After teaching my grandkids so many other life skills, I decided it was time to help them write their résumés. It was my intention that we would update them periodically, at least once a year. You might be asking, “How in the world can that happen? Kids haven’t lived that long, how can they write a résumé?” Well, they can, and it’s only a little tricky.
A résumé helps you acquire the job you want. Right? How about starting in your youth and writing a résumé for the life you want? We typically write résumés looking backward: Where did we go to college? What jobs did we have? How many years here or there?
At Camp Grandma, we reversed the direction. We looked back so we could plan ahead. I wanted my grandchildren to experience the process of reflecting on what they’d done so far, at whatever age, so that they might make better decisions about what they do going forward. I wanted to teach them to consider long-term results and the effects and consequences of their choices and behavior, starting now. So I asked, “What do you want on your résumé?”
This idea came to me one day when the kids were writing in their journals about experiences they’d had at Camp Grandma. They were writing about what they did and when they did it. It reminded me of writing résumés, one of the most common tasks in the working world. It occurred to me that if they started early in life to account for their choices and accomplishments, it might get them thinking about future decisions they make.
I wanted to keep this exercise simple, so I brushed off my notes on writing a résumé, something I’d used several times in my career when coaching or for my personal use, and chose the four most important topics to address.
“Hey everyone, let’s sit around the table. I have a new exercise you might like.”
“What exercise?” They cautiously approached the table. As with everything pertaining to Camp Grandma, they were curious but a bit wary about what in the heck I’d come up with next.
“We’re going to learn to write résumés. A résumé is a document that includes education, experience, skills, and accomplishments used to apply for jobs.”
“What? Are you making us get a job?” Katie’s eyes were wide with fear.
“I’m too young to go to work, Grandma. Please don’t make me,” Lauren pleaded.
“I’m not making you go to work now. We’re just practicing so you will know what to do when you are older and want to get a job. Let me show you.” And I handed each a list with four categories:
1. Education |
School you attend or have attended |
2. Experience |
Travel, lessons, volunteer activities |
3. Accomplishments |
Awards, recognition, or some sense of personal satisfaction |
4. Strengths |
What are you good at doing? |
They looked puzzled. “What are we supposed to do with this?” They were understandably skeptical. I’d grown used to the look.
“I want you to tell me about yourself, what you have done or learned so far in life, in these four categories. For example, under education, put what grade you are in and what school you are attending.”
“Oh, that’s easy,” they all said in unison with a sigh of relief and quickly began writing.
We continued with each topic with a fair amount of coaching on my part, as you might imagine. They came up with the answers themselves, though, and I loved them. When asked about strengths, Jack said he was “responsible” (no surprise there), and Lauren asserted that her strength was that she is “very, very nice.” So true.
Under the topic of accomplishments, they all said they didn’t have any. So I asked, “What about recognition as Student of the Month, or a Citizenship Award, or for participation in a sporting or musical event?” I already knew the answers. Once they started thinking about it, they were calling out one achievement after another, and their lists grew. They were beginning to realize all they had accomplished in their young lives.
After they finished with their writing, we talked about what they wrote. We discussed how their education, strengths, accomplishments, and experiences might help them when they were grown-up.
“Jack, how will being responsible help you get a job?”
“Well, I think it will help others know I can get stuff done and I won’t make excuses.”
“Jake, you list reading books as an accomplishment. Why is that important?”
“Because books help me grow.”
“What can you learn from taking surfing lessons, Jake?”
“To surf,” he answered.
Well, I asked. And I intend to keep asking because I’ve planted the seed and introduced the concept of self-analysis. Asking yourself and answering yourself is a process that factors into a healthy life. At the very least, just my asking and being interested demonstrates my support. They matter to me, and so what they do matters as well.
Though the actual résumé revamping is only an annual activity, it’s my hope that their awareness of building a résumé continues throughout the year. Periodically I will ask them, “What do you think you might like to do when you are grown-up?” “Who might you like to be?” “What do you think you might need to get you there?” I realize they might not have any of these answers now, and even if they do, those answers will change again and again, but asking keeps them thinking. And thinking is part of preparation and training for achievement. Training their minds to visualize what they want out of life and of themselves could enable them to make choices today that are more aligned with the person they’d like to be. So, too, can all of us, of course; just as it’s never too early, it’s never too late to change, to set your sights higher.
