---
title: "How to Make Your Résumé a Powerful Application Tool (Part 2): 5 Helpful Tips"
description: This post 5 helpful tips to help you create a powerful résumé for your college applications.
---

[Estrela Consulting Blog ](https://blog.estrelaconsulting.com)

# [How to Make Your Résumé a Powerful Application Tool (Part 2): 5 Helpful Tips](https://blog.estrelaconsulting.com/how-to-make-your-resume-a-powerful-application-tool-0)

 Written by [Amber Gilsdorf](https://blog.estrelaconsulting.com/author/amber-gilsdorf) | Sep 17, 2019 5:33:20 PM

Ahhhh yes…the résumé. An often times optional part of a college application submission process. Incredibly, this unassuming word, with its two accented ‘e’s, can cause accented stress on an applicant (see what I did there, eh?). This article - Part 2 of a [2 part series on résumés](https://blog.estrelaconsulting.com/how-to-make-your-resume-a-powerful-application-tool) - provides five helpful tips for crafting your résumé.

# **5 Helpful ****Résumé Tips**

#### **1)****   ****Keep the formatting clean & consistent**

- Don’t use a bunch of different fonts and sizes. At most, pick two fonts and two text sizes. 
- It’s okay to use bold and italicized text to distinguish activities from one another.
- Use similar punctuation for every resume item.
- Check for spelling errors!

#### **2) Show impact and selectivity**

- Whenever you write about activities and involvements, showcase *your *impact on the experience through as many specifics as possible!
- Quantify! Quantify! Quantify!  
  Instead of:   
    - *Camp Counselor-in-Training, (June 2018)*
   Try this: 
    - *Counselor-in-Training, Camp Asbury (June 2018) - 120 hours* 
          - Spent 3 weeks supervising 2-3 cabins with 7-8 campers each from ages 12-14.
          - Facilitated group activities including: tennis, ceramics, and crafts. 

- If you have acquired a position of leadership by application, election, interview, or being appointed by a teacher or coach, include that information as well!

#### **3) Don’t be redundant!**

- Since this résumé is affiliated with your college application, you do **not** need to include your school, course history, test scores, or GPA since all of your academic information would be included elsewhere in your application.  
- Instead, use your precious space to elaborate or include more of your awesome activities (but also, see #4)
- ****NOTE**** If you need your résumé for a scholarship application or reason independent of your college application, you can add in your academic information.

#### **4.) Be judicious in listing activities.**

- Choose the activities and involvements that are the most representative of who you are as a person and student!
- Your passions, commitments, and personality should be evident. Even your résumé can tell your story.

#### **5.) Limit it at two pages!**

- Two pages at the most! It’s okay to even just have one page. 
- If you have more than two pages, then you are probably listing too many inconsequential activities or awards.

[View full post](https://blog.estrelaconsulting.com/how-to-make-your-resume-a-powerful-application-tool-0)

```json
{
  "@context" : "http://schema.org",
  "@type" : "BlogPosting",
  "author" : {
    "@type" : "Person",
    "name" : "Amber Gilsdorf"
  },
  "dateModified" : "2019-09-17T17:48:21.123Z",
  "datePublished" : "2019-09-17T17:33:20Z",
  "headline" : "How to Make Your Résumé a Powerful Application Tool (Part 2): 5 Helpful Tips",
  "image" : {
    "@type" : "ImageObject",
    "height" : 667,
    "url" : "https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/3007878/Images/Happy%20student%20using%20her%20laptop%20outside%20at%20the%20university.jpeg",
    "width" : 1000
  },
  "mainEntityOfPage" : "https://blog.estrelaconsulting.com/how-to-make-your-resume-a-powerful-application-tool-0",
  "publisher" : {
    "@type" : "Organization",
    "logo" : {
      "@type" : "ImageObject",
      "height" : 60,
      "url" : "/hs/hsstatic/content_shared_assets/static-1.4092/img/default-amp-logo.png",
      "width" : 60
    },
    "name" : "Estrela Consulting Blog"
  }
}
```