Tips for Creating a Resume as a College Student

Resumes are important - they’re your ticket to applying for jobs, internships, clubs, and more. Crafting a resume in college, however, is something that many students find tricky. Although many students have a resume from high school, college is a major transition point, so it’s only natural that your resume should transition with you. If you’re struggling to create a new resume for yourself in college, here are some tips to keep in mind.

Building a College Student Resume

Prioritize recent experiences.

Especially early in your college career, you may find that the extracurriculars or internships you participated in during high school are more impressive than those you’ve done in college. It is great to keep these experiences on your resume during your first two years at college, but make sure that your resume isn’t dominated by your accomplishments from high school. The individuals reviewing your resume want to see what you’re currently involved with, not just what you were involved with in the past.

Include a variety of experiences.

While in college, it is alright for your resume to include experience outside of your area of academic interest. Although it is important to demonstrate your interest in your given field, it is also perfectly fine to include extracurriculars or internships that fall outside of this realm. Many college students are involved in activities outside of their career goals, and demonstrating these is a great way to show that you have transferable skills. So, if you’re wondering, go ahead and include that sport or club that you think isn’t relevant. With the right wording, it will demonstrate your ability to work as part of a team or be a leader.

Consider including relevant coursework.

If you’ve taken any classes that provide you with skills or knowledge specific to your area of academic interest, consider including them in your resume. This is a great way to show that you’re well-versed in specific topics that companies may be looking for in their applicants.

Identify your skills.

The “skills” section of your resume can be difficult to tackle. What counts as a skill, anyway? Almost everyone has something that they can consider a skill, so don’t limit yourself. Skills are generally said to come in two forms - soft skills and hard skills. Soft skills often include communication and interpersonal skills, like teamwork, time management, or conflict resolution. If your resume includes experiences that have built these skills (it almost certainly does), then don’t be afraid to include them! Hard skills are typically more technical skills, and include things like software or language proficiency. Make sure you consider any classes that have given you a background in any software applications, like Microsoft Suite, Python or other programming languages, or GIS. These are skills that can be valuable in a work setting, so make sure to include them.

Keep it simple.

If in doubt, keep it simple. It can be tempting to use a fun or creative template for your resume, but unless the field you’re involved with is specifically related to graphic design, avoid using them. Instead, opt for a simple and classic resume format. Not only does this put the focus on your accomplishments, it also mitigates the possibility of your resume becoming jumbled during uploading or downloading processes. This rule can also apply to the language you use. Although it is important to use strong vocabulary and active words, avoid being overly wordy or verbose. Get straight to the point of what you’re trying to say.