ExecMagazine

I asked my son and a few of his friends (high school graduates) to come to my office to help me hire someone.  They were not all able to come out at the same time so when the first friend came over I handed him a stack of 50 resumes.  I asked him to pick out the best 3.  As each kid came in I gave them each the same task.  Finally my son came in and I gave him the same task.  After he was done, he proudly came back in the room and shared with me his results.  After listening to his reasons why he chose them, I revealed to him the small marks I made behind each resume.  All 3 boys had chosen the same 3 resumes.  All for the same reasons.  The average GPA was 3.8 or better.  These individuals all participated in the community and were involved with non profit organizations.  All 3 had jobs during the summers that they would go back to year after year.  And all were able to communicate their passion for landing this type of position.

The moral of the story to high school kids going into college is this.  When you go out looking for your first job, you will likely be competing against 3-400 applicants, not just 50.  Your history of top performance can only be judged by your grades.  Employers want to know that you care about others and that you are reliable and consistant.  Prove that you have these qualities and you will have no problem finding a job.

Source:  Tom Smith, VP Sales, Quality Systems