Even if you’re not yet in the stage of your life when you’re actively pursuing employment, you still need a résumé. A résumé is a summary of your accomplishments, education and relevant experience all on one sheet of paper. It is incredibly important to create one before you’ll actually need it. It is difficult to anticipate when that will be, but if you plan on working while going to college, you’ll need a résumé to apply for jobs. If you’ve never written one, don’t fear. It’s as easy as one, two, three.

 

1. Education

After your contact information, you’ll need to include your education -- high school or college. You’ll need to include the dates attended, the degree/diploma earned, and the school name and location. Only include your grade point average if is above a 3.2 on a 4.0 scale.

 

2. Experience

It’s okay to not have a lot of experience, but you probably have some. Whether it’s while shadowing a professional in your intended field or volunteering to read to children, you’ve gained important skills. Make sure you show this on your résumé. You should include the date range of the experience, the organization and location, and your title.

 

3. Awards/Hobbies/Everything Else

This is the place to put everything that doesn’t necessarily fit into education or experience. Hobbies and awards, recognitions you’ve earned, and extracurricular sports you’ve participated in belong in this area of your résumé.

Many students procrastinate writing a résumé because they feel that they don’t have any experience to put on it. Put your unique experience to work for you and get started writing that résumé today.