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20 College Student Resumes That Landed Jobs in 2024

• College Student Resumes
• College Student Resumes by Role
• College Student Resumes for Academics

Writing Your College Student Resume

Companies sometimes require that entry-level candidates have experience, but how do you get experience when even entry-level jobs make it difficult to apply?

Getting that first job or internship can be the most challenging part of your career. Fortunately, as a college student, you’re in a great position to get that first break you need. Once you get your degree, you’ll have the experience employers are seeking, but until then, how can you build an effective resume or write a cover letter as a college student?

After reviewing countless  resume samples , we’ve determined what types employers want to see from college students. Furthermore, we used that knowledge to create  20 college student resume examples to help inspire your resume in 2024 .

College Student Resume Example

or download as PDF

Why this resume works

• This lets employers know when you can work full-time. Whatever you do, be honest. Stretching the truth won’t get you any points with employers. It’s better to be upfront and willing to learn a skill rather than try to succeed by the skin of your teeth.
• The golden rule on your college student resume is to lead with your strengths. If you’ve got a relevant internship, add it. If you’ve done any related class projects, list them. No matter what you include, make sure to highlight transferable skills.

Undergraduate Student Resume

• To impress the recruiter, demonstrate the dedication you have had in your previous posts despite minimal experience.

University Student Resume

• In that case, your university student resume can capitalize on your analytical skills, which helped identify cost-saving opportunities and cut overall expenses by six percent.

College Student No Experience Resume

• Luckily, there are a host of  resume templates  you can use to format your experience well, so long as you adjust based on your qualifications.
• For example, you can add or remove sections based on the amount of work history you have (or don’t have).
• For example, being on the club basketball team may feel irrelevant to business analysis. But by focusing on how you’ve organized practices and led a local volunteer effort, your  college student no experience resume  can point to qualities that might appeal to a thoughtful employer.

Current College Student Resume

• A reverse-chronological format is still the most accepted, but if you want to highlight your skills, try using a functional format instead.
• Adding relevant metrics shows that you know what matters to your employer and you’ve positively impacted your previous workplace.

College Student for Internship Resume

• That’s okay—you can weave in other things, like projects and part-time jobs. Of course, if you do have internship or job experience, put that at the top.
• It’s as easy as checking the  job description . Then just list your relevant abilities according to what matches the keywords listed by the employer.

College Student Assistant Medical Laboratory Technician Resume Example

• Do you have a unique interest related to science? Are you involved in a sport? Do you volunteer? All of these hobbies are great additions to your resume.
• If you’ve just graduated, you can bulk up your education section.
• Feel free to add any college awards you won and your GPA (if it’s higher than 3.5).

College Student HR Executive Assistant Resume

• As a rule of thumb, we recommend including one if you’re light on experience or are going through a substantial career change. Otherwise, leave it out in favor of work experience. 
• Good skills to include on an HR executive assistant resume are “talent acquisition,” “conflict resolution,” “legal compliance,” and “compensation/benefits.”
• An even more effective way to breathe life into your skills is to weave them into your work history or project bullet points.

College Student Case Assistant Resume

• Show off your personality using contrasting colors, classic fonts, and well-organized layouts. Our ready-to-build  resume templates  or handy  Google Docs interactive resumes  can help you keep your resume both tasteful and personable.
• If you don’t have certification, then now’s the best time to get it. Better late than never!

College Student Resident Assistant Resume

• Though an objective isn’t required, it can help employers see your skills and experience straight away.
• Just make sure to tailor it for every job you apply for by including the name of the employer, the position you’re seeking, and some matching keyword skills (that are true about you) gleaned from the  job description . 
• You also shouldn’t feel limited by your work experience. If you’ve done any relevant projects or have volunteered, include them! Employers love to see transferrable skills like collaboration, a good work ethic, and organization.

College Student Warehouse Worker Resume

• If you’re struggling to get going, consider using a  resume outline  to help you structure your experience—just don’t forget to fill out all the sections thoroughly!
• While it’s not impossible to land an excellent job without internships or experience, having some kind of work history, even in the form of projects, will allow you to be more picky and skim from the top of warehouse positions.

College Student Teacher Assistant Resume

• Adjusting formatting details, like the layout and header colors, can make your resume pop and reveal a bit about yourself. (Red and pink are bold, daring colors, while blue and green are calming.)
• Adding a  hobbies and interests section to your resume  can also help catch the eye of employers, provided you list hobbies that are relevant to the desired job, such as creative pursuits, volunteering, or research.
• Even if you’ve never had experience as a teacher assistant, you can instill confidence by demonstrating the impact of your communication skills. Did you effectively resolve an issue using negotiation? Write something that added helpful clarity? Show how you used communication to affect others positively!

College Student Biology Lab Technician Resume

• Don’t get too carried away here; after all, it’s still a resume and not a flier for a Wednesday Night Disco. But, one to two colors can be appropriate for all but the most conservative working environments. 
• Numbers can be frustrating to calculate and add to your resume, but trust us when we tell you that they make a world of difference. Hiring managers are consistently more willing to interview people with metrics on their resumes, as they convey job competence and confidence.

