A résumé is a living document that tends to change as your interests and skills evolve.  A résumé is a very important document as you apply for jobs or career opportunities because it is a brief snapshot of who you are, what you have accomplished, the skills you have acquired, and how you can impact an organization or company.  In high school, you will need your résumé for more than just a job: you will need it to give to your teachers so they can use it as a reference when writing your letters of recommendation.  You can also use your résumé when applying for scholarships and as a part of your college admissions documents.  Because being able to create a résumé is so essential, in this application you are going to compose your résumé.  Before you begin organizing your information, make sure that you look again at the samples provided in the presentation of this topic.

To compose your résumé, it may be helpful to follow the steps below as a guide:

1. Formatting: In order to make your résumé appear pleasing to the eye, be sure to complement the amount of text with adequate white space on the page. Set all of your margins to at least one inch and avoid writing more than one page. Before you type the first word, you must select a font that is crisp and easy for your employer to read, so avoid using fonts that are too small. Font sizes eleven or twelve are highly recommended. Also, you should opt for a font that is compatible with old and new computers alike regardless of whether your employer is reading your résumé on a Mac or PC computer. Here are a few professional, clean fonts that are recommended for use in composing résumés:
   
   • Arial
     
   • Book Antiqua
     
   • Calibri
     
   • Century
     
   • Century Gothic
     
   • MS Sans Serif
     
   • Times New Roman
2. Header: At the top of your résumé, create a header that includes your first and last name as well as your current contact information such as address, phone number(s), and email address. It is a good idea to use a larger font size to help your name and contact information stand out; just remember to use a professional email address.
3. Sections: Determine what kinds of information you want to highlight to your employer and create sections to organize that information. You should start with the Objective as the first section, making sure to write a statement that is concise yet detailed enough to include the essentials. In addition to the Objective, consider using the suggested sections below:
   
   • Education
     
   • Work Experience
     
   • Achievements and Awards
     
   • Extracurricular Activities
     
   • Skills
     
   • References
     
   Remember that you should always check with your references before including them in your résumé.
4. Accuracy: As with all formal writing, your résumé should not have any spelling, punctuation, or grammar errors. However, you must put extra effort into ensuring that your résumé has absolutely no errors whatsoever. This document is a first impression of who you are, so allowing errors in your résumé signals to your employer that you do not care about the position and will not do a good job. If you do care about the job, show it to your potential employer by submitting a pristine résumé. To achieve this, follow the recommended steps below:
   
   1. Proofread your résumé on your computer screen and correct any errors that you find. Try reading your résumé aloud to make sure your wording has a smooth flow.
   2. Once you can read your résumé from start to finish twice without finding any more errors, print a hard copy of your résumé for more proofreading. By reading a hard copy of your résumé, your eyes have a chance to "reset," and you may be able to find additional errors that you had inadvertently glossed over while proofreading the document on your computer screen. While you are holding the hard copy in your hands, pay attention to the overall look of your résumé to make sure it is presentable and attractive.
   3. Finally, ask at least one peer, teacher, or parent to read over your résumé and make suggestions. Even professional writers will make mistakes and have other people proofread their work before publication because no one can be perfect all the time. Compensate for your natural human tendency to make mistakes by seeking out help from others in finding errors in your résumé. It is better that your friend or family member find a mistake than your potential employer. Make any corrections to the errors that your reviewer has found and print out a final hard copy for yourself to check over one last time.

Before you begin, review the Résumé Checklist to make sure that you include all of the items required for full credit.

Once you have completed the assignment, please submit your work to the dropbox.