Starting in your high school years, everything you do is documented on a piece of paper. Well, not everything, but at least the important milestones and accomplishments. Each opportunity that you take on is titled, dated, and briefly described on something we call a resume. This one document takes hours to organize; you contemplate the font style and size, re-edit the descriptions of your endeavors, and continually update it as you embrace more opportunities.
This document is then printed and shared with many individuals in the world: the admissions teams of undergraduate, graduate, and doctorate programs, anyone connected to future job leads, potential employers and so on. You spend years earning awards and gaining recognition, engaging in extracurricular and volunteer activities in the hopes that what you have done will make you stand out from the crowd. Therefore, when you finally receive that position, internship, or acceptance letter, you feel gratified and satisfied that everything you have done has allowed you to get you to this point.
But ask yourself these questions; Does your resume list achievements and activities that have helped you to grow, or were they just for the sake of expanding this document? Does your resume accurately represent who you are as a person, or does it create a picture of who you think you should be?
Resumes have been an important component of the application process for years, but have gained more and more significance in today’s ultra-competitive environment. Often the desire to build a strong resume influences choices you make about involvement and what you want to experience or achieve. Being aware that the activities you choose to be involved in are important to the individual reading your resume, so that they see a wide range of involvement, successes, and experience, can often drive the direction of the opportunities you choose. This can cause individuals to pursue activities, jobs, and programs simply to impress their future “resume reader.” While it is important to make sure you have a variety of experiences that positively showcase who you are, it is critical to take advantage of opportunities not because you have to, but because you want to.
Recently, I was offered a leadership position with an organization I am involved in. I was honored to be considered to take on a higher role, yet at the same time I was uncertain if I wanted to uptake the additional work it would entail. I considered the logistics of the new position and all of the extra responsibilities that would accompany it. I am passionate about the role I currently hold within the organization, yet I still thought, "This will look great on my resume.” I slowly understood that the extra responsibilities that came along with the new position were ones that I did not truly desire to take on, but I became focused on how this would enhance my resume. I was already extremely happy with the original position I held, but having a more official title could possibly take my resume to the next level. As hard as my decision was, I ultimately declined the new position. I chose to maintain my current position, which I am passionate about and which gives me great joy.
Get involved in a variety of organizations and activities that make you happy and that you are passionate about. Find activities that demonstrate unique experiences that relate to the profession you choose to pursue. These will surely benefit you as you build your resume. It is essential to fill your resume with opportunities that you enjoy, that allow you to grow, and that allow you to make a difference in this world. Life is too short to live for a piece of paper.
