What Would Mark Zuckerberg's Resume Look Like if Facebook Failed

We all spend so much time fretting about what is and what is not on our resumes. We also spend a great deal of time idolizing tech billionaires and entrepreneurs who went an unorthodox route and really made career magic happen for themselves. But what does a carefree, "I made it on my own" resume really look like on paper? It’s important to remember that the risk takers and innovators often have resumes that look a little out of balance. And hey, it worked out for them. No matter what your past looks like, there's proof that a lot of hard work (and sure, a smidgen of luck) can combine to bring you great success. Here are a few bullet points from Mark Zuckerberg’s would-be resume if his Facebook gamble had failed and he had found himself out on the post-grad job market with the rest of his Harvard class. [mks_pullquote align="left" width="760" size="16" bg_color="#fcead4" txt_color="#0a0a0a"]

Mark Zuckerberg

Education Harvard University, Psychology and Computer Science (Sept 2002 – ongoing) Phillips Exeter Academy, Classical studies and Science (May 1999-2001) GPA 4.0 Software Development Experience Facemash (Oct 2003 – ongoing) Internal social media website allowing visitors to rate their classmates at Harvard University as “hot” or “not.” Hugely popular and experienced such a spike in numbers as to overwhelm the Harvard servers. CourseMatch (2003 – ongoing) Mini-social medial, the first of its kind, allowing university students to choose their courses based on the choices of their classmates, and to form study groups and meet-ups. Synapse Media Player (2000 – 2001) App using artificial intelligence to learn the listening preferences of the user, then recommending appropriate music. Featured on the SlashDot, rated 3/5 by PCMag, and reached more than 1000 downloads in the first month alone. Attracted significant interest from Microsoft and AOL. [mks_separator style="solid" height="10"] Achievements

• Founded two of the most popular apps at Harvard
• Won over 10 prizes in Math, Physics, Astronomy, and Classics
• Proficient or advanced proficient in six languages (English, Mandarin Chinese, French, Hebrew, Latin, Ancient Greek)
• Developed first software application at the age of 12
• Captain of prep school fencing team

Tech Skills & Strengths

• Product Development
• Artificial Intelligence
• HTML & CSS
• PHP
• Atari Basic

Software Applications ZuckNet (1996 – 1997) Dental practice software, designed at age 12 using Atari Basic, allowing family computers to communicate with those of family dental practice. Computer versions of Monopoly & Risk (1995-1996) Digitized versions of two popular board games for up to 6 players. Memberships Alpha Epsilon Pi Kirkland House Passions The Odyssey & The Iliad, Tennis, Rowing, Fencing, and Programming [/mks_pullquote] Verdict? Not really all that impressive. Keep this in mind as you build your own resume. Make sure to view your career goals and accomplishments with a healthy amount of perspective.