College Student English Tutor Resume

• Breaking up each work experience into bullet points can make your resume both easier to read (with fewer blocks of dense text) and easier to write.
• Instead of writing one big chunk of cohesive text, you can focus on pulling out as many highlights about your work history at each job as possible. 
• A project can be anything. Seriously, your final group project from that writing seminar counts, or you could highlight a blog you’ve been working on in your free time.
• Hint: Projects also make great stories to discuss on your college student cover letter .

College Application Resume

• Suppose you’re applying for a Bachelor of Arts in education. Express your passion for teaching and eagerness to advance your knowledge of education theories and practices. Even better, emphasize your long-term ambition to shape future generations through innovative education methods.

College Admission Resume

• Take a leaf from how Brian narrates his stints as a restaurant server, project presenter, and volunteer. Well-described, such experiences paint a picture of a well-rounded character who can take on varied challenges of an engineering program, enhancing their appeal in the eyes of the college admissions committee.

College Freshman Resume

• Use past projects to advantage here even if they’re only a year long. Clearly state how you used skills such as Canva and Microsoft Teams to make specific impacts during this time. Another great addition to your college freshman resume is any work experience under your belt.

College Student Academic Highlights Resume

• Say you have some work experience, but it’s not relevant to the job. That’s okay—instead of trying in vain to match the  job description , focus on transferable skills like customer service, organization, event planning, public speaking, and computer literacy.
• If you lack much work history, adding projects, coursework, or volunteer experience is the next best way to showcase your potential. You can also list your involvement in clubs, organizations, or peer mentorship.
• Write them like you’d write work experience by using active verbs and incorporating metrics (numbers).

First Year College Student Resume

• Your time contributing to a project is tangible evidence of your skills and experiences. Depending on what you include, it could showcase your communication and organizational skills or more technical abilities, like your proficiency with Microsoft Office.

Freshman College Student Resume

• Do you love gardening or nature photography? Awesome, it shows you’re inherently passionate about biology. Do you spend your time baking as well? It’s a sign that you know how to follow instructions and observe changes over time—skills that will come in handy as a lab assistant.

Related resume guides

• College Graduate
• Grad School
• Entry level

Before we dive into the difference between a  resume objective  vs. a  resume summary , let’s get some definitions out of the way:

• Resume objective : A statement of your qualifications, interests, and skills that make you a good fit for the role to which you’re applying.
• Resume summary : A summary of your past experience detailing your high-level accomplishments and projects.

When you’re applying for a job or internship as a college student, you likely won’t have extensive work experience. So, we’d recommend including a resume objective instead of a resume summary.

The goal of your resume objective is to set the stage for your resume. It should highlight your skills applicable to the job at hand, and it should be specific for each job to which you’re applying.

Most resume objectives are boring and generic. By taking the time to craft a customized and effective resume objective, you give yourself an edge over other applicants and increase your chances of getting an interview.

Before we dive into the rules for creating a strong resume objective, let’s look at some examples.

Sample college student resume objectives

• “Recent college graduate with a degree in marketing looking for a full-time role where I can utilize my experience in social media and paid advertising to help an up-and-coming brand like Club Z! Inc. spread awareness and acquire more users.”
• “Diligent college student at the University of Pittsburgh who is equally committed to academic excellence (3.8 GPA) and service (student leader at the local food shelter) looking for an opportunity at Unidos as a part-time employee to utilize these talents to improve customer satisfaction.”
• “Recent graduate with a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) seeking an opportunity within an established management organization to utilize my organizational and quantitative abilities. Epic seems to have a culture of empowering employees to have ownership over their problems, and that culture fits my work style perfectly.”

You can see that all of these resume objectives specifically mention the company that the student is applying to. Tailoring is the golden rule of resume objectives.

Here are some other rules to make your objective the best it can be:

• Again, take the time to  customize your resume objective for each company to which you’re applying .
• Don’t be afraid to inject your personality. Making an impression will help you stand out among the hundreds of other applicants.
• Keep it to two to three sentences.
• Mention any relevant skills or certifications you have for the role to which you’re applying.

College Student Resume Formats

One of the hardest parts of  building your resume  as a college student is the blank page. The “getting started” part is overwhelming—you’re unsure what your resume should look like, let alone what should be in it!

When it comes to formatting your resume, the best advice is to keep it  simple . You need to convincingly make the case that you deserve an interview for the role to which you’re applying.

In short, your resume should likely contain the following sections:

• Header: This is your name and job title. Have your job title match the job title to which you’re applying.
• Resume objective: We talked about this above, a quick summary of your skills and what you’re seeking.
• Education: As a college student, this should include your anticipated graduation date, the field of study, and relevant classes.
• Skills: List six to ten technical skills relevant to your career.
• Work experience: If you have any relevant internships or part-time jobs, mention them here.
• Projects: Did you do any side projects that demonstrate your competency? Include them!

Not all of these sections need to be included in your resume.  Your resume should focus on your strengths.

If you don’t have much relevant work experience, you can omit that section in favor of discussing your projects or classwork.

However, no matter what format you choose, there are a few writing guidelines you should adhere to throughout your resume.

