Resume Writing Guide for College Graduates and Students

Fortunately, Maryville University Online provides you with all the information you need to create a strong resume as a college student, no matter what you’re applying for. This guide will go over the importance of a resume, things you should and shouldn’t include on it, how you should organize and format your resume, as well as addition tips for proper formatting. Whether you’re looking to submit an application to a master’s program or find your dream job after completing your bachelor’s degree, here’s your guide to writing and optimizing the perfect resume.

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines the word “resume” as a “summary; curriculum vitae; a set of accomplishments.” Though succinct and clear, this definition does not properly explain what this document is, what purpose it serves in the professional world, and why it is so important.

A resume is a brief list of your education, work experience (including internships and volunteer experience), skills, and relevant certifications and qualifications. Typically, you hand out a resume when looking for a job, though you may also need to submit a resume when applying for graduate school, internships, or another academic program. Hiring managers then look over this document to determine if applicants are qualified for the posted position.

Hiring managers and recruiters only spend an average of six seconds reviewing an individual resume before deciding if a candidate is qualified or not. Your resume may be your only chance to make an impression on the recruiter. And when you only have a few seconds to convince someone that you are a good fit for this position before they move on, your resume becomes one of the most important documents you submit with your application. Essentially, it can be the difference between getting an interview and never hearing back about your application.

As a college student, you may have some trouble deciding what to put on your resume. You may be worried about not having any previous work experience or how to look professional enough to catch the recruiter’s eye. As you begin to think about what skills and experiences you want to highlight, you might wonder what information even belongs on your resume. But no matter what you’re applying for or your level of experience, there are several sections and pieces of information every resume should include to make it as strong as possible.

First and foremost, you should start your resume off with your name and contact information clearly listed at the top. This section should always contain your first and last name, a current phone number, a current and professional email address, and a link to your professional portfolio or website if you have one. Ideally, your name should appear as the largest header on the page, and your subsequent contact information should take up one line of space, up to two at the most.

In the past, listing your full address on your resume was the norm, as many employers communicated with candidates through the mail. Now that most job communications are online, it may not be necessary to include it. If you have privacy concerns or don’t feel comfortable sharing your address, simply list your city and state. You can always provide that information later in the application process.

If you are a current college student or recent graduate, you should put a section detailing your education directly after your contact information. This part of your resume will be most relevant and easiest for you to use to your advantage, especially if you are applying for an entry-level job related to your degree or an academic program.

In this section, you should disclose:

You should include this information in reverse-chronological order, from most to least recent. For example, your master’s degree should be listed above your bachelor’s degree. Keep in mind that if you have a higher degree, such as a doctorate, it’s not necessary to share information about your high school education.

In addition to your education, your work experience is one of the most important aspects of your resume. If you have an extensive employment history, only include the most relevant positions. On the other hand, if you have had little work experience, be sure to list all of your previous and current positions, even if the field you worked in is not related to the position or academic program you’re applying for. This can still show potential employers that you can successfully get hired and hold a paid position.

Begin this section by listing out your paid job experience in reverse-chronological order. Don’t forget to detail:

The bullet points should highlight experience that is relevant to the position you are applying for, or that showcases your particular talents and skills in that role. If applicable, including any statistics or figures related to your achievements can also help you stand out and make your resume easier to read. For instance, if you helped increase sales of a certain product, make note of how large that increase was with the appropriate percentage or figure.

Internships are another key section of any resume for current or prospective college students and recent graduates. An unpaid internship can still show employers that you have the skills necessary to succeed, as well as some amount of both academic and professional experience.

You can create a separate section for your internships or list them under your job history, depending on your job history. If you’ve had only one internship and several paid positions, it may be better to place them in the same section. However, if you’ve only had internships, you should devote an entire portion of your resume just to them. Be sure to share the same information about an internship as you would a paid job.

