So, you’re applying to college. For the past three-and-a-half years, you have excelled academically, earned near-perfect standardized test scores, obtained stellar extracurriculars, won competitions, and written spectacular essays. There’s one often overlooked part of the college application: the resume. While this doesn’t get talked about nearly as much as the above, many colleges allow you to upload a resume as part of your application. While there are spaces in applications to enter activities, honors, awards, this gives you a unique opportunity to stand out—you have complete control over the content and presentation of this document and are not burdened by character limitations. This, however, can make preparing a resume a very daunting task.
But don’t worry, we’re here to help you craft a resume that you’ll be proud of. In this blog post, we will provide tips to shed light on the resume writing process. We will also share a template with a track record of results including Ivy League acceptances, scholarships, internships at major companies, and research experience—completely free of charge.
This guide is focused on style and presentation. If you feel that the content of your resume is not impressive enough, know that this is a common feeling. You should still follow this guide and use that resume to obtain internships, scholarships, research positions, and other distinctions that will help you stand out.
- Focus on achievements, not just duties.
Instead of simply listing your responsibilities at a job, highlight what you accomplished. Use strong action verbs to quantify your achievements whenever possible.
Example:
Instead of: “Answered phones and greeted customers.”
Try: “Increased customer satisfaction by 15% through personalized greeting and active listening.”
- Quantify your accomplishments.
Now that you are highlighting your achievements in your position, try to quantify your impact to stand out even more. Here’s an example I personally used when describing my involvement in a school club.
Instead of:
- Served as co-president of my school’s physics club for three years.
- Organized weeking meetings and gave presentations.
Try:
- Grew my school’s physics club membership from ~10 to ~55 active members over 3 years of leadership.
- Shared my passion for the subject by delivering 20+ presentations in areas such as quantum computing, fluid dynamics, relativity, cosmology, and optics.
- Keep it concise and scannable.
Admissions officers are responsible for reading thousands of applications and so do not have a lot of time for each one. To this end, keep your resume to one page, and use clear formatting with headings to make it as digestible as possible.
- Proofread carefully.
Typos and grammatical errors will make a bad impression. Have someone else proofread your resume before you submit it.
- Use the digital world.
Your resume will be submitted and (almost surely) read online. Take full advantage of this by hyperlinking media in your experiences section. You will add credibility to your accomplishments and show presence by doing this, even if your reader does not actually click on every link you include. Remember to regularly check if all the links you shared are working.
- Tailor your resume.
Your resume should highlight your ability and accomplishments to prove you worthy of the role you are applying to. For example, if you are applying to industry internships, make sure to use a resume different from the one you use to apply to research positions. When applying to college, make sure that your resume accentuates the strengths (“spike”) that you showcase in your activities, honors, and essays.
Here is the template of the resume that landed me multiple internships, including paid ones, as well as research positions. It also got me accepted into an Ivy League school and got me a (almost) full ride at one of my state schools.
Conclusion
View each of the resources linked in this blog to learn how to earn accomplishments to put on your resume. A compelling and well-written resume will make these accomplishments stand out even more. Make sure to visit Rishab Jain’s Youtube Channel and Rishab Academy to find additional information.
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