Formatting guidelines for your resume

• Keep your resume to one page! Your resume should only extend to a second page when you have 10+ years of experience.
• Avoid any spelling or grammar errors by double-checking your text and having a friend review your resume. Don’t let typos be the reason why you don’t get an interview.
• Break up your work experience into small, consumable bullet points. Nothing is harder to read than a big wall of text.
• Use reverse-chronological order to keep your most recent experience/projects at the top.
• Don’t include fancy images or graphics. It’s highly likely a computer will read your resume before a human ever does, and images are hard for computers to scan.
• Don’t list more than ten skills on your resume. (We’ll expand on this below.)

Skills to pay the bills

When building your skills section, it can be tempting to list any and every skill you know. You’ll have to resist this temptation.

Before a human reviews your resume, an automated system called an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) will score your resume based on whether or not it includes the “right” keywords. These filters are largely screening for specific skills.

Doesn’t this mean that you should include as many skills as possible to beat the ATS? Unfortunately, you need to make your resume appealing to both the ATS and a human, and nothing is a bigger red flag to a hiring manager than a candidate with a laundry list of skills!

You’re much better off focusing on  six to ten skills you’re an expert in  than including more that you kind of know. Generally, if you wouldn’t be comfortable being interviewed on a given skill, don’t include it on your resume. 

Work Experience and Projects

In any resume, no matter the career stage, your work experience and projects should take up at least 70 percent of the overall space. These will decide whether you get an interview or not.

Once you have a few years of experience, then the size of your projects section will decrease as the size of your work experience section expands.

If you have an internship relevant to the job you’re applying for, this should be listed in your “work experience” section. As a college student, your work experience can also contain any part-time jobs you had while in school, even if they don’t seem relevant to the position to which you’re applying.

It’s not easy to balance work and school, so having a part-time job demonstrates responsibility and drive.

When talking about your work experience, there are a few key tips you should follow:

• Mention the skills you demonstrated on the job.
• Quantify the impact of your work whenever possible.
• Talk specifically about your role; avoid being too general.
• Use action verbs like “owned” or “led” to highlight your leadership abilities.

Numbers truly speak louder than words, especially on your resume. By providing numerical context around your work, you show your ability to contribute meaningfully to your workplace.

Compare these two descriptions of an internship. Which do you think would be more compelling to a hiring manager?

WRONG – general work experience descriptions

Marketing Science Associates April 2020 – Current, New York NY Digital Marketing Intern

• Created testing plan for Facebook ad copy
• Built key reports for the executive team around KPIs
• Oversaw the creation of the blog for SEO purposes
• Worked closely with clients to understand their product positioning to incorporate into ad copy

RIGHT – specific, quantified descriptions

• Created A/B testing plan for Facebook ad copy, improving ROI by 15%
• Built key reports for the executive team around KPIs such as marketing spend, new leads, revenue generated, and ROI
• Oversaw the creation of the blog for SEO purposes which grew from 1,000 to 5,000 monthly organic visitors
• Worked closely with clients to understand their product positioning to incorporate into ad copy, leading to client satisfaction of 99%

Projects can be anything

If you don’t have much (or any) relevant work experience for your resume, don’t fret. You can still  create a highly effective resume  by showcasing your projects.

As a college student, you’ve likely done a lot of class projects that are relevant to the job or internship you’re looking to get. This is the perfect place to talk about those projects. You can even mention projects you completed outside of class. Talk about your goals, the methods/skills you used, and the project’s outcome.

The key is to include anything that will convince the hiring manager you have the drive, skills, and ability to translate your academic knowledge to the real world and contribute to the roles for which you’re applying.

Here are some potential projects you can work on for different majors:

Project ideas for college students

• Are you a business student? Detail a case study that you analyzed and presented in a class.
• If you’re a marketing student, you can write a short blog post about how you’d improve the paid marketing strategy for a company you admire.
• As a graphic designer, this is a great opportunity to talk about some of the projects in your portfolio.
• If you’re looking for a data analyst role, talk about how you analyzed stock data to determine areas of opportunity.
• As a human resources major, you’ve likely created processes for companies as part of a class, so talk about that.
• Software engineering students complete meaningful coding assignments all the time. Discuss one of those or talk about your side project.
• If you’re looking to break into product management, discuss a hackathon you were part of or create a case study for a feature your favorite product is missing.

Basically, the projects you include on your resume can be just about anything. They simply have to demonstrate you know what is required of the kind of role you’re applying to, and that you can meet those requirements.

Your Education Section

As a college student, it should go without saying that you need to include an education section on your resume.

Here’s what you need to include in your education section no matter what:

• The school you’re currently attending (or recently graduated from). You do not need to include your high school.
• Your graduation date (or expected graduation date). You can give just the month and year.
• The kind of degree you’re working toward (bachelor of arts, bachelor of science, master’s, etc.).
• Your field of study.

Once you include all that, there’s more flexibility. If you have a strong GPA (greater than 3.5), you should include it, too.

If you don’t have much experience yet, then you can add relevant courses or awards to your education section, provided they’re relevant to the job for which you’re applying.

For example, if you’re applying for a role as a data scientist, then it makes sense to include any math, economics, or programming classes you completed.

Here’s an example of an effective education section for a college student looking for a marketing role:

If you received any awards or honors during your time in college, list them here. These can include getting on the Dean’s List, any department-specific awards relevant to your major, or formal recognition for your work or volunteer efforts.

