Student resumes are organized in a slightly different way than other types of resumes, but they follow the same fundamental guidelines that apply to professionals. You should focus on accomplishments and specific information. There are hundreds of thousands of new college graduates every year competing for the same jobs. If you want to stand out from your competition, you have to market your accomplishments. On a student resume, the education should be the first item listed, and it should be more detailed than the education segment of a professional resume. The following are a few fundamental guidelines for the education segment:
1. School name in bold font first, then city, state and date of graduation or expected graduation year
* Princeton University-Princeton, NJ, May 2010
2. Degree, major, minor, emphasis, concentration, and so on
* Bachelor of Arts in Journalism; Advertising Major, Media Minor
3. Grade Point Average (GPA)
* The GPA that you list on your resume should have only one decimal place. No one is interested in the exact number of your GPA to the ten-thousandth percentile.
* If you have a 4.0 GPA - Congratulations! Obviously you can and should list it as 4.0.
* If your GPA is between 3.95 and 3.99, don't round it up to 4.0.
* If your GPA is a 3.2 or greater, include the second decimal place; if it is lower, leave it off.
4. List dean's list, scholarships, awards, and honors.
Remember to explain any scholarships or awards.
* Phi Eta Sigma National Honor Society, membership permitted based on excellent academic achievement record
5. Structure study abroad just like college entry
When you set about writing the experience segment of your student resume, you will need to expand your definition of experience. "Experience Required" is a statement that plagues many new graduates. If someone is not able to get that first job or internship to gain experience, how are they to gain experience or a job, for that matter? The answer is to expand the definition of what is regarded as experience. Most student believe that experience is something that can only be gained by working at a paying job. In reality, you can get a lot of quality real-world experience from various extra-curricular activities, summer jobs, and even coursework.
When writing about your experience, it is important to address the transferable skills that have been gained through your various activities. Nearly every company that is hiring is seeking college students with initiative, leadership, and an ability to work with others and solve problems. They will be able to teach you the specific details of the job function; they want to find a student with strong base skills.
In your experience segment, do not limit your experience to just retail jobs. Think about things like whether you ever held a leadership role in a college club. These type of leadership roles could span from a fraternity or sorority, to student government, or even a comic book club. The fact that you were selected by a group of your peers to lead an organization is distinguishable. What activities you carried out in your role as a leader are also key to your level of experience. Did you create an advertising plan that produced coverage by the local news paper or local radio station? Did you increase membership? Did you revamp the finances?
These are the kinds of skills that companies are seeking. Never be afraid to tell potential employers about your achievements.
You can also gain meaningful experience from course projects. Don't just list the classes that you took under a segment called "Relevant Coursework." Choose one or two cool class projects that you are proud of and emphasize them in your experience segment. Remember, don't just list the projects, write about your achievements.
By expanding your definition of experience and by emphasizing your particular achievements, you'll be able to set yourself apart from the crowd of candidates and land a great first job or internship.
James Crocker is the Owner and CEO of Casual Robot Media. He writes informative articles to aid job seekers with tips for job searching, cover letter writing tips, resume writing tips, tips on professional networking, tips for interviewing, and tips for getting promotions on his website http://employmentgenius.com/.
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