By actually planning their résumés, kids begin goal setting. They start considering how their activities and friends define them. I encourage my grandkids to think about how they spend their time. For example: What do they gain from the time they spend practicing their music? Going to swimming lessons? Playing with friends? Watching TV? How are these activities important to them? Or will they be, later in life?
I recently heard from a friend whose teenage son was bound for college. She was surprised that some colleges are now actually requesting a résumé if you want a scholarship or internship position. Well, at Camp Grandma we are getting a head start on that process.
Under the experience category, all the kids listed travel. I think this is wonderful. Their parents have done a great job of taking them on lots of outings and vacations, and it is clearly recognized as a value to the grandchildren. Popular culture is right in identifying the passport as the “new diploma.” I couldn’t agree more. Travel is a terrific learning tool, and while the cost may be prohibitive for many families, the mind is not limited. With magazines, the local library, and the Internet, the mind can access books, stories, and images that transport the imagination to faraway places. You can experience the joy and wonder of exploration and discovery for free. Good writing evokes sounds and smells, the sensory links that embed the travel experience into vivid memory.
We recently had a “faraway” experience, which is travel without getting on a plane, to add to our résumés. Near my home there is a Hindu temple authentically constructed out of marble and Indian pink sandstone. This is a traditional Indian mandir with spires seventy-eight feet tall. The intricate carvings and colorful decorations are reminiscent of one that actually exists in New Delhi. One day we picked up stakes and had a Camp Grandma adventure to India via our local temple.
“Hey, Grandma, why do we have to take off our shoes?” Katie asked.
“It’s a sign of respect.”
“I bet the floor stays cleaner too,” Lauren piped in.
“Yup, I bet it does.” And I smiled.
We had a great time, learning a little about the Hindu faith and how the temple was constructed. We experienced a bit of India and even tasted India when we sampled cookies made from an authentic Indian recipe. Jake later told me his favorite Camp Grandma memory was visiting the temple with his cousins.
Writing our résumés continues to be, as it was intended, a work in progress just like training and preparation, based on the idea that how you spend your time is important and what you do now can benefit you later in life. Hopefully by introducing this concept at an early age, it will help them consider what they have to offer the world in applying themselves to reach their full potential. I will continue to collect their responses to keep for them as reference. It will be exciting and interesting to see how they build their résumés as the years go by. We have only just begun.
If we could do it all over again, how might we have answered, “What do you want on your résumé?”
By introducing the concept of writing résumés early in life, your grandchildren get a glimpse of what they will be asked to do as an adult. Résumés provide a summary of your experiences, skills, and accomplishments. Traditionally they are a primary tool in a job search, but for kids they are a tool to help them mindfully recognize how they’ve spent their time and hopefully make good choices on what they do going forward. A résumé may be requested for college and scholarship applications, as well as prospective employment.
• How to think and reflect on the past as it relates to the present and future
• How to look at themselves from another’s point of view
• To be aware of the connection between action and consequences
• How to visualize what they want
• How to set goals
• How to market themselves
A notebook for each grandchild is recommended. A paper and pencil will do, but a notebook is something you can add to as the years go by. And it’s another great keepsake for them for reflection and review.
1. On the first page of the notebook, enter the child’s name and age with the date, then write down these topics:
• Education
• Experience
• Accomplishments
• Strengths
2. Sit down with your grandchildren and ask them to write down something about themselves under these first three headings: the number of years of schooling they have had; the experiences they remember that were meaningful; awards, participation in scouting, church choir, musical recitals, and so on.
3. Then ask them what they think are their strengths—what they are good at doing.
4. Once they are finished, talk about what they have done and how it might help them when they are grown-up.
5. Review these annually with your grandchildren and watch them build their résumés as the years go by.
Depending on how much conversation results from the experience, this should take about an hour.
• Buy a notebook for yourself so you can make notes to capture the comments and remarks of your grandchildren as they are completing this exercise.
• Encourage them to determine which of their activities have little to no value. Hopefully they will learn to see this for themselves and make more appropriate choices, focusing on a more productive use of their time. (Fingers crossed.)
“Faraway” experience to Hindu temple