How to Write a Resume for a Student (College or University Graduate and High School Student)

Tips, Examples, and Samples on Writing a Strong Resume 

Students and College Graduates might ask, “ how can I make a resume with no job experience?”. If you are a high school or college graduate student with little or no work experience, there are a few simple tips & strategies to get your resume ready for future employers. Things to highlight? Focus on your education, your educational achievements, extracurricular activities, volunteer work, and other similar experiences. 

1) Collect Your Information & Get Organized    

Get out a pen and list all your information from the categories below in rough notes. After you have jotted down all your resume information, re-organized everything by adding dates, details, and listing all in chronological order. Your resume chronological order should have the most recent achievements listed first.

2) Check Out Other Applications 

Look at other student resume samples and examples. Never copy an example or sample resume but look for what you like about the resume and imagine how you could make your resume better. Find your resume inspiration and expand on it. Your resume represents you - show your best foot forward.

3) Find a Great Resume Design   

Choose a great resume template from The Art of Resume. The best resume templates are well-formatted, simple, and clear. There should be an effective use of space including blank space. The blank space should frame the body and bulk of your resume.  An easy-to-read resume should showcase your qualifications.

What is a resume and why do you need one?

A resume is what you use to market yourself to a potential employer. A resume will get you a job interview and is what will separate and define you from other potential candidates.

SIMPLE RESUME TEMPLATE EXAMPLES

SIMPLE RESUME TEMPLATE EXAMPLES

11 Resume Sections For A High School Student, College Student, or Someone with No Job Experience

Your student resume should be broken down into sections. Here are some resume sections:  

1)  Student Resume Header

Your first name and last name. Keep your name at the top of the resume. Your name should be bold and eye-catching. Stick with a simple, readable font. It does not have to fill up the full top of the resume but should be balanced with blank space surrounding it.

2)  Student Resume Contact Section

This resume section should contain:

1. Telephone number
2. Your Location – City, Province/State or province (Possibly your country if it differs from job application location)
3. Email – It is important to have a professional one. This means NO – hotstuff66@yada.com. Keep your resume email name professional. It is not necessary to have a personal email domain but it should look professional. If you have decided to invest in your email domain, it is important to keep it short and simple.
4. Linkedin URL – This is more necessary for a college and university graduate student but not necessary for a high school student or graduate. If you have a specific career focus, it is in your best interest to have a Linkedin profile and URL for your resume contact information.

3)  Student Resume Summary - Professional Profile - Career Summary - Qualifications Summary 

Your resume summary is where you give a brief breakdown of your most notable qualifications that will tell an employer that you are the most qualified person for the position. As a student, focus on your academic achievements, your extracurricular and personal interests, and any specific skills that can directly benefit the job for which you are applying. Your soft skills such as communication and empathy can also be listed relative to your life experience. Keep in mind, that this section is a short and fast read. List only your top 3-4 best achievements, past relevant experience, or core strength and skills. Remember to include similar keywords to the keywords found in the job advertisement.

4)  Student Resume Education Section

Keep your educational section near the start of your resume. As a college graduate or high school graduate, this is where you have recently received the most current and viable credentials for the job application.

Your resume school section should list:

a) University Name, College Name, or High School Name

b) City, State or Province, Country

c) Your main studies (if applicable)

d) The year and/or intended date of graduation

Be sure to include any studies that will correlate positively on the job position. Academic awards and achievements should be included. A high GPA should be included as well as any completed projects that would sell yourself as a feasible employee.

5)  Student Resume Job Experience - Experience Section - Internship Experience

You might think that your job experience (if any) has no relation to the job position to which you are applying, this is not true. Look closer at your work tasks and responsibilities - you will find positive parallels. Look for correlating things like responsibility, tasks, or training. You do not need to include every small job, just the most relevant. Internships, summer jobs, and part-time jobs are all relevant if you can find complementary relationships to the future job. Base your resume keywords on the job application keywords. Bring attention to your most outstanding achievements. If you can, show any quantifiable results, it is important to mention any real numbers on your resume. How do you show this on your college graduate or high school resume? Here is an example) Increased sales by 5% in applying new methods of customer profiling. Make sure that your resume is in bullet formation. The easier your resume is to read, the better.

