Advice for a Youth Preparing Their First Resume

I am slowly working through another YCISL mini e-book. It is based on my volunteering with the Sequoia Union High School District Career Technical Education (CTE) program where I participate in mock job interviews. In these activities, I get to see students’ resumes…usually their first. I use these resumes to come up with talking points related to the interview, but also give feedback on the resume quality.

So the e-book I am working on now is about the basics of putting together a resume. A first resume. The SUHSD students are fortunate to have gained some work experience through their CTE program. Still, they (like many others who work on their resumes) need guidance for fundamental readability in their resume as well as communicating positive fitting attributes.

I have a plan to ask some of my contacts to contribute their reflection on their first resume, and to share their wisdom & experience. I’ve already asked some of my Singapore Stanford Partnership students, but will also include YCISL and Stanford connections.

Can you recall your first resume? What do you wish you knew then?

For me – and in light of my present design thinking enlightenment – I think white space is under-appreciated in a first resume. A first resume might have little content to include. However, little content has a tendency to end up being superfluous in order to impersonate extensive experience & abilities. The result is little to no white space. And this can be a problem because (1) it makes it harder for the reader to match the applicant to the job, & (2) the applicant appears unable to exercise restraint & be organized. One example of poor white space management is when paragraph formatting including indentation is inconsistent.