Resume Builder for College Students

There you have it—we’ve discussed the building blocks to help you land a job or internship as a college student!

In summary, here are the keys to making an effective resume as a college student:

• Inject your personality into your resume objective and customize it for each company to which you apply.
• Your resume format should include a header, resume objective, skills section, education, and work/ project experience.
• Include any relevant internships or part-time jobs you’ve had during college and quantify the impact of your work.
• If you don’t have much working experience, include relevant projects you’ve completed either in the classroom or on your own time.
• Your education section is your chance to highlight classes you’ve completed that will convince the hiring manager you have the right tools for the job.

Finding a job or internship as a college student can be incredibly stressful.  Building your resume  is a huge first step, so pat yourself on the back. After you’re done with the writing, you can  check your resume  against our AI-powered tips to see how your resume matches up.

Just remember, it does get easier after you get some experience first. We can’t wait to see where you’ll go!

• We’ll show you how, step-by-step • Real, practical tips and tools • 100% free

Student Resume Examples & Guide for 2024

Recently graduated and looking for a job?

Or maybe you’re still in college, applying for your first internship?

Whichever the case might be, you’ll need a strong resume to stand apart from all the competition.

And yes - the whole process can seem super scary if you don’t have a lot of work experience. 

After all, what can you even include in your resume, if you’ve never worked a day in your life?

Worry not, we’ve got your back! 

It’s actually pretty easy to create a compelling resume, even if you’re just a student starting out their career journey.

And in this guide, we’re going to teach you how. Here’s what we’re going to cover:

• All the essential sections to include in a student resume
• How to list work experience on your resume, and what to do if you don’t have any
• How to create a compelling resume that stands out (with zero work experience)
• 3 student resume examples to get you inspired (high school, student, and graduate levels)

Let’s dive in:

What to Include In a Student Resume

First things first, let’s talk about which sections to use on a student resume.

The essential sections for a student resume are:

• Contact Information.
• Resume Objective
• Work Experience (if you have any)

If you don’t have much work experience, you can also use the following optional sections to stand out:

• Volunteering
• Awards and Qualifications
• Hobbies and Interests

Of course, you don’t have to include ALL of these sections, just the ones that are relevant for your resume.

Now, let's dive into all these sections one-by-one, and explain how to do each right.

Show Contact Information on Your Resume - How-To & Examples

Contact information is the most critical section on any resume ever.

Sure, it’s not that hard to mess up, but if you make a single typo - you risk messing up your whole application because the HR manager couldn’t get in touch with you.

It goes without saying that you should double-check , and even triple-check that everything in this section is up-to-date and accurate.

Here’s what you should include in your contact information section for your student resume:

Must have information:

• First Name, Last Name - Jane Doe
• Phone Number - 451-483-6924
• Email address - [email protected]
• Location - Chicago, USA

Optional information:

• Title - Your professional title. If you don’t have a lot of experience, feel free to insert the position you’re applying for or your current position - e.g. Business Graduate 
• LinkedIn URL - Do you have an up-to-date LinkedIn profile? Mention it in your contact info! Sure, it’s not a game-changer on it’s own, but a good LinkedIn profile shows the recruiter that you’re serious about your career.
• Social Media - Do you have a published portfolio online? For developers, this could be your GitHub, for designers - your Behance or Dribbble, and so on.
• Website / Blog - Do you have some form of online presence that’s relevant to your job? Let’s say you’re applying for a job as a content writer, and you have a personal blog where you review tech products. You want to include a link to show off your writing skills.

What NOT to include:

• Date of Birth - The HR manager doesn’t need to know how old you are. Unless it was specifically requested in the job ad (e.g. bartender), keep your age off your resume.
• Headshot - Same as above, unless requested (e.g. modeling), keep your headshot off your resume. After all, you’re looking for a job, not a date!
• Unprofessional Email Address - List your professional email address (e.g. first name + last name), not whatever you made in grade school ([email protected]).

Student Resume: Summary or Objective?

Did you know that the HR manager spends around 6 seconds, on average, scanning each resume they get?

That’s right.

Your carefully worded resume just gets 6 seconds to convince the recruiter that you’re relevant.

So, how are you supposed to do that?

Why, by using a resume summary or objective, of course!

If you’re new to resumes, a summary/objective is a short statement that goes on top of your resume. It’s main use is to show the recruiter that you’re relevant in a single glance.

Here’s what that looks like:

Now, you’re probably wondering, what’s the difference between a summary, and an objective? Here’s your answer:

• Resume summary - Main focus is on your work experience. You’d use a summary if you have 2-3+ years of work experience.
• Resume objective - The focus is on your skills, education, and goals. An objective is perfect if you don’t have any work experience.

Now, let’s explain how to write each:

How to write a student resume summary

A resume summary is a 2-3 sentence summary of your career achievements and work experience that goes at the top of your resume.

You’d go for a resume summary if you got started with your career early, and already have 2-3 years of work experience (if you don’t, you just go for a resume objective! More on that later).

