Resume PSA - all FRC students should read

[stjonl]

I can also verify that putting your FIRST experience on your resume is very helpful. Several years ago after losing an engineering position from lack of work at my company then, I was contacted on a Monday afternoon by a placement service for an open position they were trying to fill. The office manager had also worked as a substitute teacher and had a daughter that had been on an FRC team. She made two reference phone calls on Tuesday, one to the public school that had hired me to be an FLL coach, and one to FIRST HQ to confirm that I was an FRC volunteer. In Michigan, there are state laws that public schools have to follow to hire anybody, and the quick take on that is the local police do all the criminal background checks, and collect your fingerprints. I interviewed on Wednesday, hire on Thursday and back to work the following Monday.
For current FIRST high school students, not putting your FIRST experience on a college application is one of the biggest mistakes you can make! Colleges that know what FIRST is about are looking for FIRST alumni students, and will make being accepted nearly automatic.