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College Resume - Examples & Writing Guides for 2024

You’ve just sat down to write a college student resume.

An A+ resume that converts.

Whether you need a part-time job to cover your bills or a college internship for more experience, we are here to help.

This guide will take you through a simple step-by-step process of creating a college student resume. 

• An example of a finished college resume that works
• How to write a college resume that’ll fill up your interview diary
• How to make your college resume stand out [with top tips & tricks]

For some added inspiration, here’s a college student resume example, created with our very own resume builder :

The above example gets serious results, and yours will too. Simply follow the steps below.

Check out some of these related resume examples that you might be interested in:

• No Experience Resume
• Internship Resume
• Research Assistant Resume
• Students and Graduates Resume
• High School Resume
• Teacher Resume

How to Format a College Student Resume

The first step when creating any resume is to pick the best resume format.

Formatting has a number of benefits, but mostly it allows the hiring manager to read your resume with ease.

The most common resume format for a college student is “functional” or “skill-based”, which allows the hiring manager to immediately see the benefits in hiring you. We recommend college students starting with this format.

Students will usually have stronger skills than their work history, which makes the functional resume a good choice. It’s also ideal for those who have gaps in their employment history.

Now that you have the best format, you need to organize your resume layout .

Use a College Student Resume Template

Before you go ahead with crafting your college student resume, you may want to use a college student resume template.

A resume that is neat and orderly will be a breeze for recruiters to read.

Oh, and it’s the best way to prevent formatting issues.

What to Include in a College Student Resume

The main sections in a college student resume are:

• Contact Information
• Volunteer Experience
• Extracurricular Activities

Want to go a step further? You can also add these optional sections:

• Awards & Certification
• Personal Projects

Interests & Hobbies

But what should you write for each of these sections? Read on to find out.

Want to know more about resume sections? View our guide on What to Put on a Resume .

How to Correctly Display your Contact Information

Now, this section doesn’t require flair, but it must be factually correct. Messing up the contact section can mean the recruiter can’t contact you – oops! 

The contact information section must include:

• Title - In this case, “College Student” or “High-school Graduate”
• Phone Number – Proofread this multiple times
• Email Address – Use a professional email address ([email protected]), not one from your childhood ([email protected]).
• (Optional) Location - Applying for a job abroad? Mention your location.
• Abigail Pearce - College Student. 101-358-6095. [email protected]
• Abigail Pearce - Student. 101-358-6095. [email protected]

How to Write a College Student Resume Summary or Objective

So, this is a job you really want.

This may even be a job you NEED.

However, your competition is fierce. 

And with so much competition, you need to convince the hiring manager within the first few sentences.

To do this, use a resume summary or objective .

These are short paragraphs that go on top of your resume, just under your contact information. They give an overview of your entire resume.

But what is the difference between the two sections?

A resume summary is a 2-4 sentence summary of your professional experiences and achievements.

Dependable marketing sophomore with 1 year part-time experience in a marketing internship to oversee marketing campaigns that maximise profit. Experience includes PPC campaigns, SMM, web design, brand development, and more.

A resume objective is a 2-4 sentence snapshot of what you want to achieve professionally.

Current undergraduate sophomore in marketing with hundreds of classroom hours in marketing and sales related courses. Passionate about maximizing revenue with effective marketing campaigns. Experience includes creating campaigns for my own personal projects in my first term at College X. Skilled in WordPress, Facebook Ads Manager, Photoshop, ClickFunnels, and more.

So, which one is best, summary or objective?

Those with some work experience should go with a resume summary. On the other hand, those who seriously lack work experience should go with a resume objective.

How to Make Your College Student Work Experience Stand Out

Recruiters like to feel confident that you can do the job. There is no easier way to do this than to list your work experience .

Here’s the best way to structure your work experience section:

• Position name
• Company Name
• Responsibilities & Achievements

The Pizza Cabin

03/2019 - 01/2020

• Served food to 40+ people a night and multiple tables at a time.
• Educated customers on menu items and daily specials.
• Received 98% positive customer feedback.
• Engaged customers in a personal, yet professional manner, which helped me to win “Employee of the Month” 4 times.

