Jobs That Look Good on College Applications
It’s possible to earn money AND improve your resume!
Choose positions with leadership experience built in like customer service.
Use effective language when describing your position and responsibilities on your resume.
Jobs That Boost Your College Application
With the plethora of extracurricular activities available to high-school students, it’s hard to know which ones are worth your time and will help you stand out from the crowd.
While it’s true that volunteering or joining a club can be great resume builders, many students would rather use their after-school hours to earn a little bit of money to put towards their education. If this sounds like you, don’t panic! There are plenty of opportunities available that can provide you with some extra cash as well as boost your college applications.
Why Should You Work in High School?
Besides the obvious benefit of extra cash in your pocket, there are many advantages to holding down a part-time job in high school. It’ll demonstrate to admissions officers that you’re capable of excelling in multiple areas by balancing school and work, as well as exemplify your incredible commitment and work ethic. You’ll gain confidence, stress-management, and leadership skills as a result of your increased level of responsibility.
Even if it doesn’t seem like it at the moment, the skills that you’ll learn from even a part-time job will benefit you throughout your lifetime! Learning to balance work and life, advocate for yourself, and collaborate with a team are invaluable skills that will certainly help you to be a competitive college applicant as well as a successful undergraduate student.
Customer Service Jobs
Customer service positions can be a lot of work, but the lessons you take away will far outweigh the challenges. Customer service workers thrive in fast-paced, unpredictable environments, honing their abilities in time management and flexibility. Collaboration and people skills are key in these positions, as well as the ability to maintain a positive attitude no matter what. Some resume-boosting customer service jobs include:
Retail work: store associate, cashier, stocker
Kitchen or restaurant work: server, line cook, host
Hospitality: customer service representative, front desk associate, concierge
Leadership Experience Jobs
Colleges love to see a student who has experience leading a group of people and being a valuable member of a team. Some jobs that have leadership experience built into the role are:
Manager (of a restaurant, pool, etc.): This is a position where you’ll have lots of face-to-face interaction with customers and your employees in order to schedule shifts, oversee operations, manage finances, and ensure excellent communication and customer service.
Camp counselor: Guiding several campers through fun activities, all the while ensuring their safety, is no small feat. Striking a balance between discipline and support is critical for managing any group of people.
Lifeguard: Being directly responsible for the safety of swimmers in a potentially dangerous environment requires quick thinking, focus, and attention to detail.
Tutor: Besides showcasing your outstanding academic abilities, tutoring highlights your ability to communicate your knowledge in a clear and concise manner.
How to Describe Jobs on a College Application
No matter what kind of job you find yourself doing, you’ll want to put your best foot forward by describing it accurately and effectively on your resume. Remember, your experience is what you make of it. Even the dullest of jobs can sound exciting if you describe it well!
Focus on the time commitment and the duration of your position. Did you work part-time during school, full-time during the summer, or both? How many hours did you work a week? How many days a week did you work?
Be honest. While it’s tempting to beef up your resume here and there, all it takes is a quick phone call to your place of employment to verify that your information is correct. Dishonesty can also get you automatically removed from the applicant pool. Save yourself the embarrassment and be honest the first time around.
Include only the most relevant information. While you may have participated in a day of community service last year, or babysat for your cousin once a month, these aren’t in-depth enough to be worth highlighting on your application. Colleges don’t have time to read every single word of your resume, so make sure that everything included is of quality.
Describe your specific responsibilities and accomplishments. A generic description like “Managed a team” is far less interesting than a specific description of your duties such as “Organized shift scheduling for a team of 20 people”. When in doubt, use verbs that focus on your active achievements like “created,” “coordinated,” and “facilitated.”
Bear in mind that your extracurricular activities are only one aspect of your college application! Demonstrating excellent academic performance through your GPA and your SAT score as well as strong college essays are also important.
Holding down a job while in high school is certainly a challenge, but it’ll pay off in boosting your college application as well as personal growth and learning. With these tips and tricks, you're ready for a valuable work experience that’s sure to impress any admissions officer!
