I graduated from high school last year and would love to go to college one day. But for now I would like to secure a job and therefore I am seeking your advice. I am thinking of writing a résumé, but despite my good qualities, I do not know how to present them on a résumé so that I can obtain an interview much less a job. I have four C XC subjects, excluding Mathematics, and I have never been on work experience.

IN this globalised economy, it is important that people who are preparing for the world of work be equipped for the challenges it presents.

A college education is critical in this process. You must, therefore, take this dream and aspiration to a higher level by doing some career planning. This will include deciding on a career, ensuring that you have the requisite qualifications for training at the tertiary level, identifying the various institutions that offer training in the particular field and ascertaining the duration and cost of training, as well as the scope for employment.

Deciding on a career will require you to do your own self-assessment. This includes knowing your interests, abilities and values and aligning these to various career options. After you have decided, you will be able to combine these with the subjects you have at the CXC level and decide which others to pursue. You will need to try at passing Mathematics, since it is a requirement for acceptance to almost all tertiary level institutions.

When you decide on your route to tertiary education, you will know whether you are going to do pre-university courses at the community college level or enter some other tertiary-level institution such as a teacher training institution where advance subjects might not be required. Completion of this diploma, if a bachelor’s degree is not obtained, will help you to gain entry to university education. You will also have to start to research how funding will be obtained, whether through students’ loan or from personal savings.

Meanwhile, obtaining a job before pursuing further studies is a good idea since working will not only allow you to save towards your college/university education, but it will also give you the opportunity to explore a variety of career options.

Ensuring that your résumé and your cover letter are well written is very important. You are correct to think that if you do not present a winning résumé, you will not stand a chance of getting a job. I would suggest that you return to the school you attended and ask the guidance counsellor there to help you write your résumé. You could take a draft of what you have come up with.

Résumé notes

. Your résumé should be a concise document. However, it should not be so concise as to exclude important information that could help you get the interview.

. Your résumé should be organised according to sections, including: personal data, qualifications, work experience, co-curricular involvement, awards, and references.

. Personal data includes your name and contact information (e-mail and phone number). Do not include details such as your height, and/or weight.

. Under qualifications, you should include the educational institutions you attended and your academic achievements. Exclude information on the basic, preparatory and/or primary schools you attended.

. Under work experience, you should include places you have worked and what you did (job title). If you have never worked, then exclude this section. But think carefully, and be sure to include any summer jobs, voluntary work, or assistance you provided in a family business as work experience.

. Co-curricular involvement is especially important when work experience is lacking so be sure to include your involvement in these areas and detail any positions such as president or secretary that you may have held.

. If you received awards for outstanding performance in academics, sports, leadership or service, you must include these. Oftentimes we forget these or do not think they are valuable. They help to decide the skills and competencies which you would bring to the recruiting organisation.

. You may state the names of people who can be used as references or you can write “available on request”. Whichever approach you take, be sure to first inform the people you wish to use as references.

. The layout of your résumé should be attractive and easy to read.

. There should be no typographical errors on your résumé.

Writing an impressive résumé can lead to a successful job search, but only when the job-seeker is also skilled at performing impressively in interviews. Many job-seekers submit good résumés, but do not do well in the interview. You must therefore prepare yourself for all aspects of the job search.