To separate your resume from the competition, you should focus on your achievements instead of daily tasks. This will allow the recruiter to see the obvious benefits in hiring you.

Instead of saying:

“Served customers”

“Served food to 80+ people a night and multiple tables at a time”

Simply, the first statement is way too vague. There zero chance the recruiter will be impressed by this.

The second statement shows that you were able to serve 80+ people and multiple tables at a time. This tells the recruiter that you are able to work under pressured conditions and to time constraints – impressive!

What if You Don’t Have Work Experience?

Now, not every applicant will have worked in a similar job before.

If this is you, there is a simple way to get around this.

Simply call-upon crossover skills from any previous jobs.

For example, if you held a customer service role at a local pizza restaurant, you can talk about any crossover skills and experiences. Just like a sales associate, you would be able to show you used strong communication and sales skills.

As a student, make sure to check out our student resume guide!

How to Correctly List your Education

Next, it’s time to talk about your education.

Whether it’s a college junior resume or college sophomore resume, your education section is crucial.

There’s nothing too complicated with this section, just simply enter the information for your in-progress degree in the following format:

• Degree Type & Major
• University Name
• Expected Graduation
• GPA, Honours, Courses, and anything else you might want to add

Majoring in Marketing

University of Chicago

2019 - Present

• Relevant Courses: Principles of Marketing, Managerial Communications, Quantitative Methods, and Macroeconomics.

Now, you may have some questions on this section. If so, here are the answers to some of the most frequent questions that we get:

• What if I haven’t completed education yet?

As we mention above, you should still mention your current place of education, despite not finishing yet

• Should I include my high school education?

If you have not yet finished your college degree, you should also include your high school education

• What do I put first, my education or experience?

Experiences are the priority, so those go first

Want more information? Check out our guide on how to list education on a resume .

Top 10 Skills for a College Student Resume

You’ve got all the skills.

But here’s the thing –

Your competition is well-skilled too!

Show the hiring manager that you’re the top candidate by listing your best skills.

But what are the best skills for a college resume?

Create a list of hard skills and soft skills that you have developed so far in life, such as the following:

Hard Skills for a College Resume:

• Microsoft Office
• Typing Speed
• Copywriting

Soft Skills:

• Creative Thinking
• Communication
• Time-Management
• Team Player
• Decision-Making

Tailor your skills to the job description. You can have the best skills in the world, but the recruiter won’t appreciate them if they’re not relevant to the job.

Here’s a more comprehensive list of 100+ must-have skills this year.

What Else Can You Include?

We’ve now covered every essential resume section .

But the school bell hasn’t rung just yet.

You need your resume to stand out!

Acing the above sections should be enough to get you shortlisted, but adding the following sections could give you a further advantage over the other applicants.  

Awards & Certifications

Have you ever won an award?

Have you completed any third-party courses?

Do you hold any specialized certifications?

Regardless of what it is, if there is anything that you’re proud of, be sure to include it here.

Here’s an example:

Awards & Certificates

• Food Handlers Card & Food Safety Manager Certification 
• “Critical Thinking Masterclass” – Coursera Course

Need to speak multiple languages at your new job?

Yes or no, being able to speak a second language is impressive.

And with so much competition, this could be the difference.

Add a language section if you have space. 

Rank the languages by proficiency:

• Intermediate

Now, you may be wondering, “why would a recruiter want to know that I’m a part of the football team?”

Well, it allows the recruiter to get to know who you are on a personal level.

But it doesn’t stop there…

Certain hobbies demonstrate that you have soft skills, like teamwork and communication. 

Here’s which hobbies & interests you may want to mention.

Include a Cover Letter with Your Resume

Your resume should now be ready to send.

No application is complete without a convincing cover letter.

In opposition to a generic resume, a personalized cover letter shows that you care about working for this specific company .

