While doing so, I started thinking the same thing I do every time I have to work on my resume or complete an application: I hate this process. The whole rigmarole around getting a job or an internship just seems absurd to me. Not entirely because I hate talking about myself-- I mean, let's be honest: I write a blog, so obviously I am okay with talking about myself. But I dislike the culture that surrounds it. I dislike the culture that says you should always look and act your best because you never know when you might meet someone who could offer you a job. I dislike "networking" to get a job instead of meeting people for the sake of the pleasure of human connection. I dislike the focus on what you do rather than who you are.
Think that's a bit of an extreme perspective? Maybe. A resume is supposed to be a brief summary of your qualifications for a given job, a summary of your experiences and skills. I can acknowledge that there is a place for that, given that an employer has a right to be interested in what your background can bring to their company or organization. I just can't help thinking that the resume hype among my generation may be leading to a mindset where what you do IS more important than who you are. I've known many millennials who do public service of varied sorts. Some do it for the benefit it brings to humanity or the personal satisfaction it brings them or out of a sense of religious conviction or civic duty; others do it to pad their resumes. Because, of course, their future goals depend on it-- colleges and companies might "look for that."
When doing a good deed becomes more about a line on a resume than helping other people, there is a problem with genuineness. It's the same with anything else you do-- extracurriculars, academics, service, worship, whatever. If you're not able to be genuine when you do something and then you add it to your resume, you're just selling yourself short.
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