Student Resume Examples - How-to Guide and Tips

A student resume might seem like other resumes but its approach and content are slightly different. This type of resume is unique because you’ll likely have to focus more on education, volunteer work, relevant coursework and other extracurricular activities to prove to hiring managers you have the skills and qualifications necessary to land the job.

Even without experience, you can still promote your best qualities on a resume and impress hiring managers. It’s all about knowing how to structure the resume, analyzing the job description to see what the company is looking for, and making sure you’re getting your skills and talents across.

To help you write a professional student resume, our article will provide you with:

• Student resume samples that can be used to create a strong resume
• Resume tips for writing each section of your student resume and formatting it correctly
• Additional resources you need to write a cover letter for your resume, as well as links to other major resume tips

Whether you’re writing a high school student resume or a college student resume, the examples below are a great source of inspiration for writing your resume. This type of resume is unique because you likely have the education you need to succeed at a job, but not the work experience.

We suggest using our Resume Builder to make a professional resume fast with our step-by-step guidance and expert suggestions.

There are three standard resume formats to choose from:

• Functional resume: Also known as the skills-based resume, this format is ideal for students with little to no professional experience. Why? Unlike the other formats, the functional format focuses on skills and training. It features multiple skills sections, such as “Summary of Qualifications” and “Professional Skills,” so you can properly highlight everything you know how to do. The work history section is more brief. If you’re creating a student resume with no experience, we highly recommend choosing this format.
• Combination resume: You might be a student who has worked one or two part-time jobs through high school or college. In that case, consider using the combination resume format. It features a skills section and a work history section with bullet points so that you can describe to prospective employers your work achievements and major responsibilities. This format is ideal for people with a few years of work experience.
• Chronological resume: While the chronological format is the most commonly used of the three formats, it’s not the best option for all job seekers. The reverse-chronological resume is better suited for people with more than nine years of experience, as it heavily focuses on professional experience and career growth. Unless you have a lot of professional experience, writing your student resume in this format might lead to a less than convincing overview of your qualifications, so we don’t necessarily recommend it.

In addition to choosing the best resume format, it’s also important to follow the formatting tips below:

• Use a professional font. Avoid leaving a bad first impression using fonts like Comic Sans or Papyrus and stick to professional fonts like Helvetica, Arial and Times New Roman.
• Have the same margins. Your student resume should have 1-inch margins all around unless you need additional space for your skills and training. If that’s the case, you can take them down half an inch.
• Choose a readable font size. A good resume might not get you anywhere if the recruiter can’t read it. Make sure the body text of your student resume is at 11 or 12 points, the subheadings 14 or 15 and the header with your name at 16 or 18.
• Select the correct spacing. The space between the lines should be single or 1.5.
• Save and send in the right format. Typically, employers will want to receive resume job applications as a PDF or MS Word document. Read the job description well just in case they want a specific file format.
• Save time with a professional template. The best way to ensure your student resume looks its best is to use one of our resume templates. They’re preformatted, so you don’t have to worry about margins or font sizing and are designed to pass applicant tracking systems (ATS).

Follow the resume writing tips below to make a strong student resume. We also have a How to Write a Resume article with extra information and advice.

1. Header and contact information

Write your name and contact information in the header. You should also include your phone number and a professional email address where you can be contacted. If you have a social media account such as a LinkedIn profile or a portfolio of your work, you can link it in this section.

2. Resume summary/resume objective

Next, it’s time to summarize your top skills and qualifications. You can do this by writing a resume summary or writing a resume objective. They’re both a two- to three-sentence introduction to your top skills and relevant experience but a resume objective also emphasizes your career goals, making it ideal for students with no professional experience.

A resume summary is recommended for job seekers with more than three years of experience. You should highlight the skills and experience most relevant to the job. For example:

Hardworking high school student with three years of experience in customer service. Excellent communication skills, interpersonal skills and organizational skills. Proven ability to work in fast-paced environments, find creative solutions to problems and collaborate well with others to ensure customer satisfaction.

If you don’t have professional work experience, a resume objective — also known as a career objective — is a great way to talk about your key skills and tell prospective employers that you’re seeking employment. In fact, most students will have a resume objective rather than a resume summary because resume objectives emphasize your career goals, while resume summaries will quickly summarize where you’ve already been.

To get the immediate attention of the reader, create a powerful resume objective by summarizing relevant skills, any relevant experience, including internships or extracurricular activities and your academic highlights. Here’s an example of a student resume objective:

Diligent 4.0 GPA high school student seeking opportunity to apply leadership skills and basic data entry skills in entry-level jobs. High proficiency in written and verbal communication, able to work with large groups and learn processes quickly. Proven success juggling multiple projects at the same time and enhancing the quality of deliverables.