Here’s how to structure a winning cover letter:

You should complete the following sections:

Personal Contact Information

Your full name, profession, email, phone number, and location

Hiring Manager’s Contact Information

Full name, position, location, email

Opening Paragraph

It’s no secret that recruiters skim through their pile of resumes. As such, use concise language to mention:

• The position you’re applying for
• Your experience summary and best achievement to date

With the recruiter intrigued, you can get deeper into the following specifics:

• Why you chose this specific company
• What you know about the company
• How are your top skills relevant for the job
• Which similar industries or positions have you worked in before

Closing Paragraph

Don’t just end the conversation abruptly, you should:

• Conclude the points made in the body paragraph
• Thank the recruiter for the opportunity
• Finish with a call to action. This is a good way to keep the conversation going. A simple “At your earliest opportunity, I’d love to discuss more about how I can help you achieve X” will work

Formal Salutations

End the letter in a professional manner. Something like, “Kind regards” or “Sincerely.”

For more inspiration, read our step-by-step guide on how to write a cover letter .

Key Takeaways

Building a college resume doesn't have to be hard.

Follow the tips in this guide for a college resume that is head & shoulders above the competition. 

Here are our best tips on how to create a college resume:

• Make your resume easy to read by formatting it correctly. Prioritize the reverse-chronological format, and then follow the best practices on content layout
• Use a resume summary or objective to hook the recruiter
• In your work experience section, highlight your most notable achievements to date
• Include a convincing cover letter to separate you from the competition

Suggested Reading:

• How to Make a Resume with No-Experience [21+ Examples]
• 21+ Essential LinkedIn Profile Tips For Job-Seekers
• Use Resume Keywords to Land the Job [880+ Keywords]

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22 College Student Resumes That Landed Jobs in 2024

College Student

Best for candidates with 3+ years of experience

With your job experience and a stunning resume layout, recruiters will be ready to give your application the official stamp of approval.

Resume Builder

Like this template? Customize this resume and make it your own with the help of our Al-powered suggestions, accent colors, and modern fonts.

• 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  22 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.

Harvard College Resume

• You see reputable (and free) spell checkers like Grammarly? They’re your backstage crew making sure that your Harvard college resume is polished—no typos, grammatical mistakes, or punctuation errors in sight. And getting a friend or family member to take a peek? It’s always a brilliant move.

College Level Resume

• It’s a piece of cake. Maybe you’ve been a superstar nanny or the quickest cashier around. Identify competencies from these gigs, whether communication, time management, or leadership, and then blend them into your work experience. Simply put, connect the dots in your college level resume, and you’re golden.

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 using a resume maker  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 an AI 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

College Student Resume Examples and Templates for 2024

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Joseph Corbin (123) 456-7890 | [email protected] | Philadelphia, PA 12345 | www.linkedin.com/example

Motivated student with strong academic performance in high school, including an “A” average for Mathematics. Demonstrated success in a leadership role through multiple school athletics and work activities. Naturally curious and eager to explore and understand new topics.

Key Skills 

• Complex problem-solving
• Data analysis
• Group leadership
• Mathematics
• Microsoft Excel
• Team collaboration

Graduate, Benjamin Franklin High School, Philadelphia, PA | August 2018 to June 2022

• “A” average in all Mathematics classes, including AP Calculus

High School Athletics

Spring Track Team 

Co-Captain (Senior year)

• Voted into team leadership role; coordinated with the head coach to help organize meets and answer various questions from team members
• Served as a valued mentor and resource to underclassmen

Member (all four years)

• Gained and demonstrated a strong sense of dedication and teamwork
• Contributed to team’s placing in the top four out of 18 high schools in the region for three consecutive years

Work Experience

Host / Server / Team Lead, Domino’s Pizza, Philadelphia, PA | Summer 2018 and 2019

• Greeted visitors and took and served food orders in a fast-paced environment
• Proposed several changes to the order entry process for servers and delivery drivers, improving efficiency and collaboration among the two groups
• Helped restaurant place No. 3 in the region for customer satisfaction in July and August 2019

Hobbies & Interests

Avid reader (six or more books per month) | Painting | Running

Advanced proficiency in Spanish (A- average for classes taken in all four years of high school)

Rob Smith  (123) 456-7890 | [email protected] | Columbus, OH 12345 | www.linkedin.com/example

Efficient and hardworking student with a strong interest in computer science. Draw on technical knowledge base covering UX design, JAVA, MySQL, and HTML. Demonstrated success objectively measuring software performance while participating in a rapid development cycle.

