So I feel like a total failure when typing up my resume?
 

My friend and I were typing up our resumes to give to the women writing our recs for recruitment. I didn't think much of it until we printed off 1 copy each so my parents could proof read them and catch any possible mistakes. I look at hers and she's like the next Miss America. I look at mine and I'm like asdfghjkl *emotional breakdown*
I guess I shouldn't be surprised cause she comes from a strong Greek background from the south and she's going to TCU so she's basically been prepared her whole life I guess.

Me? oh no, I felt like a jerk. I feel slightly embarrassed to give the resumes to the rec writers lol I know these ladies personally from school LOL (fail) and church and my friends mom introduced me to a few alumna for recs. Is it best to explain my situation to them when I meet 1 on 1 to give them photos, resume & transcript? I assume playing ignorant won't benefit me

in my next life I'm going to be a little more well rounded geesh

EDIT: I'm not sure if this is good or not but I'm thinking terrible. The school I'm going to does deferred recruitment. Should I simply wait almost until the end of 1st semester before having recs sent? That way I could be more involved for a semester
-_-

Texas-

First, remember that you are NOT a failure and you should not project yourself as such.

It is easy to make the comparison between your achievements and those of others. It is possible that your friend had the benefit of a paid college prep person - one that assists college applicants to present themselves in the best possible light.

Perhaps your classmates were able to volunteer and/or be involved to what appears to be a greater extent because their families paid for the many "services" that you performed at home. For example, in my current neighborhood, many neighbors with children pay to have their homes cleaned, their yards taken care of and other duties that other families routinely take care of themselves.

You could meet with your high school counselor (or someone in a position like that) to assist you in discussing and modifying your resume.

For example, there are likely activities that you have been involved in that you did not even consider adding to the resume.

I look back to my middle school and high school days and even college days and realize that some of the things I had been doing were things that I could have named and claimed as activities worthy of a resume - had I acknowledged them as such.

For example, I volunteered at an animal shelter, assisted the "official" coaches in my various sports teams to mentor little children interested in those sports and volunteered after school with a drama group for elementary school children. I made sandwiches for fund raisers for the band, volunteered at the concession booth for high school football games, took the suburban neighborhood kids berry picking in the fields not far from our house and showed them things I had learned on my grandfather's farm. Some of these things sound trivial but in a way provided meaningful experiences not only for me but for the others involved.

Think beyond the confines of your school - think of your involvement with the community - beyond the usual clearly defined memberships. Consider your involvement in places of worship, neighborhood projects e.g. playground improvement, clean-up days, etc. Ask others - family members, friends and teachers/school counselors help you to recall these involvements.

As you suggested, get involved NOW- while you still have time in high school and over the summer!

And most of all, keep in mind that you are NOT a failure.

^^^ This is very good advice!

I would advise you to figure out what your unique talents and treasures are and play those up. Then present yourself confidently on those terms. If your mom's friend is willing to introduce you to other potential rec writers, she must see things in you that you may not! If you've known some of the other women for a long time, then they know your personality and they should be able to tailor a positive rec. that describes who you are, not a cookie-cutter description that doesn't fit you.

I remember that one of my rec letters for one of the sororities I ended up preffing said something like, "Sciencewoman is able to make a positive influence through her reserved strength." The alumna gave me a copy, so I knew how she had "packaged" me in her rec. It was worded better than that, but it sent the message that I may seem a bit quiet or shy during recruitment, but that I was still a leader. She didn't try to present me as Miss America, or the head cheerleader with loads of charisma. She had known me all my life, and she presented me as I was, in the best possible light.

I do think that getting involved and meeting current sorority members during the fall is a great idea for everyone facing deferred recruitment, no matter how much or how little you were involved in high school extracurriculars.

I'm a little out of my lane here, not having gone to a TX school, but for deferred recruitment, I believe resumes (and recs? don't quote me on that one) are less important, as the members will have a whole semester to get to know YOU, as opposed to only getting a resume/red before the school year/rush starts.

That being said, when you get to school, get involved. That way you will have things on your resume for the next time you write one (summer internships/jobs), and it will be a good way to get out there and meet new people (especially those sorority members!).

I was going to suggest this too. Your resume is not limited to just what you do while school is in session. Include community and faith based activities. Teach Sunday School? Include that. Volunteer at the local animal shelter every Saturday? Good stuff. Involved with community choir/theatre/sports? Just as relevant. Organize soccer clinics for area youth? Perfect.

Also, as a rec writer, I am just as impressed (sometimes more impressed) with a PNM who has had significant leadership and involvement in just a handful of activities over the PNM who joined every club in high school but never served in a leadership type position. While it may be too late to obtain leadership/organizing experience with your high school activities, it is not too late to do something community based or thru your place of worship. Bulk those areas up. What will you be doing this summer? Start laying the groundwork for things that can help your resume. Get to campus this fall and choose a few activities that you can get involved with. Volunteer for some leadership opportunities within those groups. Don't get over-involved, as you need to have enough time to make excellent grades.

Finally, bear in mind that a resume IS important, and definitely can help your rec writers introduce you to the chapter. However, work, work, work on your conversations skills. You mentioned that your school does deferred recruitment. Be friendly, outgoing, and sociable during the fall. Meet lots of sorority women and present yourself well at every opportunity. This means watch yourself and your behavior in social settings. Don't be "that girl." To prepare for recruitment, practice talking to people that you don't know well. Specifically, practice moving from generic conversations (where are you from?) to a more specific, interesting, and engaging conversation ("oh, really? Nashville? I love the music vibe there and had a blast going to the Blue Bird Cafe last summer. Music has always been one of my passions....")