3. Skills section

Resume skills can come from anywhere, including your experience at school. Make sure you include a mixture of 8-10 soft skills, intangible traits that can be applied to any job and hard skills or technical skills which are abilities learned through training that are specific to a job, use bullet points to list them. For example:

Hard skills

• Microsoft Office programs (e.g., Excel, Word, etc.)
• Adobe Creative Suite (e.g., Photoshop or Illustrator)
• Google Drive (e.g., Google Docs, Google Slides, etc.)
• HTML/Javascript/CSS
• Cashier skills

Soft skills

• Communication skills
• Adaptability
• Strong work ethic
• Flexibility
• Multitasking

If you’re creating your student resume following the functional format’s guidelines, you’ll likely have to create additional resume skills sections, such as:

• “Professional Skills” or “Relevant Skills” section: Select your top three core skills and explain how you’ve used them in three to five bullet points, similar to the traditional work history section.
• “Summary of Qualifications” section: This section typically goes below your career objective. Use three bullet points to summarize the skills that make you a great candidate for the job. For example: “Able to prioritize tasks and solve issues in fast-paced environments.”

4. Work experience section

The work history section in your student resume will depend on the format you have chosen. If you’re writing a resume using the functional format, this section will not include bullet points. However, if you’ve chosen the combination — or even chronological — resume format, use the tips below.

A big misconception is that relevant experience can only come from a professional setting. The truth is that you can obtain important work experience and skills from volunteer work, a summer part-time job, extracurricular activities and any internships.

To capture your relevant experience, be sure to:

• Write in reverse-chronological order, so your current or latest job title is at the top.
• Include three to five bullet points per job highlighting major responsibilities and achievements.
• Start each bullet point with an action verb like assisted, wrote, organized or planned.
• Use numbers and quantifiable metrics when possible.

For example:

Tutor / Oct. 2021 – April 2022
Riverside High School, Riverside, CA

5. Education

There are different ways to write your education section.

• If you haven’t graduated high school, include your projected graduation date in parentheses.
• Below the type of degree or diploma you’re obtaining, include in bullet points any special recognitions or awards, such as the Dean’s List.
• You may also include relevant coursework to give the hiring manager an idea of the work you’ve done.
• If you’re currently a college student, the same instructions apply to you. If you’re a college graduate with a bachelor’s degree, you don’t have to include your high school diploma.

For example:

High School Diploma | Expected in June 2024
Riverside High School | Riverside, CA

6. Additional sections

If you have relevant certifications, additional awards or training, you can create more sections in your student resume to list them. You can also do this to highlight volunteer experience or extracurricular clubs you belong to.

ResumeHelp has tons more resources with resume tips, job interview advice and everything you need to take the next step in your career.

• Undergraduate Resume Examples: Learn more about highlighting your education with our college student resume examples.
• Law Student Resume Examples: Follow our expert guide to create a law student resume that perfectly captures your knowledge and skills.
• Engineering Student Resume Examples: Create a strong engineering student resume with our expert advice.
• How to Write a Personal Statement: Apply to colleges and universities with a strong personal statement.
• How to Write a Resume With No Experience: Writing a resume with no experience is possible. Just follow the steps in our article!
• Career Tools for Students: Advice, tools and all the information you need to progress in your professional career.
• How College Students Can Prepare for Employment: The next chapter in your life is right around the corner. Prepare for it with our help!
• Resume Examples: We have hundreds of additional resume examples available to inspire you.

A professional cover letter will take your job application to the next level. Use our resources to create a strong cover letter for your student resume.

• How to Write a Cover Letter: Our expert guide will take you through the cover letter writing process with examples and pro tips.
• Cover Letter Builder: Our Cover Letter Builder gives you step-by-step instructions and helps you create a cover letter fast.
• Cover Letter Templates: Choose one of our beautiful cover letter templates to complement your student resume.
• Cover Letter Format: Follow our formatting guidelines to ensure your cover letter looks its best.
• Cover Letter Examples: Our cover letter samples library has hundreds of examples for different jobs and industries.

Now that we’ve gone over our resume writing tips and resume examples for students, let’s do a quick recap of all the important points:

1. Choose one of the three resume formats based on your years of experience.
2. The header should include a phone number and a professional email address.
3. For a student resume, a career objective is a better option than a resume summary.
4. Include a mix of relevant skills, both soft and hard.
5. The work experience section will look different depending on the resume format you chose.
6. Relevant experience doesn’t just come from a professional setting.
7. Your work history should focus on major responsibilities and accomplishments.
8. The education section can feature relevant coursework and awards.
9. You should create additional resume sections to highlight other important information.
10. Proofread to ensure your student resume and cover letter are typo-free.