Resume Building

Awareness & Understanding

You've probably seen a resume before, but do you know what makes one actually work? A resume is a one-page document that tells an employer who you are, what you've done, and why they should hire you. Watch "Resume Writing Tips" on YouTube by Professor Leonard or check out the Zety blog — both break down the basics in plain language. Look at two or three real resume examples online and notice what they all have in common: contact info, experience, skills, and education. Think about what makes one resume more eye-catching than another. You're ready for the next step when you can name the four main sections every resume needs and explain what each one does.

Research & Investigation

Now it's time to dig deeper. Search for resume advice specific to your situation — whether that's a first job, a summer gig, or a volunteer role. Visit MyFutureUT.utah.edu or the Utah Department of Workforce Services site (jobs.utah.gov) to see what local employers actually want. Look at three job listings that interest you and write down the skills and words they repeat. Those repeated words are your cheat sheet — employers and computer scanners called ATS (Applicant Tracking Systems) look for them. Ask a parent, teacher, or school counselor to share what they look for in a strong resume. You're ready for the next step when you can explain what an ATS is and list five keywords from a real job posting that fits you.

Planning & Preparation

Time to gather your raw material. Open a blank document and start a "master list" — dump in everything you've ever done that might matter: babysitting, lawn mowing, school clubs, sports teams, church service, volunteer hours, awards, and any skills you've picked up (cooking, coding, languages, driving). Don't filter yet — just get it all down. Next, pick one real or realistic job posting and decide which items from your master list are most relevant to it. Use Canva (free at canva.com) to browse resume templates and choose a clean, readable layout. Stick with one or two fonts and avoid neon colors. You're ready for the next step when you have a complete master list of your experiences and have chosen a resume template you'll actually use.

Taking Action

Build your first real resume draft right now. Fill in your chosen template with your contact info, a short objective statement (two sentences max), your top experiences, your skills, and your education. For each experience, write bullet points that start with action verbs — words like managed, created, organized, assisted, or built. Aim for three bullets per job or activity. Keep everything on one page. When your draft is done, read it out loud to catch awkward phrasing. Then run it through Jobscan.co (free version) to see how well it matches your target job posting. You're ready for the next step when you have a one-page resume draft with action-verb bullet points that scores at least 50% on a Jobscan keyword match.

Leadership & Expansion

Polish your resume and then help someone else build theirs. First, get feedback on your own draft from two people — a school counselor, a Utah WorkForce Services career coach (free at jobs.utah.gov), or a trusted adult who has hired people before. Make their suggested edits. Then find a friend or classmate who needs a resume and walk them through the same process you just went through. Teaching someone else is the fastest way to lock in what you know. Share your finished resume on LinkedIn (free) and update your profile to match. You're ready for the next step when you have a polished resume with feedback incorporated and you've helped at least one other person start their own resume.

Impact & Reflection

Look back at everything you built. Compare your first rough draft to your final version — what changed and why? Write a short reflection (half a page is fine) answering these questions: What was hardest to describe on paper? What surprised you about the process? What would you tell a younger student about resumes before they need one? Save your final resume as a PDF (File → Export as PDF) so the formatting never breaks. Set a reminder to update it every six months — your experiences are growing fast. You're ready for the next step when you have saved your final resume as a PDF and written a reflection that identifies at least two things you learned about presenting yourself professionally.