Writing Your Resume

 

While resumes are NOT required as part of the Undergraduate Admission application process at Loyola University Chicago, I highly encourage that you submit one anyway. Resumes are a great way to show your Admission Counselor who you are outside of the classroom. Not to mention, they can also potentially help with scholarship opportunities. As many high school seniors do not have a resume of their own, here are a few suggestions for creating one:

• Research. If you have never seen a resume yet, you can see tons of samples online or by asking your family members to share theirs. While your resume is not expected to be at the same level as your parents’, having seen a few resumes will help you to understand the purpose of creating one.

• Don’t Forget Anything. Start working on your resume now. Just keep a running list of everything you’ve been involved with (e.g. sports, clubs, organizations, part-time jobs, volunteer work, leadership positions, internships, research, service, ministry, productions, music, art, dance, hobbies, achievements, awards, etc.) You likely will have quite a list and it can be difficult to recall it all while under the stress of filling out applications and scholarship applications, so starting now will insure you don’t miss out on anything important.

• Be Concise! Your resume should NEVER exceed one page. While I completely understand the challenge of limiting your academic, professional, service, and extra-curricular experiences, but professionals with forty years of experience can do it, so you can, too! In order to keep it short and sweet, don’t include any experience or involvement before high school. If your resume is still too long, eliminate the experiences that are of the least importance to you or that occurred the longest ago.

• Spell Check. Like your essay and every other aspect of your application, you will want to be sure that all spelling and grammar are exemplary.

• Make Your Name Stand Out. Literally, make sure your name is on your resume! If you send in a resume without your name, it will be challenging for us to match it to your application. Including other items like your email or birth date can also be helpful.

• Show off Your Style. Your resume is meant to represent YOU, so don’t be afraid to add some style or formatting to represent yourself (especially if you are interested in design or art!) However, a plain and simple bullet-ed list will perfectly suffice for your college application, as we’ll mostly be focusing on content.

Reminder: You can always email your resume to admissionforms@luc.edu or to your Admission Counselor and they can add it to your file if you’ve already submitted your application.