College Resume Tips
Resume Advice For College Students
6 seconds. That’s all you get when an employer first looks over your resume. That’s why It’s important for you to highlight exactly what an employer wants to see in an easy to read way at the top of your resume. Make your resume standout from the crowd with our professional resume tips and tricks that you can implement in your resume.
Whether you’re applying for internships or your first job after college your resume can often be the first impression you make. Building a professional and well thought-out resume can be the difference between getting an interview or receiving that dreaded “sorry, we have chosen to move forward with another candidate” email.
Resume Building Tips
Building the perfect resume as a college student can often be difficult due to the lack of previous work experience and skills needed to fill a page. Your resume in college only needs to be one page containing the most relevant information you have related to your degree or industry.
Building a resume that fits on a single page usually goes one of two ways for college students. You will either struggle to fill the page with your experiences or you will have too much information and will need to cut things out in order to fit on one page.
Below are the top resume tips for building your resume which can help you to make the most out of the space available.
Customize your resume for each job application. If it’s not relevant to your area of study you can leave it off if you are struggling for space
Move sections around depending on what information is most important for the requirements of that job/Industry
Focus on your college education – You do not need your highschool listed
Add different sections to fill white space if you lack work experience. (eg. extra curricular activities, leadership roles, certifications & training, honors & awards, skills
Quantify where possible – Use numbers to show results of your work/experience
Ensure your personal information is correct with a professional email address
Internship Cover Letter
Internships along with full-time jobs will often require a cover letter to be submitted with your application. A cover letter is a brief overview about which position you are applying for and why you should be considered for that position. Your cover letter is often the first thing an employer will look at making it crucial that you catch their attention and get to the next stage of the hiring process.
Even if your resume hasn’t been fully tailored for each job application your cover letter definitely needs to be personalized to address the position’s requirements. This can include using keywords found within the job description, mentioning why you’d like the opportunity with that company and even addressing your letter directly to the recruiter if possible.
Levels Of Statements In Resume Writing
In the writing of your resume the wordings, grammar & punctuation, spelling and formatting all play a huge role in the overall look and feel of your resume. Bullet points are your best friend when it comes to writing a resume. Short, concise bullet points can help save space, and also are more engaging to read than a long paragraph describing your experience.
When writing bullet points there are 3 levels of statements which can be used to determine the quality of the statement used. When writing your resume it’s important to include level 2 or 3 where possible.
Level 1 Statements:
What did you do?
Level 2 Statements:
What did you do? & How did you do it?
Level 3 Statements:
What did you do? How did you do it? & What was the result of it?
Example 1:
Served food and beverages to customers while delivering professional customer service ensuring the highest level of customer satisfaction.
Example 2:
Analyze & interpret data to create monthly reports by utilizing multiple data sources imported into excel resulting in an ROI of 80%
College Resume Examples
It’s important to note that not all resumes are equal. Like college students, everyone is unique in their own way. While we have a range of resume examples its crucial to use them as a guide when creating your own.
Being unique in the way you format & write your resume can be an easy way to stand out from the crowd when your resume comes across an employers desk.
Below are a number of examples for a range of different industries that can be used as a reference point for your own resume.
The resume tips above and the examples below will give you the tools needed to be on your way to creating a professional & unique resume that you can be proud of.
