would have to search each section for the information. What's more, the boldface headings were wasted on meaningless information - the year in school.

The student redesigned his one-page resume to make the important information stand out. Under the overall heading "activity" he listed these sections in boldface: clubs, community service, political camps, honors, writing, sports, performing arts. Just by reading down these boldface subheads, an interviewer could get a quick picture of the student's overall interests. Then a closer read would reveal the years of these activities, etc.

In addition, the student placed his superior SAT scores and GPA at the top of his resume rather than tucking this information as an afterthought at the bottom of his resume. Now he had a much stronger visual representation of his interests and his strengths.

Do you have to put everything on your resume?

You decide whether you want to put your SAT scores and/or GPA on your resume. If you think this can help, go ahead. Remember, you can choose what to put on your resume as long as it is the truth.

The universe is perverse, and if you tell a lie on your resume, the one person who knows about the lie may talk to the person you're trying to impress with the lie. And with everyone's access today to the internet, the discovery of the lie may only be a click away.

If in 9th grade you start your "resume-as-you-go," you will be well prepared for filling out your high school job applications or your college applications and you will not be tempted due to desperation to lie on the applications.

If you follow these suggestions, you won't be shocked to suddenly learn - when it's too late - that colleges ask about your community-service activities, your passions, what you've done outside of school, your job history (paid and unpaid). Throughout your high school years - by engaging in activities that truly interest you - you will be working towards being able to fill out these applications with meaningful information.

What things can you leave off your resume?

Sometimes you can leave off from your resume possibly negative things that are not important to your overall profile. If, for example, you had a summer job only for two weeks because it didn't work out, there's no reason to list it on your resume. It adds nothing to the overall picture of your abilities and interests. What you decide to put on your resume, as long as it is accurate, is up to you.

And, remember, resumes needs to be updated even if you think you haven't done anything new recently. Plan to check out your resume every couple of months while you're in the process of internship applications or college applications or job applications. You may decide to change items or sections around to see if you get a different response.

What about putting your resume online?

Never put your social security number on your resume whether posting online to a job search website or emailing to someone or handing your resume to someone. And when posting online, think about whether you want your street address included and other information that is perhaps best saved until a face-to-face interview.

Also consider what information you put on the social networking sites, such as Facebook. While the information you include in your profile for Facebook, for example, is not a resume, it is information that is available for the public to see. You want to keep both privacy/security concerns and your overall image in mind at all times.

Do you have to keep records of all your activities during high school?

While it is very important to keep a running resume so that you will remember everything you've done, it is equally important to keep paperwork from those activities as "proof" that you've actually done them.

A University of California, Berkeley freshman was asked to provide proof within a very short time frame of all the summer classes she had listed on her resume. This list included a three-week high school writing course held at UCLA and taken before her freshman year of high school. Luckily she had saved the assignments, on which she found the teacher's name. Then she located the teacher's phone number through friends and called the teacher, who agreed to write a course confirmation letter.

In order to avoid such complications: For each activity keep registration slips, final reports, assignments, emails from soccer coaches, competition results, etc. clipped together by activity in a "high school resume" folder. Then if you are called upon to "prove" something, the information will be easily available.

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