6)  Student Resume Volunteer

Dedicating personal time in assisting for the betterment of charity or organizations is a great addition to your student or college graduate resume. Selflessness shows a soon-to-be employer that you are willing and able to do a job.

7)  Student Resume Related Experiences - Extracurricular Activities

As a student or college graduate, be sure to focus on any times that you were a team leader. Were you a captain of a sports team or president of a school club? Make sure that you tailor each experience to relate to the job to which you are applying.

8)  Student Resume Hard Skills

Skills like these are easy to quantify or teachable skills. Normally, you learn hard skills through books, a classroom, workshop, or another source of training. Some examples of a heard skill might be a foreign language, a degree or certificate, computer programming, typing speed, ability to operate a specific machine, bookkeeping, mathematics, or managing projects.

9)  Student Resume Soft Skills

While having less impact than a hard skill on a resume, soft skills are still an important aspect of your resume. In summary, soft skill is often known as people skills or Interpersonal skills. Examples of soft skills are communication, flexibility, leadership, collaborative work, analytical reasoning, positive attitude, self-motivated, or conflict management. Be sure that you can back up your claims during an interview. 

10)  Student Resume Section - Technical or Computer Skills

Always include all of your known technical or computer-based skills and programs. Some examples of this are your typing speed, Mac or PC platform oriented, Microsoft Office, creating PowerPoint presentations, Adobe Photoshop, graphic design, coding, or web design.

11) Student Resume Section for About Me

This is an important section for any future employer and can give real insight if you will be a good fit, not just for the position but also for the company. Company culture is an important part of many companies new working strategies. Look through the company’s website and see what activities and type of working culture being nurtured – health, socializing, brainstorming. It’s beneficial to mention if you are part of a club (example: chess club, bird watching club), or active in a sport (example: marathon running or track and field). Your “About Me” section on your resume will give a personal insight into how you will fit into their company and work culture. 

BOTTOM LINE:

Employers know that “who you are” is ultimately more important than “what you know”  Your education and skills show a future employer that you have the determination to set and achieve goals……but your effectiveness in your new job will depend on your ability to get along with your fellow workers and customers.

College Graduate or High School Student Resume Action Verbs and Methods of Speech

As a student or College graduate, you can use strong action verbs to create a more noteworthy resume. When resume writing, it is important that you avoid any weak or passive verbs.

Bad Example: Lacks Strength and Clarity: Had weekly meetings to go over project updates.

Good Example: Detailed and Empowering: Spearheaded weekly meeting to clarify current projects.

Examples Of Action Words That You Can Use In Your Resume

Four College Graduate or High School Student Resume Methods of Speech (4 Things to Remember)

1. Your student resume should always be consistent in one tense per section. If you are writing about past studies, et al., your resume should be past tense. If you are writing about your current studies or activities, you need to write in the present tense.
2. Your resume should not include any weak clichés or colloquial jargon.
3. Keep your student resume simple and readable to an average reader.
4. Do not use uncommon terminology on your resume unless it directly applies to the job position. 

Four Ways to Review Your Student Resume

1. Proofreading is the most important part of finalizing your resume. Read over your resume at least 2-3 times. Give yourself time in between each resume read, which gives you a fresh view each time
2. Use resources like Grammarly for resume writing assistance. Grammarly is a free and great option for checking your resume.
3. Always use your word processing Programs like Microsoft Word, Apple Pages, or Google Docs all have spell checks you can use to while writing your resume.
4. Colleges and high schools will often have a campus career office that can double-check your resume. Look for an alumnus in the same field that might look over your resume. 

Things to Remember On Your Student Resume

• Your student resume must always have a readable font. Classic, common fonts are often better to use as their readability factor is consistent. Some strong and legible fonts to think about: Arial, Time New Roman, Calibri, Helvetica, Cambria.

• Always keep the information on your LinkedIn, website, blog, cover letter, and resume consistent.

• Keep your resume looking simple, modern, and professional. A well-organized resume will be framed with a balanced amount of blank space. Remember: Too much blank space might make your resume lacking in appeal. Always look at samples and examples of which template you would like to represent your best face forward.

GOOD LUCK!!!!

Recommended Reading:

5 Examples to Quantify Your 2019 Resume (Simple)

10 Smart Ways to Add Value to Your Professional Resume in 2019 (Plus 10 No-Nos!)

How to Write a Killer Modern Cover Letter in 2019 (Examples & Samples)