Resume for Recruitment

Alrighty, I will be attending Formal Fall Recruitment. I'm in the process of writing (and rewriting) my resume to send to the Alumnae who will be providing me with recs and letters of support. My problem is that I have been involved in so many activities that I'm not sure what to include! Someone PLEASE help me out here.

[ree-Xi]

Originally Posted by Pandora2011

Alrighty, I will be attending Formal Fall Recruitment at Oklahoma State University. I'm in the process of writing (and rewriting) my resume to send to the Alumnae who will be providing me with recs and letters of support. My problem is that I have been involved in so many activities, especially public speaking contests and leadership summits, that I'm not sure what to include! Someone PLEASE help me out here. I've looked at samples online but nothing really seems to apply to my situation.

Name
Address
Phone
Education
GPA
Work Experience
Activities
Service
Leadership positions
Awards
Interests/Hobbies/Sports
References (usually at least one academic and one personal)

I'm not sure what is so different about your situation?

I understand that I need to include the personal info, etc., but if I include all of my extracurriculars and activities my resume is over two pages long... Should I only include what I think are the highlights? I'm afraid that I might leave off something that someone else might find important even though I don't think it is.

[karalang89]

Originally Posted by Pandora2011

I understand that I need to include the personal info, etc., but if I include all of my extracurriculars and activities my resume is over two pages long... Should I only include what I think are the highlights? I'm afraid that I might leave off something that someone else might find important even though I don't think it is.

I recommend a bulleted one liner of your extra curricular activities. That way, if the employer wants more info, they can ask you about it. It will take up a lot less space than a full description and give you something to point out or discuss if asked.

Thanks, I appreciate your advice but would that apply to resumes going to sorority alumnae who are writing recs and letters of support, too? I understand that much of the info would be the same but if someone was class president for 2 years, should they bullet the line and say "Class President-2 years?" Also, what if a person participated in the same event every year and had a different outcome, i.e. placing, or was in the same event multiple years, but in a different category every year?

[shirley1929]

One page front and back is great - just make sure to save paper and print it front and back.

[shirley1929]

Originally Posted by Pass the Pinot

My daughter had a similar resume. She line itemed things as has been reccomended above and used the high school year in numbers (9,10,11,12) for reference. For example: class officer, 9,11. Regional choir member 9,10,11,12. You are fortunate that you can leave some things off. I would suggest not going too far back and be sure to cover all areas; service, sports, arts, leadership, etc. Choose your best ones. It becomes overkill at a certain point and your writers will get the picture.

^^good suggestion

[karalang89]

Originally Posted by Pandora2011

Thanks, I appreciate your advice but would that apply to resumes going to sorority alumnae who are writing recs and letters of support, too? I understand that much of the info would be the same but if someone was class president for 2 years, should they bullet the line and say "Class President-2 years?" Also, what if a person participated in the same event every year and had a different outcome, i.e. placing, or was in the same event multiple years, but in a different category every year?

I would prioritize them. List the ones you are most proud of at the top and give them maybe two lines of info. Then follow up with smaller accomplishments or positions you've held.

This is all going to come down to how much information you want to provide. Personally, I like reading about things that people have accomplished as this gives insight into how they think and what they think is important. I wouldn't sell yourself short to save space.

Thank you guys! These are really helpful suggestions. I guess I'm feeling overwhelmed that I'm not going to "do it right." Unfortunately, I'm a visual person so I like to see an example of how someone else has done it in the past, and I haven't been able to find something like that online (just templates). It seems more simple now.

[honeychile]

This is SO much easier to do that it used to be, but personalize the resumes. If you've been volunteering with ANY of the philanthropies which a sorority sponsors, play it up. Using the bullet system, you would prioritize say, Literacy Works when sending out a resume for Pi Beta Phi, or Breast Cancer Walk for the Cure for ZTA. But don't even attempt it if you think you'll mix it up!

[DeltaBetaBaby]

Originally Posted by Pandora2011

Thanks, I appreciate your advice but would that apply to resumes going to sorority alumnae who are writing recs and letters of support, too? I understand that much of the info would be the same but if someone was class president for 2 years, should they bullet the line and say "Class President-2 years?" Also, what if a person participated in the same event every year and had a different outcome, i.e. placing, or was in the same event multiple years, but in a different category every year?

List the activity as a bullet, and the major accomplishments as a sub-bullet. Choose the three or four biggest accomplishments to list. Like so:

-- Wilson High School Forensics Team
--- State champion, Impromptu Speaking, 2011
--- Junior varsity Conference Champion, 2009

[FSUZeta]

you could say: junior class president, senior class president

[carnation]

Two major things: first, if you have an award or club that's a huge big deal in your area but women at OSU may not know what it is, enlighten them! Our kids' high school had a multiracial dance team that was really hard to get into and they were so good that they were in the 1996 Olympics opening ceremonies. Now if a PNM had just put "Color Connection" on her resume, the sorority women may have wondered what it was and ignored it. If she had briefly explained about CC, that surely would have been a major item in her favor.

Another thing: eliminate the little fillers, like 1 year of I don't know, the Birdwatching Club or a semester of Spanish Club. They'll only detract from your major activities.

[deltasigmakkg]

I will be a sophomore at Oklahoma State next year and it looks like you are off to a great start with your recruitment! Don't let your nerves get the best of you, it's easy to get overwhelmed right now (especially with things that you're unfamiliar with like sending in the resumes) but everything will work itself out. I wish I could help more but since I am only a sophomore I'm not even sure what is the best way to format it. Good luck!

[dgdramadawg]

Originally Posted by carnation

Another thing: eliminate the little fillers, like 1 year of I don't know, the Birdwatching Club or a semester of Spanish Club. They'll only detract from your major activities.

Even if you participated in them for FOUR years, some activities look like filler. At my school, Spanish/French Club pretty much consisted of having a meeting once a month... no real activities, no impact. So if you were so involved that you're trying to figure out what to cut, cut those in general and it will free up some space for more involved activities.