For Baylor and SMU recs remain very important. Not to say that the first semester impression isn't important (it is!), but there will be scores upon scores of PNMs sending in very strong recs. Having a rec to each and every chapter is also a must.

Regarding resumes at any level, including yours as a high school student, seek help from a professional. Your guidance counselor is a good start. If any of your rec writers are professional women who may have experience with resumes or sales, I would seek their input as well.

Several years ago I decided I wanted a complete career change and my search was going NOWHERE. I finally had a placement/temp agency recruiter completely rewrite my resume. Nothing she said was a lie but my experiences were highlighted in a way I'd have never done it. I had a job within the week. Seek and use the help you are offered!

Secondly, it's not too late to pad your resume. If your "issue" is you are not a well rounded enough individual, start seeking out opportunities in new areas. Yes, it would be nice if you'd had years in cheerleading, chess team and theatre, but spending a month or two in a new activity or hobby is at least something. If nothing else you'll have interesting topics to discuss come rush next fall!

Third, regarding your sense of inadequacy. Rush is a huge bummer for just this reason. It can reduce girls with all kinds of potential and grace to rubble. You have to find a way to appreciate your own worth or you're going to come off in a light that is only going to hurt you. During rush, every girl will seem ever so much MORE than you, and it simply isn't true. And you can take the time you have now to find the right way to spin the virtues you have. Spent the last 4 years doing 1 thing? You can tell them you are really looking forward to expanding your horizons and experiencing new things. Or you were really driven to succeed in one area. It meant your social life suffered a little, but you're really proud of your accomplish in this area. Spend some time thinking about why you made the choices you did and find ways to make them both interesting and appealing. You'll figure it out!

Make sure you are listing everything you do in your activities.

During junior year of high school, my best friend and I applied to National Honor Society. She showed me her resume and it listed one thing: swim team. She was all bummed out because she only had "one thing" to put on the resume.

I was on swim team with her, so I knew there was a lot more to it than that.

I took it away from her and redid it so that it listed everything that she did for swim team: lane leader for summer team, lane leader for winter team, all of the state meets that she was in and which ones she placed in, all of the national meets she was in and which one she placed in, her ranking as third best junior woman in the nation in the women's 100 butterfly (I could not believe she left that off), and the volunteer work she did with swim team in a program that teaches underprivileged kids to swim.

It wasn't just "one thing." That "one thing" was a huge commitment.

Later, when I was writing sorority resumes, I didn't just list National Honor Society. I listed all of the stuff our NHS did, as separate entries. We volunteered as babysitters for a teen mom support group. We raised money for the National Heart Association. We raised money for the United Way. We raised money for Thanksgiving food baskets for needy families. We raised money to put ceiling fans in the classrooms over the cafeteria at our school.

Where is the LIKE Button??? Perfectly said!!

This is great advice. I used to be involved in hiring interns (sophomores and juniors in college). One guy that I hired worked at Random Chain Restaurant for two years in HS, then got a transfer to the Champaign location when he started college, and had been there for three more years, with increasing responsibility along the way. Something like that shows long-term commitment, good time management skills, and obvious value to his management.

This! I remember helping my brother make his resume when he was applying to schools. He left off some major things that are big parts of his life just because they weren't official school activities. For example, he gives guitar lessons but didn't think to include it. It's definitely something that he puts time and work into, so of course it should have been on there!

Oh ok. This is helping me a bit because there are a couple of organizations that I once belonged to for years, but I dropped out yet I remained very dedicated to helping out and volunteering because I still loved to be apart of it. Its basically all coming to me, the little things. There are a few other ventures my friends and I hope to do together volunteer wise. They're simple, one time things but it involves a charity I'm really passionate about.

Thank you! Y'all are making it come together a bit more. There are some things I'm overlooking because I'm looking at the big picture.

Rule #1 of participation AND resumé writing...learn to use "apart" and "a part". :p

My resume is a little different for job applications vs. my recruitment application and rec writing resume. That one had all of my activities, the years, and a brief description of each activity underneath it. It helped me figure out how to explain bigger commitments in a small space.

Example:
Activity--Position--Years
Description
(of course, I formatted it using tabs and all)

I also included awards (EVERYTHING), my GPA and SAT scores (I broke it down--in addition to listing the totals--because I got an 800 on the writing section!) and some other academic accomplishments (Principal's Honor Roll, 8 semesters, for example).

In retrospect, I could have included interests as well, but I think that a) my resume made my main interests super-clear (based on the activities) and b) 2 pages was enough (the descriptions made it longer).

And the easy way to remember that is the "a part" you're looking for doesn't require the "a." Make a habit of saying you want to be part of something instead of a part of something and you won't make the mistake again.

As is always true, MelindaWarren is right. And your resume will change over time. As a 46 year old woman, if I put that I am a sorority member, worked at a summer camp in college and walked in The 3 Day on my resume it would be 82 pages long. You can start now by having a resume that has all that little stuff on it - it's important now - and then whittle that stuff back as it becomes less important in the big picture. And do yourself a favor. Date your resumes and don't overwrite them over and over again. Some day you'll want the information you had on a resume from a hundred years ago and won't remember. Same thing goes with boss'es phone numbers and addresses for the places you worked.