Stunning College Student Resume Examples for You to Use This Year

College students want to emphasize their existing experience and the fact that they may end up being with a company for decades to come. As a college graduate, you’ll likely need extra training and supervision, but if a company is willing to invest this work in you, you want to show them that you’re interested in sticking by them for years to come.

Start your resume by choosing a resume format. There are three common resume formats: the chronological resume format, which emphasizes your work history and is best for workers with more than nine years of experience. A functional resume format, which emphasizes your work skills and is designed for entry-level workers with less than three years of experience and a combination resume format, which emphasizes skills and experience, and works best for those with three to nine years of experience. 

 

As a college student, you probably don’t have an extensive work history, so the functional resume format may be your best option. Once you choose a resume format that works for your career situation, you can move forward with filling out the resume sections.

 

Your header should include your contact information and full name. Contact information may include your email address, phone number and professional social media links, like your LinkedIn profile.

 

At the beginning of your resume, write a two- to three-sentence paragraph outlining your relevant skills and knowledge. This is a resume objective, which is one of the first ways you’ll sell your experience to a hiring manager. It’s best to steer clear of a resume summary, which is more geared toward workers with three or more years of experience.

 

Next is your skills section. You should list technical skills, also known as hard skills that you’ve learned in your specific field of study, such as business administration. You should also include soft skills, which are generalized skills that you’ll be able to use in any field. Your skills section should include eight to twelve skills directly related to the job you are applying for and should be presented in a bullet point list. Here are a few bullet points to get you started:

• Microsoft Office Suite (Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint)
• Communication skills
• Time management
• Teamwork
• Adaptability
• Critical thinking
• Website design
• Computer programming (C+, JavaScript, HTML)

Work history

In your work history section, you want to list as much experience as you have. If you have volunteer work or internship experience, for example, you can include it on your resume. The more experience you have, the better your resume will look.

 

Your education section will largely have to do with your college experience, as well as any certifications you’ve received over the years. Steer clear from including your high school experience unless you have an especially strong award to show off, like valedictorian. If you’re a recent graduate, include your graduation information, including any theses or other graduation writings you’ve had.

When writing your college student resume, here are some additional tips to keep in mind:

 

Do:

• Include as much work experience as you can. Don’t pass up any opportunities, even if your work history was unpaid.
• Emphasize your talent and desire to work in this field for a long time. This ensures that a recruiter feels like they’re making a long-term investment by hiring you.
• Include your graduation date, regardless of how long you’ve been in college. By including your graduation date, you encourage a potential employer to look to the future.

Don’t:

• Include your college GPA in your education section. You don’t know what the average GPA will be for all the other candidates, so it’s best to avoid even potentially being lower than the average. Instead, list awards like magna cum laude or the Dean’s List.
• Spend any time apologizing for your lack of experience. A hiring manager knows that a college student won’t have much experience. It’s up to you to prove that you’re a good choice anyway.
• Use ResumeHelp to write your professional resume. With the resume templates and student resume samples available through our ResumeHelp Resume Builder, you can write a better resume quickly.