2 answers
Jack
Student
Kingsville, Texas
1
Question
Updated
440 views
How should I write a resume to begin applying for internships?
I'm a senior in high school graduating in May 2026. I'm planning to attend the University of Texas at Austin in fall of 2026. I plan to dual major in history and government.
Login to comment
2 answers
Jerry Tingstad
Professor/middle school teacher/48 years
165
Answers
New York, New York
Updated
Jerry’s Answer
The same way one would write a resume for anything, though perhaps modify it depending upon its purpose.
And this is a good time to write a resume, as it will become the building block, the core, for the rest of your career. In other words, as time goes on, it's a matter of subtracting and adding to it. Subtracting what is no longer relevant (this is where I went to grade school; middle school) and adding things as you move on with your educational and career life.
Here is what the standard resume includes:
The basics, name, address, email, phone number, DOB, and so forth.
Education, include classes that interested you most and why.
Employment background. From the beginning.
Hobbies, try to include reading (what you like and why), sports (but don't overemphasize), collect anything?, anything unusual as a hobby? Volunteer work is always a good one. Of course as time goes by, along comes the subtractions and additions.
Personal statement. Your basic philosophy of... life?
In all of the above, take a positive approach. Also have one or preferably more than one person read your resume and have them offer suggestions and comments. Perhaps some will suggest additions.
One more thing to note: Since you plan to concentrate on history and government, make comments regarding both, favorite historical time?, most interesting part of the local, state and national governments?
Therefore, this first resume is critical, once developed in a satisfactory way, most of the work is done, then, again, all it is is subtraction and addition.
And this is a good time to write a resume, as it will become the building block, the core, for the rest of your career. In other words, as time goes on, it's a matter of subtracting and adding to it. Subtracting what is no longer relevant (this is where I went to grade school; middle school) and adding things as you move on with your educational and career life.
Here is what the standard resume includes:
The basics, name, address, email, phone number, DOB, and so forth.
Education, include classes that interested you most and why.
Employment background. From the beginning.
Hobbies, try to include reading (what you like and why), sports (but don't overemphasize), collect anything?, anything unusual as a hobby? Volunteer work is always a good one. Of course as time goes by, along comes the subtractions and additions.
Personal statement. Your basic philosophy of... life?
In all of the above, take a positive approach. Also have one or preferably more than one person read your resume and have them offer suggestions and comments. Perhaps some will suggest additions.
One more thing to note: Since you plan to concentrate on history and government, make comments regarding both, favorite historical time?, most interesting part of the local, state and national governments?
Therefore, this first resume is critical, once developed in a satisfactory way, most of the work is done, then, again, all it is is subtraction and addition.
Joseph Maltby
Analysis and Management
27
Answers
Richmond, VA
Updated
Joseph’s Answer
I would add the value of putting yourself in the shoes of the person reading the resume. They'll likely be reading dozens if not more and so it'll be easy for you to get lost in the pile. What can you do to make yours easy to scan through quickly in a way that they take away the points you want them to remember? Put the most important information at the beginning of the resume and of every section, write it as efficiently as possible (one page would be normal at this stage of your career), and use a lot of white space.
Ask yourself what they would care most about from their perspective. What would you care most about if you were choosing an intern? For myself, I tend to look for signs that someone is a self-starter and has experience carrying tasks and projects to completion, ideally without needing to be watched at every moment, and I also look that they have some experience or education connected to the mission of the organization.
I also recommend having people review your resume and tell you anywhere they got confused, or skipped over information. Ask them what the top three takeaways were. Ideally these will be people with experience reviewing resumes and some of them won't already be familiar with your accomplishments, so they can't fill in the gaps on their own. Writing is easy, rewriting is hard.
Ask yourself what they would care most about from their perspective. What would you care most about if you were choosing an intern? For myself, I tend to look for signs that someone is a self-starter and has experience carrying tasks and projects to completion, ideally without needing to be watched at every moment, and I also look that they have some experience or education connected to the mission of the organization.
I also recommend having people review your resume and tell you anywhere they got confused, or skipped over information. Ask them what the top three takeaways were. Ideally these will be people with experience reviewing resumes and some of them won't already be familiar with your accomplishments, so they can't fill in the gaps on their own. Writing is easy, rewriting is hard.