• Efficiency improvement
• Group collaboration
• Independent research
• Technical troubleshooting
• User experience (UX)

Graduate, AAE High School, Columbus, OH | August 2018 to June 2022 3.7 GPA | Top 10% of graduating class

Tech Support, XYZ Company, Columbus, OH | June 2020 to present

• Quickly and professionally respond to various tech support tickets
• Install hardware and software as needed to maintain systems
• Work with managers to develop rapid response systems to major tech threats
• Co-design and deliver educational materials to staff on proper tech use

Retail Sales Associate, Smith Clothing Company, Columbus, OH | August 2019 to May 2020

• Gained strong foundation in positive customer relations
• Operated cash register and balanced the till at end of day (EOD)

Certifications

• Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) A+
• Nielsen Norman Group UX and UX Master

John Miller (123) 456-7890 | [email protected] | Columbus, OH 12345 | LinkedIn | Portfolio

High school student with a strong interest in marketing and advertising. Freelance graphic design professional with a growing portfolio and client relationships with major local nonprofits. Enjoy collaborating on a team to explore topics and solve complex challenges.

• Data visualization
• Graphic design
• Marketing strategy
• Task prioritization
• Writing and editing

Candidate: Diploma, Douglass High School, Columbus, OH | expected June 2023 3.8 GPA | SAT scores: 760 math, 680 verbal (1440 combined)

High School Athletics and Activities

Member, Debate Team | August 2020 to present

• Collaborate closely on a 10-person team to research debate topics and form and organize compelling arguments

Member, Cross-Country Running Team | Fall 2021 and 2022

Freelance Graphic Designer, XYZ Company, Columbus, OH | April 2018 to present

• Conceptualize and create diverse marketing materials to spec
• Engage and partner with marketing teams to design campaigns and track return on investment
• Design logos and event graphics for client nonprofits
• Make infographics using data provided by sales teams
• Developed an award-winning print ad for a local coffee shop

Library Materials Associate, Community Library, Columbus, OH | June 2014 to April 2016

• Greeted students and verified account status for check-out
• Helped students find and incorporate various research sources
• Set up display technology for individual and group use
• Managed schedules for meeting and study rooms
• Reshelved materials at EOD

Technical Skills

Adobe InDesign, Photoshop | Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint)

When applying to colleges, you may find some schools require a resume . You can write a great resume for your college applications by showing your relevant high school and other experiences and emphasizing how you’ve explored topics and pursued your interests. Incorporating this theme into each section of your resume can increase your chances of being accepted into your preferred college or university. The advice and examples provided below can guide you in achieving this goal.

1. Summarize your college student qualifications in a dynamic profile

Your resume profile should catch admissions officers’ interest by giving the top reasons they can expect you to engage actively in their campus community. Can you share some instances from your life where you have exhibited curiosity and dedication toward excellence? Your answer to this question can lead to your best profile points. For example, maybe you’ve earned an “A” average in the school subject likely to become your college major. Or perhaps you’ve done freelance work that’s helped you develop a hobby into a possible career track. With details like these at the top of your college resume, you can show your potential to thrive in a college setting.

Profile Example

Motivated student with strong academic performance in high school, including an “A” average for mathematics. Demonstrated success in a leadership role through multiple school athletics and work activities. Naturally curious and eager to explore and understand new topics.

2. Add a compelling section featuring your college student experience

Use your resume’s experience section(s) to give examples of exploring and pursuing topics that interest you. Colleges and universities generally want students who are engaged, diligent, and curious about the world. So view your experience from this perspective and write down anything that reflects your gaining or showing these qualities.

