Should I Bring My Resume to My College Interview?
What’s Covered:
- Reasons to Bring Your Resume
- How to Give Your Resume to Your Interviewer
- What to Include in Your Resume
- How to Calculate Your Odds of Acceptance After Your Interview
While researching the school you’ll be interviewing for and brainstorming for classic interview questions are important steps in your college interview preparation, you will quickly find that other variables will arise for you to consider. One will be your resume: Should you bring it along with you or not?
Reasons to Bring Your Resume
Though no interview will require you to bring a resume or penalize you if you do not, you should always err on the side of caution, and be over-prepared, rather than under. Some interviewers may ask to see a resume or a CV, and in those cases, having one ready at hand will be a relief. Even if the interviewer doesn’t ask, there’s no reason why it would hurt to bring a few copies of your resume with you to an interview, we suggest that you do.
It is a good idea to have a few resumes on hand at your interview for several reasons, the most basic being that it could be awkward and disappointing if your interviewer does ask for your resume and you do not have one to present. Beyond this, it may be useful to your interviewer later on, as they will eventually write a description of your conversation to the admissions committee. It can be a great conversation starter, too, as your interviewer likely has not seen your application and your resume will have some talking points to get you started.
How you present your resume is just as important as having it at all, so make sure that you have some printed copies ready and neatly placed so they’re ready to hand over. In a virtual interview, it’s even easier to be prepared. All you have to do is have your resume written and saved, so you can send over a PDF. Virtual interviews are a little different than in person, so for the best results, check out our post on everything you need to know about virtual interviews. For the etiquette on when exactly to give an interviewer your resume, ready on.
How to Give Your Resume to Your Interviewer
It’s important that you don’t appear pushy or presumptuous when offering your resume to your interviewer. Your interview is not an opportunity to network with your interviewer, and thus it is best to wait until the end to offer your resume by asking if your interviewer would like it. If they ask for it, you should absolutely provide it earlier, once they ask, as they may want to review it before beginning, or after a response to a particular question. If they don’t mention it, politely offering at the end of the interview is best. Likely, your interviewer will have been taking notes throughout your conversation, and will play a limited role in admission overall, so they may not see a need for a copy. If they decline to take your resume, respond positively and graciously, and don’t read into it.
In a virtual interview, it may be tempting to email your resume beforehand, or send it after without bringing it up in the interview itself. This can come across as presumptuous, so we recommend that you wait for the interview to actually discuss providing a resume, and make sure to discuss before sending it along. If it comes up naturally, or an interviewer asks for it, send it right away. If not, it’s best to wait until the end, and, just like an in-person interview, politely offer.
Overall, don’t overthink this too much. Most likely, your interviewer will appreciate having your resume to jog their memory as they write about you, and you will come across as being organized and responsible for having your resume with you.
What to Include In Your Resume
Many high school seniors don’t have a resume yet, and that’s okay! Even seniors with resumes geared towards jobs or internships may want to review or edit it to make sure it’s tailored for a college interview.
Work and volunteer experience or leadership positions are all fair game for a college resume. You’ll want to be clear, organized, and concise, so your interviewer can glean the important information quickly and easily. Simple formats are best for this. For more tips on how to construct it perfectly, see our post on tips for college application resumes.
How to Calculate Your Odds of Acceptance After Your Interview
For many students, the interview is the part of the college applications process that causes them the most stress. But in reality, it’s unlikely to be the determining factor in your admissions decision.
Since your interview is unlikely to swing things one way or another, you may be wondering how the other, more crucial aspects of your application stack up at your dream schools. To answer that question, check out CollegeVine’s free chancing engine. It takes into account just about every element of your application (other than your interview, letters of recommendation, essays, which aren’t quantifiable), including your grades, course rigor, test scores (if you have them), and extracurriculars, to give you personalized odds of acceptance at all of your top choice schools.
