College Bound Meets Morgan Stanley: The GWN Resume and Cover Letter Writing Workshop, 2014

This blog post was written by Program Intern, Emily Becker.

At first glance, the rigid mediums of the resume and cover letter may not seem the best way to capture the essence of your unique self. Yet these tools of the trade appear again and again at nearly every juncture—college applications, scholarships, and jobs all require the boiling down of your character to a couple 8 x 10s.

That’s why Girls Write Now partnered with Morgan Stanley’s Women’s Business Alliance as a part of GWN’s College Bound Program for an in-depth Resume and Cover Letter Writing workshop. College Bound participants learned how to concisely and unabashedly highlight their skills and experiences. The girls had the amazing opportunity to sit down one-to-one with Morgan Stanley volunteers, a diverse group of incredible women who are all leaders and role models in their own field. During the session, the pairs worked to hone the girls’ resumes and cover letters, identifying  their goals and strengths along the way. Between the determination of the girls and the wisdom of the volunteers, some  wonderful writing emerged!

The resumes were all about the bragging and not the bluffing. One of the most important lessons of the workshop was to not create a false persona to please college admissions or employers, but rather to pinpoint why the real you is most deserving of whatever position you’re after. One participant explained, “It was very interesting for me to realize the balance of putting my best foot forward and staying true to who I am in my resume and cover letter…at the end of the day when you walk into that room for an interview, they want to see you, for who you really are.” Certainly the College Bound girls have nothing to be afraid of. They are leaders and team players, writers and innovators, athletes and artists, and we can’t wait to see where their resumes will take them!

Listen to College Bound participants reflect on their experience
at the workshop during their Closing Lines.

For more on our 2014 College Bound programs, read about our college essay writing workshops.