Volunteer work can also be a great addition to an academic or student resume. No matter what kind of volunteering you’ve done, it can help your resume stand out from other candidates. The Corporation for National and Community Service found that people who volunteered while unemployed had a 27 percent better chance of finding employment than those who didn’t.

Volunteering can help fill gaps in your employment history, or, similar to internships, act as an employment history in and of itself. If you only have experience volunteering, build an entire section of your resume detailing the organization you worked for, how long you spent contributing your time there, and the most pertinent responsibilities you had. Only include your volunteer work with your job history if it is directly related to the position or program you are applying for.

Regardless of your employment history, previous internships, or volunteer work, you should build an entire section of your resume to discuss your skills. This is a chance to persuade the recruiter or application reviewer that you have the knowledge and talents necessary for this role, even if you don’t have a lot of professional or academic experience.

You want to find the right balance of both hard and soft skills. For example, disclose your familiarity with certain computer programs or softwares, but also highlight your excellent ability to communicate with others. In addition, try to include skills listed in the job posting or that are directly relevant to what you are applying for. If a research you’re interested in states they need someone who is detail-oriented, for instance, don’t hesitate to emphasize your own attention to detail.

Though there are sections you should include on every resume, there are optional ones you may or may not want to add. Depending on what you are applying for, these sections can either bring a greater depth to your resume, or overwhelm more relevant information. What can strengthen your application for one position can weaken it for another. Use your own discretion when deciding what to include, as each job, internship, and academic program is unique.

Just as there is information you should always put on your resume, there are several items you should exclude from this document, whether you’re submitting an application for a scholarship or a part-time job. While some information may simply be unnecessary for a recruiter, certain information may actively harm your chances of being selected. Though there are exceptions to every rule, generally speaking, some items you should avoid putting on your resume include:

Social media has become increasingly popular over the years, and can even be relevant in the professional world. In fact, a report from Business Insider has found that Americans spend roughly 20 percent of their total time online on social media platforms, both on desktop and mobile devices.

Though social media is commonplace nowadays, it doesn’t necessarily belong on your resume. Sometimes, though, adding a brief section devoted to your various profiles can make you stand out to any recruiters and remind them that you are a person, not just the piece of paper in front of them.

There are a few things you should consider before listing your profiles on your resume or ruling them out altogether, such as:

Think over these questions and evaluate each of your profiles in turn. You may even decide to list some, but not all, of your accounts on various platforms, depending on what purpose they serve in your academic and professional endeavors. Whatever you decide, keep in mind that people are likely looking at your digital life, especially if you are applying for an academic program or job. Be sure to display only what you are comfortable with potential employers seeing.

If you’re only going to include one of your social media profiles on your resume, it should be LinkedIn. This network is one of the simplest ways you can connect with others online in a professional context. Not only does being on LinkedIn show that you are actively engaging with your field and community, it demonstrates that you care about your overall branding and online image.

However, simply having an active profile isn’t enough; it must be optimized to stand out and be as effective as possible. Some optimization basics include:

Do your best to make your profile as complete as possible while showcasing your professional achievements and goals. Don’t forget to show off your personality too, as people who view your profile are doing so to get to know you.

Depending on how you use it, Twitter is one of the most appropriate social media profiles to include on your resume after LinkedIn. On Twitter, you can showcase your various interests and your engagement with your professional niche online. This can show recruiters that you are outgoing and active in your chosen industry on your own time.

If you do choose to add your Twitter handle to your resume, be sure your profile is regularly active, doesn’t have any profanities or grammar mistakes, and doesn’t showcase your personal opinions on polarizing or sensitive issues. An inactive profile riddled with inappropriate language or grammatical errors may do more harm than good if you put it on your resume.