Here’s what a resume summary might look like for a recent college grad:

• “Recent college graduate with a B.A. in English from University X seeking an entry-level job as a content writer. Previous experience includes working as an English tutor for 2 years at University X, having worked with 100+ students, helping them improve their essays. In addition, managed a personal blog about tech, publishing over 40 articles in the last 3 years.”

Don’t have a lot of work experience?

No problem!

Here’s how to write a resume objective instead:

How to write a resume objective as a student

A resume objective , as we mentioned before, is basically the same thing as a resume summary, but with a focus on goals, objectives, skills, and education instead of work experience.

In your student resume objective, you include:

• What your field of study is.
• Relevant skills
• Why you’re applying for the position and what you can do to help .

Here’s a student resume objective done right:

• “Finance student with a 3.92 GPA seeking an entry-level Financial Analyst position at Company X. Skilled in financial data analysis, and reading financial sheets, with excellent knowledge of accounting and tax legislation. Hoping to help Company X improve their activity-based accounting techniques and grow within the company.”

Now, let’s move on to the next section: education.

Emphasize Your Education and Certificates

Education is one of those sections that sound simple to structure, but requires a lot of details.

You insert all the schools you attended in chronological order and done. You move on, right?

Not exactly.

There’s a ton of details that make up an education section.

• Does your education section go on top, or under your work experience?
• Should you mention your GPA , even if it’s not all that good?
• How do you mention your awards, honors, and so on?

See? Not quite so simple, is it?

Let’s start with the basics: how to list education on a resume , how to format it, and what to mention within.

Here’s what a typical education entry includes:

• Program Name : E.g. “B.A. in Business Administration.”
• University Name : E.g. “University of Texas at Austin”
• Years Attended : E.g. “08/2008 - 06/2010”
• (Optional) GPA : E.g. “3.9 GPA” 
• (Optional) Honors : E.g. “Cum Laude, Magna Cum Laude”.
• (Optional) Academic Achievements : E.g. any interesting projects or papers you’ve written.
• (Optional) Minor : E.g. “Minor in Psychology.”

Here’s what that might look like on a real resume:

If you don’t have much relevant work experience, make sure to put your education section on top of work experience.

And finally, here’s some other essential tips on your education section:

• Mention your latest educational entry on top.
• If you have a university degree, don’t mention your high school at all.
• ONLY mention GPA if you had an impressive academic career (i.e. 3.5 GPA or higher).

Now, let’s move on to the next section on your student resume: work experience.

How to List Your Work Experience as a Student

When applying for a job, the number one thing recruiters want to know is if you can really do it right.

And one sure way to check that is to look at your past experience .

But what if you don’t have any?

Don’t worry, we’ll cover that below!

If you DO have work experience, here’s how you list it on a student resume:

How to list work experience as a student

When listing your previous jobs, you should follow a reverse-chronological order, and go with the standard work experience format.

Which is as follows:

• Job Title and Position - The first section the HR manager will check. To keep things simple, you can just use the exact name you saw in the job ad you’re applying for.
• Company Name, Description, Location - Describe the company in 1-2 sentences, and be sure to mention the location (country, city) of the firm too.
• Dates Employed - Simply list how long you worked at the previous role for. If you don’t remember the exact dates, feel free to give an approximate. Standard format for dates is: mm/yyyy 
• Achievements and Responsibilities - When possible, you should always list achievements over responsibilities. After all, the HR probably already knows what your responsibilities are. And with achievements, you should list any specific changes you made possible (use data and numbers!), that the HR manager could apply to their company. 

And here’s what that looks like in practice:

• For more tips and tricks on how to best present your work experience, check out our complete guide to the work experience section.

Student Resume FAQ

• Should you list irrelevant work experience in a student resume?

Most students don’t have much professional work experience.

What they DO have is some experience doing part-time work during university, summer break, etc.

So, you’re probably wondering, is your part-time summer server experience something you mention in your resume?

The answer is yes.

Even though the experience is probably not relevant for the job you’re applying for, it shows the recruiter that you have SOME work experience.

2. What to do if you don’t have any work experience?

Here’s the thing:

Most college students don’t!

And this shouldn’t stop you.

For most entry-level jobs, the HR manager knows that the candidates are students with not much work experience (and that’s OK!).

Instead of work experience, you can focus on the following sections:

• Internships - Have you done an internship that’s relevant for the position you’re applying for? Here’s your chance to mention it. Format it like the work experience section (see above).
• Extracurricular Activities - If you still have a lot of empty space in your college resume, extracurricular activities are always a great addition. Whether they’re related to your job or not, they still show that you’re passionate and hard-working. Activities can include anything from personal projects to organizations or groups you’re part of.
• Volunteering Experience - Volunteering shows that you have a cause that you care about (and that you’re willing to work for it!). And there’s nothing a recruiter loves more than a dedicated employee. Whether you spent some time at the soup kitchen, or just helped collect trash in the parks, you can always mention your experience in your resume!
• Projects - Finally, in this section, you can add just about any type of project you’ve participated in, as long as it’s relevant. Graduation thesis, coursework or personal projects, all of that goes here.

Here’s a student resume example that focuses on volunteer experience and personal projects instead of work experience:

Best Skills to Mention on a Student Resume 

Another must-have section for your college resume is the Skills section .

