If you’re a student who’s creating your first resume, you might be feeling a bit intimidated. It’s totally normal to feel this way, and you’re definitely not alone!
Creating a student resume that stands out is easier said than done, but don’t worry – we’re here to provide you with some tips and best practices.
Let’s get started!
Understand the Purpose of Your Resume
You might be wondering why having a strong resume is so important as a student. Of course, without a resume, it might be very difficult to get a job – but it goes beyond that.
The stronger your resume is, the more likely it is that you’ll be picked for certain jobs over other applicants.
A problem that students often run into is that they don’t have a lot of job experience (which makes sense, because most students are quite young). Even if you don’t have much job experience, you can still include volunteer work and extracurricular activities on your resume, so don’t worry.
Formatting Your Resume
There are a number of different ways to format your student resume. Admittedly, this can make the process of crafting a resume a bit complicated.
How you want to format your resume is up to you, but the most popular resume formats include:
- Chronological: If you choose to use this format, you’ll list your experience and education in reverse order, with the most recent experience at the top.
- Functional: This format focuses more on skills and abilities than on work experience. This is especially ideal if you don’t have a lot of job experience yet.
- Combination: This resume format combines elements of both of the formats discussed above. This type of resume should include your skills, work experience, and educational background.
No matter which format you decide to go with, remember to save the final version of your resume as a PDF. You can do this easily with a free Word PDF converter. It’s important to save your resume as a PDF because it will preserve the formatting, and is ideal for printing. It’s also ideal for sharing, no matter what device you’re using.
Write an Objective or Summary
An objective (or summary) is a brief statement at the top of your resume that basically tells the employer who you are and what you’re looking for in terms of work. It should be 1-2 sentences long and focus on your strengths and goals.
Include Your Skills and Achievements
Since you may not have much work experience, this is your chance to draw your potential employer’s attention to other qualities that make you a great candidate for the job you’re applying for. Think about the skills you’ve developed during school or volunteering.
Examples of skills that will make you stand out to employers include:
- Communication
- Leadership
- Teamwork
- Time management
- Stress management
- Problem-solving
You should make sure to provide specific examples when listing your skills on your resume, too. Instead of just saying “good at communication,” you could say “developed strong communication skills while volunteering at the local soup kitchen” (or something like that).
Proofread and Edit Your Resume Carefully
Before sending your carefully-crafted resume out into the world, double-check it for any spelling or grammar mistakes. You might even consider asking a professor, mentor, or family member to review it for you. Typos and grammar mistakes can make your professional look unprofessional, so proofreading it carefully is really important.
Conclusion
Creating a student resume that stands out is going to require quite a bit of time and effort, but it’ll definitely be worth it. Especially if you’re competing for employment opportunities with other students, you’re more likely to be successful if you have a strong resume. Just remember to save the final version as a PDF!
