MARCH 2022
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THE BRIDGE TO COLLEGE

Do Things for Yourself, Not the Resume: Why Students Should Be Exposed To Potential Professions

By Robert LeVine

As independent educational consultants, we are often asked “What should I do to build my resume?” Our response is always “It doesn’t work that way.”

The truth is this: if you build the best possible person, the resume follows organically. Do things for yourself, not for some college or company or person who may – or may not – be impressed by activities you thought should impress them.

Unfortunately, call it ear fatigue or whatever you wish, but people do not always hear our messages in the way we intend. For best communication, it is often valuable to hear a different voice. This month, we present Siva Annamalai, a high school student preparing to submit college applications next fall. Siva wanted to share her experiences so that others may benefit.

“Many students are interested in careers without any real understanding of what their chosen fields truly entail. After watching a dramatized TV show or hearing a cool story, young people are suddenly convinced that they want to be just like these ‘people’ they observed. Because no profession can be effectively summarized in a one-hour fiction or a sound bite – and because society seems to tell everyone what they should do – most students believe that volunteering in their potential professions is a stepping stone along some career path. They feel like they’re getting a head start by building a resume.

“In my opinion, students should really consider how volunteering activities will benefit them, not how to create a bullet point that should look good to a college.

“I am a junior in high school and have been volunteering at a local hospital for about a year. There are so many things I have learned just by being in the hospital environment. After finishing my daily tasks, I have had the opportunity to talk with the nurses assigned to my unit. These conversations have taught me a great deal about things I would not otherwise know, and I have observed for my own eyes that there are various specializations in medicine far beyond what the general public is aware of. Before volunteering, my idea of medicine was limited to being a pediatrician, a surgeon, or some other as-yet-nonspecific branch of health care. Now, I am aware of Electrophysiology and Onconephrology. This kind of education is not available within the walls of any high school.

“Moreover, being in the hospital has allowed me to make meaningful connections with professionals in many fields. Beyond building my resume, my positive interactions have made it substantially more likely that I’ll be remembered me when a good opportunity presents itself. That already happened for me, when a nephrologist at my hospital recommended that I apply to a research program through Florida State University, an opportunity I would not have even known about.

“Volunteering at the hospital unexpectedly put me in position to be taught basic things that can become valuable life lessons. This includes communication skills that must be refined for future success. When writing my application for an internship at a research center, I realized that a single word could have a dramatic effect on my overall tone and meaning, which could have become the deciding factor between acceptance and rejection. Even a simple e-mail is not so simple.

“Interestingly, I don’t think it is critically important that your experience matches some profession in which you might ultimately practice. To exercise mindfulness, just be present.

“Please don’t think of volunteering or interning or work as just another checked box that will look good on a resume. Instead, understand the potential benefits of learning by doing. I am certainly not old or extremely experienced, but I already know that having a mindset which connects predicted benefits with unknown possibilities will lead me towards much more success in my life.”

Well said, Siva. You have seen the value of what lies beneath the resume. I’m sure you will get several great recommendations, but that’s because you’re doing great things with a great attitude.

Get involved somehow. Get into the room. You cannot always predict what you’ll find in that room, but rest assured of this: by putting yourself in position and paying attention, you can discover some really good things.

Robert LeVine is the founder and CEO of University Consultants of America, an independent educational consultancy assisting students around the world with applications to colleges, universities and graduate schools. For more information, call University Consultants of America, Inc. at 1-800-465-5890 or visit www.universitycoa.com

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