Resume Tips and Suggestions:

** Check your spelling, then Check your spelling, then Check you spelling again!! -  It is that important! Most resumes get thrown away due to misspellings.

** Be Honest! - If you know how to speak a foreign language, put it on your resume. If you could not translate a conversation to the employer, leave it off the resume. Make sure you are only putting things on the resume that you could do with little or no supervision your first day on the job.

** 1 page in length - Fill it up with your strong points and experiences! If you make it too wordy some may pass it by when they are going through stacks of resumes.

** Keep the same format - from top to bottom keep it looking the same, if you start with bullets, finish with bullets. Make it easy to read!

** Overall appearance - Create a resume that fits the job you are applying for. Would you print a resume out on orange paper with yellow balloons? Probably not if you are applying for a management position. but what if you were applying for an elementary Art Teacher or Preschool position?

** Make sure your full name, Address, phone number, and e-mail are easily located at the top of your resume. if you are "never" at home, make sure you put your cell phone number, if you have unreliable cell service, put both home and cell or just your home number.

** Reverse-Chronological order - For each section, make sure that items are listed from most recent at the top to older at the bottom. Your current job will be at the top, your first job will be at the bottom of the list.

 Things to put on a resume:

Since most high school students have not had a long list of "work experience" put activities that show you have the skills that will make you a good employee and that you are willing to work towards advancing.

** Extracurricular - this does not just mean sports: SkillsUSA, Machinist Group, FFA, 4-H, Chess Club, Boy Scouts, Church youth groups, National Honor Society

** Awards - if you got a participation award in a 1st grade track meet, leave that off the resume. IF you finished 6th place at a High School Skills Competition, make sure it is on the resume!

** Work Experience - any high school job should make it on the resume

 Getting started in Microsoft Word:

** Open Microsoft Word

** On the top tool bar, Click on "File" then "New"

** Once you click on "New" a section off to the right should show up that says "new document" at the top.

** Under "Templates", in the box below: Search online for: type in "Resume"

** Recommended Choices: Functional Resume, Chronological Resume, or Functional Resume (Modern) you can choose any you like, but try to match it to your style or the job you are applying for.

** When you find a format you like, click on "download"

** From this point, it is just like being in any other word document, SAVE in "RESUME" folder though before you start making changes.

REMEMBER: try to fill up the page, keep the format the same, keep it honest, and check your spelling!