I am applying for a couple of summer programs, and for both of them, I am required to include recommendations from my teachers. For some reason, my parents insist that I give my teachers a resume of all the things I’ve done in high school along with the recommendation templates.
I don’t see the point in giving my teachers this resume as, a) there’s no need (are my teachers really going to base their recommendations off my extracurriculars and GPA?), b) I highly doubt it will strengthen my teachers’ recommendations, and c) it seems rather pretentious, and I certainly don’t want my teachers thinking of me as that.
Are my parents actually on to something? Should I provide my teachers this resume?
But on a serious note ( ), it wouldn’t hurt if you did it in the right way. Don’t just hand them the resume, when you kindly ask the teacher for the recommendation, give them the resume, and explain that you just want to provide all the materials available to make the recommendation as good as possible. You can even clarify that they can feel free not to use it if they don’t want it. If you say it the right way, the teacher may appreciate it, seeing as you want to make their life easier.
When I was asking teachers for my college recommendation, one did ask if they could have my resume, just to get a bigger picture of me,and what I do outside the classroom.
I think you’re right - especially if you’re already submitting a resume or list of activities for the summer program, you don’t want your teachers accidentally repeating too much stuff. When I applied to college, I didn’t give my teachers a copy of my resume - they already had some knowledge of what I did in HS so it wasn’t necessary.
That said, you can give your teachers a copy of your resume, but I don’t think it’ll really help.
I would just give your teachers a résumé. First off, how much can it really hurt you? Probably not at all. It may take a good 30 minutes to type up, but a résumé (if you don’t already have one) is something that you should have regardless of whether your teachers want it of not. My teachers did want a résumé from me when I had them write college recommendations - they knew me well, but seeing work that I’d done and some awards that I’d earned outside of school helped them recognize me better through the recommendation.
As a high school teacher who writes TONS Of letters every year, I agree with your parents 100%.
It’s remarkably difficult to write letter after letter without them all sound the same. Our kids are required to submit a resume when they ask for the recommendation letters.
Your teachers know what they’re doing. And once you’ve done the “this is how I know him” paragraph and the “this is how he did in my class” paragraph, it’s time for the “he’s a well rounded individual” paragraph. And, as much as you’re a unique individual, the odds are that your math teacher doesn’t have an inkling of what you do once school is over.
Without that resume, you increase the odds of getting a fairly bland non-descriptive letter. With the resume, you give your teachers the ability to add as they see fit. So, when they talk about what a leader you are in class, they can add that this leadership ability extends beyond the classroom, as exemplified by the office you hold in NHS or in the Spanish Club or on the bowling team, something your math teacher might not otherwise have been aware of.
Give your teachers the tools they need to do this favor for you, and to do it well.
At my school, they actually gave us a presentation at the beginning of senior year telling us to provide a resume when asking for letters. They also told us to properly thank them and stuff. So yeah, provide a resume.
Give them a resume. It won’t hurt you, and it helps your teachers get a bigger picture of you. The worst that will happen is your teachers will disregard it.
For what it’s worth, if you ever have to ask for letters of rec in college (for grad school, research programs, etc), providing a resume or cv is pretty standard practice. Good for your parents for trying to get you into this habit early on.
), it wouldn’t hurt if you did it in the right way. Don’t just hand them the resume, when you kindly ask the teacher for the recommendation, give them the resume, and explain that you just want to provide all the materials available to make the recommendation as good as possible. You can even clarify that they can feel free not to use it if they don’t want it. If you say it the right way, the teacher may appreciate it, seeing as you want to make their life easier.