Friday, June 19, 2020

Update Your Resume for the New Year by Taking Off These 4 Things

Here’s What to Leave Off Your Resume As You Update It for 2019 Whether you are working on a scholarship application, asking for a letter of recommendation from a teacher, or applying for a job, a resume is a valuable tool to compile all of your achievements on one page. However, it’s important to keep in mind that when it comes to resume writing, longer doesn’t necessary equal better. It can be beneficial for students as early as 9th grade to begin building up a list of their achievements and experiences, and students should continue to update their resume as their activities and interests change throughout high school. Of course, when compiling a resume you shouldn’t shy away from highlighting the skills you have learned, the work and internship experience you have obtained, and the academic achievements you are most proud of, but there are some words, phrases, and competencies that are better left omitted. Here’s what to edit out to ensure your resume is polished, professional, and something that will set you apart from the rest in 2019! Grammar SchoolResume writers of all ages should focus on more recent experiences that highlight current capabilities and avoid throwing in achievements from the distant past that aren’t aligned with current objectives. For example, if you are currently in high school, avoid including an accomplishment or experience from middle school. Colleges want to know about your four years of high school – not your middle or elementary school experiences. If you’re in college applying for an on or off campus job or internship, remove any points on your resume that date back past high school. If your high school experience is relevant to the job, internship, or scholarship you’re applying to leave it there, but if not – take it off. Similarly, college graduates should avoid keeping achievements from high school on their resumes. Irrelevant SkillsEvery component of an application should be tailored to whatever role you are applying for, including the competencies you list on your resume. Avoid listing as many skills as possible and instead strive for quality over quantity. Focus on capabilities that will help you stand out and enable you to excel at the tasks associated with whatever you are applying for. Similarly, leave off â€Å"give-ins† or skills that most high school and college students have obtained such as Microsoft Word, typing, or email. Adding in these basic competencies can give off the impression that you are trying to pad your resume and detract from the true knowledge and technical expertise you have obtained. "I" StatementsAvoid long statements like "I was responsible for X, Y, Z." A resume should be a streamlined highlight reel of what you have done during your academic and/or professional career. Think about the skills and abilities you have honed through prior experiences and come up with a handful of keywords that describe the actions you excel at. Some good examples can include â€Å"analyzed† â€Å"initiated† and â€Å"created,† all of which are verbs that also indicate valuable leadership qualities such as problem solving, creativity, and adaptability. Use these keywords throughout your resume to streamline your writing, taking out any "I" references, make your statements more actionable and drive home your greatest strengths. Empty AdjectivesLeave out words like â€Å"interesting† â€Å"outstanding† or â€Å"unparalleled,† which cannot be proven or backed up in any way. Whoever is reviewing your resume wants to learn what you were responsible for and the skills you obtained; they are less interested in adjectives like these, which do not point to any specific ability or form of expertise. Ideally, your references or teachers writing letters of recommendation will use these kinds of words to describe your work, which is far more impactful than you applying them to yourself. Not sure when to start working on your resume? At we work with students through all phases of the admissions process, including providing guidance on what extracurricular activities and summer programs to participate in, how to craft a resume, and more. Our team of expert admissions counselors can help you pursue impactful interests by helping you identify your passions and chose pursuits that relate to them. Contact us today for more information on our college counseling services.

Thursday, June 11, 2020

Why You Should Use the Third Person Format in Essays

Why You Should Use the Third Person Format in EssaysWhen you begin your essay writing, you should start out by having a plan. In the third person, you should write as if you were talking to someone who was present for your essay, someone who would understand your feelings and emotions. For instance, you may not feel your ideas are strong enough to be turned into an essay in the third person. You should keep this in mind, and you should try to remember that fact when you are writing the essay.Just remember that you are trying to create a unique voice for yourself, and try to take the time to do this. Think about what makes you unique from others, and the strengths that you think you have. You will find that when you write from the third person, you can get the effect of the characters in your essay, and the feeling that you want to convey, just from reading their thoughts.This can be easier to do when you choose a third person form, because you have more room to maneuver. It is much h arder to do this when you are writing in the first person. In the first person, you have to be more direct, and you can get into trouble with certain words, because they can sound very impersonal, or dry.When you write from the third person, you will be able to say things that you cannot do in the first person, and you will be able to write about things that you can open up and talk about in an essay. First, you will find that your reader will feel that they are hearing you read their thoughts, and they will feel like they are there with you. Second, you will find that it is easier to change the perspective to describe something completely different.Finally, you will find that it is easier to describe a situation that is familiar to you, than it is to describe a different situation in an essay that is entirely unfamiliar to you. Your reader will not know how to take it all in, and they will find that you are taking the reader on a journey with you. This is all due to the form that y ou choose.The most common third person form is by anecdote. In this form, you will be able to recount what has happened to you, and how it has affected you. You can share what you have learned from your experiences. The third person form of the essay gives you the opportunity to put your feelings into words.Essays in the third person can also be used to narrate the life of another person. You can use it to tell a story, and you can use it to tell your own story. For example, you may be telling your own story, and you can use the third person form to explain how your life has changed since you had this experience.You may be telling your own life, and you may be telling the story of another person's life. Both of these are fine, but you should consider the third person form in order to make the most of your experience. It is important that you use the third person form in order to best convey the feelings that you have, and to help make the essay easy to read.