For Whom the Kids Write (1)
I always tell my students during the very first lessons that they must be mindful of who will be reading their résumés, however obvious it should be. And yet, every other student decided to throw out the template I provided and bring me a 5-page “résumé” of their own format.
Curiously, every single one of them had 0.3 inch page margins; single-spaced 8.5 pt Times New Roman body; and about a dozen extra activities that they decided not to include in their college applications, which allow the maximum of 10 activities. I can only imagine that there is actually a separate template that is shared among the students of a few “prestigious” high schools, with the arcane knowledge of crafting unreadable résumés being passed down the generations.
What boggles my mind, though, is why do they ever think it’s a good idea, even after I tell them to think seriously about who’d be reading their crap. I’m not sure if their sheltered lives or detachment from reality alone can explain it. Who do they think is their intended audience? An AI resume parser? A magical sorting hat? A college admission fairy?