Week 2: Building Your College Resume For Juniors

Start Building Your High School Resume Before Senior Year

Junior year is a great time to begin a college resume. Learn how to document academics, activities, leadership, service, awards, and skills while identifying areas to strengthen before senior year.

Junior year is a great time to begin building a college resume.

A student resume can highlight academics, extracurricular activities, leadership, community service, work experience, awards, skills, and other meaningful experiences.

But for juniors, the resume has another important purpose.

It can serve as a planning tool.

Instead of waiting until senior year to try to remember everything they have done, juniors can begin documenting their experiences now and ask two important questions:

What is already strong?

and

What would I like to continue building before senior year?

Open the LCS Student Resume Template

Juniors can begin building their college resume now instead of waiting until senior year.

Use the LCS Student Resume Template as your starting point to organize your education, activities, leadership, service, work experience, awards, skills, and interests.

CLICK HERE TO MAKE YOUR OWN COPY OF THE LCS STUDENT RESUME TEMPLATE

Make Your Own Copy

The resume template is a master copy, so please do not request editing access.

1. Open the LCS Student Resume Template.

2. Click File in the top menu.

3. Select Make a copy.

4. Rename the file using your first and last name.

Example:
Jordan Smith – College Resume

5. Save your copy to your Google Drive.

6. Replace the sample information with your own information.

7. Continue updating your resume throughout junior year and into senior year.

Junior Tip: If some sections are still empty, that is okay. Those spaces may help you identify areas you want to strengthen before senior year.

Do Not Worry About Empty Space

Some juniors may open the resume template and immediately think:

“I don’t have enough to put on here.”

That is not a problem.

The goal is not to fill every inch of the page.

The goal is to document what is real and then use the resume to understand where you may want to grow.

Experience can come from many places, including:

• School clubs

• Athletics

• Church

• Community service

• Student government

• Summer programs

• Part-time work

• Family businesses

• Entrepreneurship

• Academic projects

• Tutoring

• Leadership

• Hobbies

• Certifications

A junior does not need years of paid employment to begin creating a strong resume.

Start With Education

For high school students, the Education section will usually appear near the top of the resume.

Students can include their school, anticipated graduation year, and a strong GPA when appropriate.

Relevant coursework can also be included.

Students do not need to list every course they have taken. Instead, think about which courses connect to your interests and possible future goals.

For example, a student considering a STEM field might highlight math, science, engineering, or computer science courses.

A student interested in business might highlight entrepreneurship, economics, or other related coursework.

For juniors, this exercise can also help you think about courses you may want to take during senior year.

Experience Is Bigger Than Employment

A junior who has never had a traditional job may still have valuable experience.

A student athlete has experience.

A student who volunteers at church has experience.

A student who tutors younger students has experience.

A student who helps with a family business has experience.

A student who creates graphics or social media content for an organization has experience.

A student who helps organize school events has experience.

The question becomes:

How can I describe what I actually did?

Start With Strong Action Words

Strong resume bullets usually begin with action.

Instead of:

Member of Student Council

try:

Served on Student Council and assisted with planning student activities and school events.

Instead of:

Helped younger students with homework

try:

Tutored three elementary students in mathematics for one hour each week.

Strong action verbs include:

Organized, led, created, coordinated, developed, designed, tutored, researched, supported, assisted, managed, trained, and presented.

These words help show what the student actually contributed.

Start Tracking Numbers Now

Juniors have an advantage:

Time.

You can begin tracking information now that may be difficult to remember a year later.

Start asking:

• How often do I participate?

• How many hours do I volunteer?

• How many people did we serve?

• How many students did I tutor?

• How many events did I help organize?

• How many people attended?

• How much money did we raise?

• How long have I been involved?

That information can later strengthen resumes, college applications, scholarship applications, and recommendation requests.

Instead of:

Volunteered at community events

a student might eventually be able to write:

Volunteered approximately four hours each month at community events serving more than 100 local residents.

Numbers give the reader context.

Focus on Impact, Not Just Membership

It is easy to list:

Chess Club

Student Council

Soccer

Church Youth Group

But a stronger resume explains the student's contribution.

Ask yourself:

What did I actually do?

Did I help lead anything?

Did I organize something?

Did I solve a problem?

Did I help someone else?

Did I create or improve something?

This is how an activity becomes more than just a membership.

Keep the Resume Clear and Focused

Students do not need long descriptions under every experience.

Try to identify the strongest two or three points.

A resume should be easy for someone else to read quickly.

Use:

• Clear headings

• Consistent formatting

• Concise bullet points

• Professional language

• Correct spelling and grammar

Fancy graphics are not what make a resume strong.

Clear information does.

Include Skills, Awards, Languages, and Interests

Juniors can also begin documenting other parts of their experience.

Skills

Students might include specific tools or abilities such as:

Google Workspace, Microsoft Office, Canva, coding, graphic design, video editing, photography, social media, customer service, public speaking, or technical skills.

Only list skills you genuinely possess.

Honors and Awards

Keep track of academic, athletic, leadership, scholarship, and community recognition.

These accomplishments can be easy to forget later.

Languages

Students who speak additional languages can include them and accurately describe their level of proficiency.

Interests

A short interests section can help show personality.

Examples might include:

Chess, robotics, photography, music production, coding, investing, baking, sports, fashion design, reading, gardening, or automotive repair.

Your interests should be genuine.

Now Use the Resume to Look for Gaps

This is where the junior resume becomes especially valuable.

After putting everything on paper, ask:

What looks strong already?

What would I like to strengthen?

You may realize:

“I am involved in several activities, but I have not taken on leadership yet.”

“I have strong academics, but very little community service.”

“I am interested in engineering, but I have not participated in anything related to engineering.”

“I volunteer, but I have not been keeping track of my hours.”

“I have joined several organizations, but I have not become deeply involved in any of them.”

Those observations can help guide the rest of junior year.

Do Not Join Activities Just to Fill a Resume

Seeing an empty section does not mean you should immediately join five new clubs.

More activities do not automatically create a stronger resume.

Think about meaningful involvement.

Could you become more active in something you already enjoy?

Could you pursue a leadership role?

Could you organize a project?

Could you volunteer consistently?

Could you earn a certification?

Could you participate in a summer program?

Could you find a job or internship connected to an interest?

Could you strengthen a skill?

Junior year gives you time to make those choices intentionally.

Treat Your Resume as a Living Document

The resume you create during junior year should continue changing.

Whenever something significant happens, update it.

Add:

• New awards

• Leadership positions

• Volunteer experiences

• Jobs

• Internships

• Certifications

• Summer programs

• New skills

• Major projects

• New accomplishments

By senior year, you will already have a record of your experiences.

You will not have to reconstruct several years of activities from memory.

Parents Can Help Students Think Back — and Think Ahead

Parents and guardians can help by asking questions such as:

What did you do last summer?

What organizations have you participated in?

Have you received any awards?

What responsibilities do you have outside of school?

Do you volunteer anywhere?

Have you participated in programs outside of school?

What subjects or careers interest you?

And perhaps most importantly:

What would you like to be able to add to your resume by this time next year?

That question turns the resume from simply a record of the past into a plan for the future.

The Junior-Year Advantage

Juniors have something extremely valuable:

Time to build.

Start the resume now.

Continue updating it.

Strengthen the areas that matter to you.

Then when senior year arrives, you will already have a strong foundation—and a much clearer picture of the story you want your college applications to tell.

Coming in Week 3

Not every good college is the right college for you.

Next, students will begin exploring colleges, possible majors, costs, campus environments, admission expectations, scholarships, and the factors that can help determine whether a school is truly a good fit.