You aren’t limited to details about work experience, especially if the jobs you’ve held so far don’t speak to your career interests. On a resume for college applications, the strongest experience section will often come from a different area. For example, maybe you’re most proud of having been on the debate team or teaching yourself HTML outside school. Below is a list of possible experience sections you might develop on your resume:

• Community service
• High school athletics
• Internship experience
• Personal accomplishments
• School clubs and societies
• Study abroad experience
• Summer coursework

Experience Example

Spring Track Team

3. Include education and certifications relevant to college students

View your resume’s education section as another chance to show active engagement in learning. Give basic details about your high school. But also feel free to name study areas or materials that have sparked your interest and may become a focus for you at the college level. For example, if your English classes have let you choose from a reading list for each unit, you could name some of the books or texts you decided to read and why. Also note any AP classes you’ve completed, school awards you’ve won, or other distinctions you’ve earned, like a high GPA or class rank. These can all help admissions officers see your potential.

Below are templates and examples to help you format your high school education, along with any certifications you’d like to add to your resume. Note that optional template areas appear in [brackets].

• Candidate: Diploma, High School Name, City, ST | expected graduation date
• [Select study areas or materials of interest]

Certification

Certification Name or Title , [Awarding Organization] | [Year]

Service Excellence Certificate, VCU Advanced Solutions | 2023

4. List college student-related skills and proficiencies

Add a key skills section to show how you excel in a learning environment. For instance, maybe you like to research a topic independently, or you prefer the stimulation of working in a group. On the other hand, perhaps you’re open to learning by various methods. Whatever your learning style, you can highlight it in your key skills section so admissions officers see how you’d apply yourself at their school. Below are some common keywords for college student resumes:

5. Consider adding personal hobbies or interests

You may have heard that hobbies and interests should be left off a resume. While this is often true for regular job seekers, it doesn’t apply to aspiring college students. Hobbies and interests can be a strong feature of your college application resume because they help show your all-around sense of curiosity. Feel free to highlight them in a separate section, typically toward or at the bottom of your resume.

Hobbies and Interests

How To Pick the Best College Student Resume Template

For college applicants, a clear and straightforward resume template is usually best. Opt for a visual design that lets the admissions officer quickly review your most relevant information. Select a traditional resume font , and avoid any template with a colorful or elaborate design.

Frequently Asked Questions: College Student Resume Examples and Advice

What are common action verbs for college student resumes -.

For aspiring college students, good resume verbs will relate to the process of learning and discovery – think “explored,” “researched,” or “uncovered.” But there are various others you might use to describe your school, work, and other life experiences so far. The following list can help you find a good mix of action verbs for your college application resume:

How do you align your resume with each college application? -

The National Center for Education Statistics forecasts that total undergraduate enrollment will increase by about 9% (to nearly 17 million students) between 2021 and 2031. 

To optimize your resume for each college application:

1. Take cues from what you know about the school. 2. Refer to their website, brochures, notes from the campus tour, or any other information you’ve gathered on what the school is known for and what you’re most drawn to about it. 3. As you look over these materials, highlight words or phrases that are repeated or emphasized.

These terms can tell you what details you may want to feature in your resume profile or key skills sections (as long as they’re accurate to your experience).

For example, say you’re drawn to the college’s study-abroad program. Consider using your profile to showcase any travel or exchange programs you’ve done, along with your foreign language skills. With adjustments like these, you can make your resume more relevant to each college opportunity.

What is the best college student resume format? -

In nearly all cases, use a Combination (or Hybrid) resume because it’s easiest for admissions officers to learn about your pertinent skills and background. It’s also easiest for you to align with your goals.

With the Combination format, you focus on your most relevant skills and experience in your experience section(s) and an intro section. (This combination of experience and intro content is where the format gets its name.) Your resume intro should usually include a profile summary and key skills section, but you may also add a highlights or awards section. By carefully choosing the details for these intro sections, you can (a) position yourself for your desired school program and (b) give admissions officers a clear, quick view of what you offer.

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Jacob Meade is a resume writer and editor with nearly a decade of experience. His writing method centers on understanding and then expressing each person’s unique work history and strengths toward their career goal. Jacob has enjoyed working with jobseekers of all ages and career levels, finding that a clear and focused resume can help people from any walk of life. He is an Academy Certified Resume Writer (ACRW) with the Resume Writing Academy, and a Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) with the Professional Association of Resume Writers & Career Coaches.

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Investment Banking Resume Template - Official WSO CV Example

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Attached to the bottom of this post, you will find the Wall Street Oasis Investment Banking Resume Template for undergraduate students, used by the WSO paid service and thousands of candidates to successfully land a job in investment banking.