Among American users, Facebook is the most popular social media platform. It is also highly connected to your personal life, and may not be the best profile to include on a professional or academic resume. Though this website has settings that allow you to hide certain parts of your profile while highlighting others, it may still not be appropriate to add it. Unless your Facebook profile is directly related to the position or program you are applying for, or contains more professional content than personal, you may want to leave it off. If it does have some value to your ambitions, and you can hide your personal information, it can still be a great addition to your resume.

You should also think carefully about whether or not your Instagram profile belongs on your resume. While it can be an effective platform for marketing and personal branding, its visual nature may make it more difficult to use for professional or academic purposes.

If you are pursuing a creative position or degree program, such as art or digital media, including your Instagram may bolster your entire application. You can use it as an opportunity to highlight your artistic skills in another medium or add even more depth to your portfolio. But if your profile is mostly pictures of you, your friends, and your family, it’s probably better to leave it off.

Similar to Facebook and Instagram, you’ll want to think carefully before listing your YouTube channel on your resume. Depending on your niche or what you are applying for, YouTube can be a powerful way to put your expertise on display. You can use it to establish the persona you want and cultivate an image that sets you apart from others. If you do not use your YouTube profile to further your professional and academic goals, though, it likely won’t serve you well if you put in on your resume.

While each platform has its own pros and cons, Snapchat is probably the one that is most difficult to include in a professional setting. Many of its features involve sharing live content that disappears quickly, so it’s trickier to tailor it in a way that would be advantageous to your ambitions. Recruiters may never see that perfect picture or video that you want them to. Further, be sure not to post anything inappropriate or unprofessional after giving out your handle to potential employers. However, if you can curate your profile in a way that works in your favor, it’s still worth putting on your resume.

Having strong content on your resume is important, but so is formatting and organizing it correctly. Even if your resume is well-written, the wrong format may cause a recruiter to reject you outright. But the right resume format can help highlight your strengths while minimizing your weaknesses, in addition to catching the recruiter’s eye.

There is no universal format that will work for everyone, regardless of personal history or what they’re applying for. Even if you’re applying for a scholarship and include similar information, a study abroad program, and a part-time job, they each require a different kind of resume to be as effective as possible.

As a college student, these alternative resume formats may work in your favor more than a traditional one does, as they work to emphasize other aspects of your experience and education than your employment history. This can be highly beneficial if you are applying for academic programs or other opportunities aside from employment.

A chronological resume is the most common resume format. When you think of a resume, this is likely what comes to mind. It’s called a “chronological” resume because, when crafting the document, you list your employment history in reverse-chronological order, starting with your current or most recent position and moving backwards.

Though they are the standard, chronological resumes work particularly well for people looking for jobs in the same niche they have already worked in, because they show a direct progression in their chosen field. This may not be as beneficial for college students, as you may not have not yet had the chance to enter the workforce.

When creating a chronological resume, list your sections in the following order:

Though chronological resumes work to highlight your work experience, you can still use them to your advantage as a student or recent graduate. You may not have a lot of employment history in a full-time job, but you can include any internships, volunteer work, or part-time positions instead. Even if they aren’t within the same niche as they position or program you’re looking at, your history can still show a recruiter that you are hardworking and able to successfully complete the hiring process.

A functional or skills-based resume prioritizes your achievements, skills, and abilities over your work history. You may not include your previous jobs at all, and if it does, not in reverse-chronological order like a traditional resume.

This resume format works well if you have gaps in your employment or have little to no work experience — something that is beneficial for a college student or recent graduate who may not have had the opportunity to work in their chosen field yet. A functional resume may also work well if you are applying to an academic program or opportunity that’s unrelated to a job, as it doesn’t focus on your professional history.

When creating this kind of resume, you’ll still want to keep all of your contact information at the top of the page. After that, put your different sections in the following order:

The skills you discuss on this resume should be directly related to or beneficial in the position you’re applying for. The purpose of a functional resume is to better show recruiters how your knowledge and abilities pertain to the job. Detail ways you have previously used and applied your skills to various situations in order to make this format even more effective.

