As a student, you’re probably not thinking much about writing a resume. However, once you get out of school and need to land your first job, suddenly, you might find yourself looking through resume templates. Understanding how to leverage your education in your first job after school is an important part of the student experience as a whole. Here’s what you need to know about writing a college student resume that incorporates general resume writing tips and your experience in school.
A student resume is any resume that you write when your main experience comes from being a student. If you’re a recent college graduate without a lot of other work history, for example, you may write a student resume. A high school student’s resume will also fall under this umbrella, especially if you’re trying to get your first job. The right college experiences can definitely be a great addition to a resume and could be a reason why an employer might want to choose you. However, just having college experience won’t necessarily get you the job. Creating a professional resume that lists all your relevant experience and resume skills is crucial and shows hiring managers why you’re the right person.
Before you send your resume off to the recruiter, it’s important that you have the best resume possible. Here are a few tips to craft the perfect resume:
These are all pointers that can massively increase your chances of getting a job, even if you don’t have a lot of work experience.
A student resume format will typically be the same as a functional resume format for any other worker. You want to prioritize your skills and education while downplaying any lack of professional experience. Here’s how you might want to structure your student resume.
The first section at the top of your resume will typically be your resume objective. A student resume will almost always have a student resume objective instead of a resume summary. This is because a resume objective outlines your career goals and top skills, while a resume summary emphasizes professional experience and knowledge. Most of the time, a resume summary will be best for someone who already has the experience, while a resume objective is better for people who don’t have experience.
Next is your skills section. Include all relevant skills to the job you’re applying for. This may include technical skills, soft skills, communication skills, and other skills that you might have developed over the years. This may include skills that you built from your education, skills that you obtained through certifications, or skills that you have used in previous jobs.
Your education section should include your college experience up to this point. If you don’t have any college experience, you can include your high school experience here. If you’re still in college or high school, you can include an expected graduation date. You should include relevant coursework and extracurricular activities.
Last is your work experience section, if applicable. Not everyone who is currently in school will have work experience, but if you have volunteer experience or part-time experience, you can add it here. A recruiter is looking for an experience that proves your skills, and in an entry-level job, it’s often accepted that you won’t have very much experience.
Not necessarily. Many student resume examples don’t have any work experience whatsoever, so you don’t need previous experience to land a great job. However, work experience can teach you many skills, like time management skills and a great work ethic. Remember that you can list volunteer work in your work section, which you may have more of as a student.
Most resume tips will suggest that you avoid mentioning your GPA outright. However, GPA is an important part of many graduation honors, like Dean’s List or cum laude honors. If your GPA helped you graduate with honors, you could include those honors in your education section. These honors are more likely to help in your job search.
Both soft and hard skills are important on all resumes, and student resumes are no different. Rather than trying to determine whether soft skills or hard skills are more important, study the job description to pinpoint skills the hiring manager is looking for in a candidate and feature them in your resume. Read student resume samples in your industry to see what other people are listing on their resumes, and include the skills you excel in the most.