For those of you looking to make sure your CV format is clean and your investment banking resume is polished, we have a great sample resume you can now use free of charge (attached to this post below).

After seeing members consistently reference other resume templates in the public resume review forum (which are good but inferior in our opinion), we have decided to release the WSO resume template for free to the public. This is the same CV template we use in our paid WSO resume reviews with experienced finance professionals. However, we know how competitive internship applications and summer analyst positions are nowadays, so we're hoping this gives you an even bigger edge in recruiting.

This particular banking resume sample is for undergraduates and is not intended for experienced hires. Go to the bottom of this post (2 atttached files) if you are looking for a resume for experienced hires (with deal experience).

General Formatting Rules

• Keep bullet points at a max of 2 lines; ideal would be 1.5 lines
• Make sure spacing is solid and that your bullet points hit the how/why/what/result

Sub-Bullets : Another thing to consider is sub-bullets. Including sub-bullets in your resume is something you have to be 100% confident in. If it's just something you're doing for the sake of having a "different" resume, then avoid it.

Here's one good scenario for the use of sub-bullets: if you are describing transaction experience in an internship. Essentially, if you have to go into more detail to discuss something that is highly relevant to investment banking, then it's worth considering using sub-bullets. Be wary, however, because going into too much detail can cause clutter and get you dinged.

Now it's time to talk about what goes into those bullet points. Fret not! While the content of your bullet points matter, the most important thing is that you don't fudge anything up in terms of formatting and grammar.

• Professional Experience : I want to see professional experience ie roles where you've worked under paid, professional discipline and had to pass through an interview process to get there. Having made it successfully through interview processes for earlier internships or jobs is important, as interviewing you is what we plan to do.
• Case study competitions : Some people listed these. These are no professional experience. Including them just looks like you don't have enough professional experience to fill in these area enough. Don't do it.
• Volunteer Positions : Not professional. Send it to extracurricular.
• Strong Names : I like to see names in the PE /banking/HR universe that I recognize, because it tells me you could get through their interview process and you've done an internship in something that has reinforced your academic finance skills.
• comparables analysis
• competition or industry analysis/research
• due diligence
• DCF valuation
• leveraged buy out
• distressed debt

The main thing to focus on here is consistency. There are two options:

• Use past tense throughout the entire resume. The reasoning here is that your resume is a summary of everything you've done.
• Use past tense to describe past experiences and present tense to describe what you're currently doing. The reasoning here is self-explanatory; past experiences use past tense while current experiences use present.

Both options are totally acceptable, which is why it's up to you to choose which you prefer.

A poorly formatted resume will get thrown out. Think about it. A good amount of your time as an investment banker will be spent formatting, so what does it say about you if you can't properly format your own resume?

Lucky for you, you don't have to worry about formatting half as much as other candidates because our template does that for you.

Here's a download link to the resume template included below:

WSO Resume Template

This is a section that you need to edit to best fit what you have to include. Don't have any modeling experience? Delete that line. No computer skills to show off? Same thing applies. Tailor this area of the resume to highlight your strengths beyond finance.

Here is one example of how you can structure your "Additional Information" section to be more meaningful and provide a few skills that may be impressive to the resume reviewer:

Miscellaneous tidbits of wisdom from @blackice :

• Do: Be Ready to Defend Everything on Your Resume. This should be a given, but people seem to fuck this up every day. If you write hang-gliding in your interests section and then I ask you about it, you better damn well be able to speak to hang-gliding. Otherwise, it undermines everything else on the page.

These things take hours and hours to perfect. Many people think you can just sit down in an hour and bang out a perfect resume, but that is simply not the case. It takes time to get right. Do not wait to start until the day before the job posting.

• Don't: Put "Founded Investment Banking Club" on Your Resume. Just Don't Do It.