As the name implies, a combination or “hybrid” resume takes elements of both a chronological and functional resume and mixes them together. In addition to providing your employment history, a combination resume also gives a more detailed overview of your skills and abilities than a chronological resume does.

You have more flexibility when crafting a combination resume than the previous varieties. As long as your name and contact information come first, you can choose to put the other sections in whatever order you choose.

Combination resumes work especially well for recent college graduates and students because you can choose to emphasize your experiences that suits the position or program you’re applying for. In addition, you can accentuate both the skills and jobs that are most relevant without wasting valuable space on aspects of your history that aren’t as strong.

A curriculum or student resume is one created either by a current college student or a recent college graduate. This is beneficial for students because it highlights different aspects of your history than a traditional resume and can help gloss over a lack of employment history.

Student resumes typically contain information in the following order:

With a student resume, be sure to spend plenty of time building out your education section in particular. Don’t hesitate to list any related coursework, awards, or achievements. You can even optimize your resume further by discussing any extracurricular activities, campus involvement, noteworthy class projects, and academic research you’ve done. These other experiences still demonstrate positive attributes that can work in your favor, even if you don’t have an extensive job history.

A non traditional resume is just that: a resume that takes a different form than a traditional one. You may choose to use this in conjunction with or in place of a traditional resume, depending on what you’re applying for and what you are trying to showcase.

Here are several examples of non traditional resumes:

Think very carefully before committing to a non traditional resume. If they aren’t strong and well-crafted, you may end up putting time and effort into something that doesn’t help your efforts. However, if they’re done well, a non traditional resume can be a great way to set you apart from the crowd and capture the attention of a recruiter. If you are a student or graduate applying to an academic program, a high-quality non traditional resume may work well for you if you put in the energy needed to make it great.

Deciding on the right length for your resume can be tricky. Everyone has their own unique history and way of writing that can affect the length. And while a single-page resume may be common, there are no strict rules on how long your resume must be unless a posting dictates a certain length.

You should make your resume as long as it needs to be. You need enough space to adequately discuss your experience and qualifications, and generally speaking, the more information you include, the more opportunities you have to persuade the reviewer that you are the ideal candidate. Keep in mind that you may be one of many applicants, and if your resume is too long or verbose, the recruiter may not have the time or energy to read it.

The Appropriate Length for a Student

As a student, you may not face the same troubles with length that more experienced candidates do, unless you’ve returned to school after joining the workforce for several years. Some who has been working for 20 years will likely have a more extensive employment history than a student who hasn’t yet had a full-time job.

Try your best to let go of your concerns about resume length and focus your efforts on making it as strong as possible. Don’t add unnecessary content to make it longer, but don’t leave out important information to make it shorter. Irrelevant information or not enough detail will only serve to weaken your resume instead of making it as strong as it can be. Instead, do your best to ensure that every detail you put on your resume is relevant to your application and works to communicate your experiences and achievements.

The language you use on your resume is crucial to making it strong, effective, and noteworthy. No matter how impressive of an applicant you are, they may not come across that way if your resume is not well-written. On the other hand, the right language can be an impactful way to further highlight and complement your qualifications.

To help your resume accomplish that goal, there are a few rules about language, grammar, and sentence structure you should keep in mind as you begin to write:

After all of your research and writing, you may be tempted to go ahead and submit your resume. However, your resume is not complete or ready for submission unless it has been proofread and edited. Any spelling or grammatical errors on your resume can be catastrophic for your application, as 59 percent of recruiters will reject a candidate based on those mistakes alone, regardless of how qualified you are for your program or position.

Despite the usefulness of tools like spellcheck, they aren’t entirely reliable. For instance, while it may pick up most spelling errors, it may not notice that you wrote “cat” instead of “can.” Though it may feel tedious, you have to proofread your resume yourself. To help improve your chances of being selected (or at least included in the “maybe pile”) here are a few resume proofreading tips: