Career planning from a résumé – the educational experience
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EmailUsing a résumé to plan for careers, the education section can be used to help students plan for their educational future.
Resumes can be used as a planning guide for youth in high school to begin planning for their career. Each section of a resume has significance as it outlines the career goals a person has and the training, skills, support and honors that they have received. To fill each section, a person must take the responsibility to work hard in school and graduate. During the time in school, a student needs to find ways to gain experience and build the skills needed to fill the resume.
The “education” section of a resume has meaning. For students who are planning to enter the workforce without post-secondary education, this section can represent the institution(s) that gave them the proper skills needed to gain a job or enter a desired career field. For students who are interested in pursuing post-secondary education, this section of the resume can represent planning for future colleges and trade schools they want to attend.
To use the resume to plan for post-secondary education, here is a question for students to consider for the education section of a resume: What are some possible post-secondary institutions that I would want to list in the education section of my resume? To answer this question, it is helpful for students to visit colleges and technical/trade schools. Taking visits will allow the student to get a sense of the learning environment and find out if the school has the appropriate major or program for the career they are interested in. Students can contact colleges and technical schools to receive the information needed to help them make a decision on their educational future. If offered, students should take advantage of colleges and universities that offer pre-college programs to help them not only gain skills and learn about the college environment, but to also answer the question, “is this the college I want to attend?”
To begin planning for a future using a resume, Michigan State University Extension has resources for 4-H members and students on the Michigan 4-H careers website. This website provides different types of resumes for students to use. There are various ways to display education in a resume. Another question a student can ask relating to their educational experience is, “how do I want to portray my educational experience on my resume?” This section also should give students an incentive to work hard and do well in school so they can highlight relevant coursework relating to their career and a respectable grade point average. Students should be encouraged so that education is a highlight in a resume.