Here, you want to mention your expertise and why you’re the perfect candidate for the job.

How do you do that?

Let’s take a look.

There are 2 types of skills you can mention:

• Soft Skills (Personal Skills) : These are a mix of social, communication, and other personal traits. For example, leadership, critical thinking, time-management, so on.
• Hard Skills (Measurable Abilities) : These are your measurable abilities. So, anything from baking to complex machinery skills.

A good resume should aim for a mix of both, soft and hard skills.

And if written correctly, the skill section can look something like this:

Now, when listing skills on your resume, here are a few essential tips to keep in mind:

• List hard skills with experience levels . For each skill you list, you can mention your proficiency at it as well (i.e. from beginner to expert).
• Keep it relevant and tailored to the job . You might have some awesome and rare skills, but they’re not always going to be useful. You wouldn’t talk about your accounting skills in a marketing job, right?
• Include some Universal skills. There are skills that are bound to be useful pretty much anywhere. These are both soft skills (communication, teamwork, etc.) and hard skills (Photoshop, Powerpoint, writing, etc.). Whatever job you’re applying to, these skills will probably come in handy.

And for a student resume , here are a few of some of the top skills almost every single employer will value:

• Verbal and Written Communication.
• Adaptability
• Punctuality.
• Organization.
• Flexibility.
• Problem-solving abilities.
• Motivation.
• Persuasion.
• Time-management.

Now, you might be wondering - but isn’t just about everyone ‘communicative’ and ‘flexible’?

And you’d be right!

Mentioning buzzword skills only for the sake of sounding smart will get you nowhere.

To really show that you do have these skills, you want to back them up with the rest of your resume.

For example, if you say you have “critical thinking” as a skill, you could have a work experience section that emphasizes that.

In other words: show, don’t tell.

Now, if you have some space left in your student resume, here are some other ‘nice-to-have’ optional sections you could mention.

5 Other Awesome Sections to Include in a Student Resume

The sections we’ve covered so far are essential for any student resume.

They’re going to be your bread-and-butter. Get those sections right, and you’ll land any job you apply to.

But consider the following situation:

The HR manager has to make a decision between 2 near-identical student resumes, with very similar work experience and backgrounds.

Even if the following sections might not be relevant at first glance, they might end up being the deciding factor between you getting the job or not.

You should only ever mention the following sections in your student resume - IF you have the space for them.

Hobbies and interests

Why would I want to include my hobbies in my resume, you might ask? 

Sure, it’s not going to be the section that gets you hired.

It will, however, give the recruiter some insight on what you’re like as a person, and what are your interests.

When the hiring manager is faced with 2 near-identical resumes from 2 equally-qualified candidates , the deciding factor might come down to your personality and interests .

• Not sure which hobbies to mention in your resume? Check out our comprehensive guide on 40+ hobbies and interests to put on your resume for a full list!

This one’s pretty simple.

Are you bilingual? Maybe even trilingual?

You should ALWAYS mention that in your resume!

Most companies are pretty international nowadays. And even if the position you’re applying for doesn’t need any specific language skills, it can still come in handy at some point.

To list languages in your resume, simply write them down and assign them the appropriate level:

• Proficient.
• Intermediate.

It goes without saying that you should never lie about your language skills.

You never know when the interviewer might turn out to be fluent in the language.

Awards and Certifications

Do you have a piece of paper with your name on it that says why you’re so smart and qualified?

It could be an award from a competition, or an online certificate .

Whichever the case, as long as it’s relevant to your job - you can include it in your resume to further back up your expertise.

Publications

Are you a freelance writer? Or worked with your university’s student paper?

You can include any relevant works you published (online, academic journal, etc.) with an URL in a publications section.

Extracurricular activities

Still have some space on your resume and an activity or two that you didn’t get to mention until now?

Extracurricular activities are always a great addition.

Whether they’re related to the job or not, they’ll still show one thing:

You’re hard-working and committed.

Here’s what that might look like on a resume:

Public Speaking Club

Founder and President

09/2018 - 09/2019

• Founded club to help fellow students improve at public speaking and promote discussion-based events.
• Organized 5+ public speaking lectures.
• Brought in professors from the university and organized 2 speaking workshops.

You get the point.

3 Job-Winning College Student Resume Examples

Looking for more resume inspiration?

Check out the 3 different student resumes below to see what a job-winning resume might look like.

College Resume Example

M.A. Student Resume Example

High School Resume Example

Key Takeaways

And there you go.

That’s how you create a powerful student resume from scratch!

Now, let’s quickly summarize everything we’ve learned so far:

• Don’t have much work experience? No worries - recruiters don’t look for any in entry-level candidates.
• Want to stand out without work experience? Focus on one of the following instead: extracurricular activities, internships, projects, and volunteering experience.
• Need some inspiration? Check out the student resume examples we mentioned above!

Need some more guidance on everything job-search? Check out our career blog for the latest industry-leading advice and more actionable guides.

Recommended reading: 

• 43+ Resume Tips and Tricks to Land Your Next Job in 2024
• 35+ Common Interview Questions and Answers [Complete List]
• Best Resume Formats for 2024 [3+ Professional Templates]

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Free resume template for students and new grads

Download this professional resume template and get started building your resume.

