Resumes & Recommendations

Résumé Writing Tips

If you’re new to résumé writing, it can feel overwhelming. Take your time and be patient. Here are some tips to get started writing your résumé in high school:

• Write your résumé in reverse chronological order. Put your most recent experience and schooling at the top. Then work your way backward.

• Make sure that everything you’ve included is relevant and worded concisely. Limit the résumé to one page.

• Don’t worry about making your résumé flashy. It’s better to keep everything simple, clear, and easy to read than to use unique fonts, images, or layouts.

• Remember to be accurate. Never exaggerate or bend the truth.  

• Make sure to proofread your résumé more than once, looking for typos, misspellings, and incorrect grammar and punctuation. Then have someone else look over it. Mistakes can make the reader feel you’re not as thorough, careful, or detail oriented as they’d like you to be. 

• As time passes, delete the oldest and least relevant experiences. It’s okay to revise your résumé as your interests and goals change.  

Recomendation Letter Tips

• Asking for a College Letter of Recommendation

  • Who to Ask: Consider asking two teachers and a school counselor to write you a college letter of recommendation. Choose teachers from different types of core classes. If they know you well, you can also ask a coach or the leader of a school organization. Most importantly, ask someone who you believe will write you an outstanding letter of recommendation.

  • When to Ask: Give the people writing your college letters of recommendation plenty of time. You don’t want them to rush through their letters, and you don’t want them to say no just because they already are writing too many other letters. Ask your references at least one month before the deadline.

  • How to Ask: Ask your intended reference in person, not through email or on the phone. Keep in mind, they will be taking time to write your reference, so you want to show your appreciation from the start. You can take your teacher or coach aside after class or practice and ask them, and you can schedule a meeting with a counselor.

• What to Give Someone Writing Your Letter 

  • Give your reference a resume if you have one, especially if your reference is a counselor.

  • You can also write a letter to your reference that includes a personal story about how they helped you grow or what you have learned from them. 

• Say Thank You

  • Be sure to show your gratitude for the time your references spend writing your college letters of recommendation.