Creating your first professional resume can feel intimidating. So, we’re here to help make it easier! We’ve created this free resume template to get you started. Just follow the steps to download, and then plug in your information to create a resume that recruiters will notice. And check our guide to creating a student or new grad resume with tips on what to include, and some important do’s and don’ts.

Want personalized guidance on your resume? Don't forget to consult your school's career services center !

The resume template includes:

Contact information: Type your first and last name, city and state, phone number and email address. Additional links, like an online portfolio, that are relevant to the roles you’re applying for also go in this section.

Summary: While optional, this “highlight reel” can help grab the employer’s attention and show why you’re a great candidate.

Education: Include your school name, major, degree, and your graduation month and year (or expected date). You can also list academic honors or awards, and courses you’ve taken or major projects completed that are relevant to the job.

Experience: List your experience in reverse chronological order—meaning the most recent experience goes first. If you don’t have a lot of previous work or internship experience, emphasize your involvement with clubs and organizations, volunteering opportunities, and other ways you’ve taken on leadership positions.

Skills: Include technical skills and soft skills—employers are looking for both in potential job candidates.

To create your resume:

• View the free resume template document .
• Click File in the upper left-hand corner.
• You can Make a Copy in Google docs or Download as a Word document.

4. If you made a copy, create a name for it and click OK .

5. Fill in your information. 6. Save your resume as a PDF and upload it to your Handshake profile !

Find the right jobs for you. Get hired.

Related stories, most recent stories.

• ResumeBuild
• Student Resume

Try our high school and college resume builder for free

• Land a job or a spot at school with our library of easy-to-use resume templates
• Make your resume in minutes with simple step-by-step instructions just for students
• Get pre-written examples and use expert tips to make the process a breeze

Level Up Your Student Resume With Professional Templates

Impress hiring managers and schools with a clean-cut, classic resume that makes your strengths and achievements shine.

Professional

Worried that your resume won’t be taken seriously as a high school or college student? This resume template’s sharp format frames you as an up-and-coming professional to watch.

With its compelling icons and thoughtful use of color, the Cool resume template is a top choice for anyone looking to create an attention-grabbing resume.

Charm hiring managers and schools with an ultra-modern student resume that instantly conveys why you’re a candidate worth interviewing.

Contemporary

You want to be a leader of tomorrow, so shouldn't your student resume look equally forward-thinking? The Contemporary’s eye-catching but refined looks can help you prove you’re a trailblazer.

Effortlessly stand out from the crowd with the Awesome resume template’s unique two-column design and easy-to-read format.

How to Write a Resume Objective or Summary for your Student Resume

In order to impress schools and hiring managers from the get-go, your resume needs to have a strong opening section. That’s why we strongly recommend including a resume summary at the top of your resume, underneath your contact information.

In the past, applicants for schools or jobs could choose between writing a resume objective or a resume summary. Now, resume experts generally agree that including a resume objective is no longer in line with best practice. The reason is that a resume objective essentially highlights your goals as a candidate. In contrast, a resume summary conveys how you will be able to support the school or company you’re applying for to meet their goals.

So what exactly is a resume summary, then? A resume summary is the first major section of your resume. It should succinctly present the case for why you’re an ideal candidate for the position or school you’re applying for. 

As it should only be two to four sentences long, you will need to focus only on your most relevant qualities and attributes that make you an attractive candidate or prospective student.

In order to write a strong resume objective or summary, you must make two things crystal clear:

• What the academic or professional position is you are applying for 
• What makes you the best person to fulfill it

Let’s start with the first part. You should clearly state the purpose of your application. For example, you may wish to:

• Study at a particular college or join a particular program/course 
• Be hired for a job at a college fair or internship fair 
• Be hired as an entry-level worker or summer worker

Next, you must summarize some of the standout qualities and attributes that make you worth considering for the given role. The qualities and attributes you highlight should be directly relevant to the role and should be expanded on in the other sections of your resume. You can mention such things as your:

• Educational background
• Academic achievements
• Soft and hard skills
• Work experiences
• Volunteer work
• Any other standout achievements

Try your best to use keywords from the job advertisement or school application to demonstrate that you possess the very qualities and attributes the hiring manager or school is looking for. 

Keywords are words or phrases within a job ad or school application that represent what the hiring manager or school are looking for from their ideal candidate. Keywords can include particular competencies, skills, experiences, attributes, studies, and so on.

How to Write a Work Experience Section for your Student Resume

The work experience section is perhaps the resume section that students dread the most when creating their high school resume or college resume. The reason is that many students don’t know where to begin or may not have held a job before. 

The good news is that writing a compelling work experience section really isn’t as difficult as it seems - even if you’ve never been in the working world before. In either case, the most important thing is to make sure your work experience section sounds as relevant as possible to the given job or educational opportunity you are applying for. 

If you don’t have any work experience at all, don’t stress! You can instead focus on your: 

• Volunteer work 
• School activities
• Side projects

Spend time brainstorming how to present these experiences in a way that makes them as relevant as possible to the job or school you are applying for. 

For example, did you demonstrate any soft or hard skills that will be useful to the role or your studies? Or maybe you achieved something that showcases what an excellent employee or student you will be? Remember, framing is everything when it comes to your resume! You can do this by integrating keywords that apply to your experiences throughout this section. This will help you to work out what professional experiences will capture the hiring manager or school’s attention. 

However, be sure to steer clear of ‘keyword stuffing’! This term is used to describe when people unnaturally add keywords to their resume in order to game the system. Always integrate keywords in a natural-sounding way and only use those that genuinely apply to your skills and experiences. 

It’s also important to think about this section as a way to showcase your very best professional achievements in each past position. That is, instead of just listing what you did, focus on conveying how your actions and skills made a positive difference.

In order to make your achievements shine, you will need to: 

• Start each one with a verb (action word).
• Make them short and snappy: Stick to one sentence each.
• Quantify them using numbers, percentages, and examples where possible.

For each position you include in this section, you will need to state the title you held, the company name, and the dates you worked there.

If you’re unsure of how to format your work experience section, simply use one of our expert-designed resume templates and our resume builder to ensure you get it right. You can also check out the expert tips for writing your work experience section we’ve included within our resume builder .

How to Write a Skills Section for Your Student Resume

Just like your work experience section, your resume’s skills section should be as relevant as possible to the position or educational opportunity you are applying for. 

Analyze the job ad or school application to identify skill-based keywords. You may wish to print out the job ad or school application and physically highlight these words to make it easier for you to work out which keywords to focus on.

Keep in mind that there are two types of skills to look out for:

• Soft skills: Those related to your interpersonal or communication skills.
• Hard skills: Technical, practical skills.

You will need to include a balance of both to show that you’re a well-rounded candidate. Think carefully about which ones are most applicable to your skillset and the job or school at hand, and list 6 to 8 of the most relevant ones in this section. 

Don’t forget you will also need to integrate skills throughout your work experience section too.

If you’re finding it hard to come up with relevant skills to add to your high school or college resume, don’t worry. Our resume builder has hundreds of examples of skills you can simply click and add to your resume.

Again, if you want to see how to effectively format this section, check out one of our many resume templates.

How to Write an Education & Coursework Section for your Student Resume

Your education & coursework section is one of the most important sections in your high school resume or college resume.

Even if an application does not specifically ask you to share your educational background on your resume, it is generally expected that you will. After all, your studies help to paint a picture of your knowledge, skills, interests, and academic abilities. 

As you can see from our library of resume templates, there are a few different ways that you can format your education & coursework section. That said, the general format of this section is as follows: [High School or College Name]

[Dates attended] 

[Subject studied (optional)]

If you want to guarantee you don’t make any formatting errors, just use our resume builder to create your resume! 

How to Write an Awards & Achievements Section for your Student Resume

Want to take your student resume to the next level? Adding an awards & achievements section is an easy way to capture attention. 

Before you say, “But I don’t have any awards or achievements!” take a moment to think back on your studies so far. Chances are that you have much more to highlight than you first realize. Here are a few ideas to get you thinking:

• Your GPA (If 3.5 or higher)
• Being part of the student body
• Academic awards
• Professional awards
• Valedictorian and Dean’s lists
• Being in the top X% of your class/course
• Professional achievements e.g. selling X amount of products or increasing profits by Y%
• Relevant school/college societies or groups you are part of
• Scholarships
• Any journals you have been published in or research papers you have written
• Relevant non-profit work you have completed (such as volunteering and fundraising)

So how can you correctly format this section of your resume?

You can list each award or achievement, along with the date you received/achieved it and any other specifics that would help the person reading it better understand why the award or achievement is relevant. 

If you are short on space, you can feature your academic awards and achievements in your education & coursework section instead.

Related Student Resume Examples & Samples

Take a look at the following tried-and-tested resume examples and samples for inspiration.

When you’re ready to make your own impressive high school or college resume, our state-of-the-art resume builder will guide you every step of the way.

College Student Resume

High School Student Resume

Internship Resume

Ultimate Guide to Writing Your College Essay

Tips for writing an effective college essay.

College admissions essays are an important part of your college application and gives you the chance to show colleges and universities your character and experiences. This guide will give you tips to write an effective college essay.

Want free help with your college essay?

UPchieve connects you with knowledgeable and friendly college advisors—online, 24/7, and completely free. Get 1:1 help brainstorming topics, outlining your essay, revising a draft, or editing grammar.

Writing a strong college admissions essay

Learn about the elements of a solid admissions essay.

Avoiding common admissions essay mistakes

Learn some of the most common mistakes made on college essays

Brainstorming tips for your college essay

Stuck on what to write your college essay about? Here are some exercises to help you get started.

How formal should the tone of your college essay be?

Learn how formal your college essay should be and get tips on how to bring out your natural voice.

Taking your college essay to the next level

Hear an admissions expert discuss the appropriate level of depth necessary in your college essay.

Student Stories

Student Story: Admissions essay about a formative experience

Get the perspective of a current college student on how he approached the admissions essay.

Student Story: Admissions essay about personal identity

Get the perspective of a current college student on how she approached the admissions essay.

Student Story: Admissions essay about community impact

Student story: admissions essay about a past mistake, how to write a college application essay, tips for writing an effective application essay, sample college essay 1 with feedback, sample college essay 2 with feedback.

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