A couple of quick notes:

• Please feel free to share this post and pass it along to friends
• If you're looking for our resume for experienced Investment Banking professionals or a private equity resume template , click here.
• Remember, if you are looking for real finance professionals to help you structure and word your resume bullets and experiences, please consider our industry leading resume editing service, specifically targeted towards investment banking, private equity, hedge funds, trading, management consulting and other finance resumes. Our testimonials speak for themselves: www.wallstreetoasis.com/wso-finance-resume-review :-)

Read More About Getting An Investment Banking Job On WSO

• How To Get A Job On Wall Street (When You Don't Know Anybody)
• Investment Banking Interview Questions - 15 Answers To Land The Job
• Can I Get Into Investment Banking From Non Target School?

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top: GS , ms, Lazard, Evercore, pjt, Moelis topb: jp , top groups at other bb , Greenhill, centerview, pwp

mid: cs , baml , Citi midb: barcap

bottom: DB , UBS, Jefferies, houlihan

no you are not bb or elite boutique: Wells Fargo, RBC , BMO , William Blair, piper, guggen, Baird

Definitely Rothschild is top in Europe

Thanks for doing this. Will share with friends but will definitely give you guys credit and refer them here.

Thanks iSlice

Awesome. I believe this will help me lot to make same resume.

Thank you very much!

Thank you WSO! Seems quite similar to mergers and inquisitions template.

You mean M&I template looks very similar to ours since we've been doing resume reviews longer? ;-)

I'd agree it's not too far off since both use best practices (both of us I'm sure have access to the templates that many of the BB bankers have used for years before WSO was even around). Although I would say our template is much more space efficient along the top of the resume and the default font is slightly smaller.

As a warning, this template is close to the absolute maximum you would want on the page and in practice, we try to scale it back ~5-10%, focus on the best points to give the resume a bit more white space, a bit larger margins and breathing room.

Enjoy! Patrick

Met with a recruiter last night and literally switched my resume 10 minutes before leaving with your header style... like you said much more space efficient in comparison to M&I.

Hey Patrick! It seems that the link to the experienced analyst resume template isn't working anymore. I'm sure a lot of monkeys on here that have already made it to a job in IB would find that very useful - does an experienced analyst template still exist?

Sweet, thanks!

Like the layout, great utilization of space. Will definitely use this from now on

glad you like it ChiSquare

Question: What if I have literally zero work experience, but a bunch of extracurriculars with multiple leadership roles? How would I best represent that on a resume?

<span class=keyword_link><a href=/resources/skills/trading-investing/what-is-insider-trading>Insider Trading</a></span>: Question: What if I have literally zero work experience, but a bunch of extracurriculars with multiple leadership roles? How would I best represent that on a resume?

You've never had any job or internship? That's a bit odd unless you are a freshman, but you can just make the leadership section larger and remove the "Work Experience" section....you'll probably have to increase the font by 1 point and increase the margins a bit, but it could work if you are able to put enough ECs and show a lot of initiative on campus...

That being said, you should also definitely be trying to get an internship if you are in college now and tracking the impact you have during that job so you can have really strong bullets that quantify results.

I mean, one of my ecs is technically a "job" that I'm paid to do. But I'm a sophomore at a non-target, but I'll be transferring into a semi-target next year. I haven'd had a job or internship yet, but my double major will allow me to stay an extra year so I will have an extra summer for an internship. Believe me I've been trying! I'll be going abroad this summer since this is the only opportunity I will have to do so.

Thank you for your response, I really appreciate it!

Thanks for sharing!

I hope the experienced without deal experience is referring to people who are still trying to break in working in other fields!

yes, exactly...will try to get those posted later today.

The primary difference between this undergrad template and the experienced ones is that education is listed at the bottom, not the top....and obviously, the experienced with deals has a section for listing transaction experience. Will try to get on it asap.

Did anything ever get posted along these lines? Ie: have work experience, but not finance work experience.

Awesome template. Just one comment though - you should use the .edu email in the resume instead of Gmail, since you are a college student. It looks more formal, especially when lots of folks' gmail address is quite embarrassing.

I really like the top of it, might adopt it on my own resume. Personally, I'd never list more than 3 positions as things tend to get really cluttered past that point. Never understood differentiating between Professional and Leadership Experience either, I'd just combine them into a singular "Work Experience".

However, awesome template and definitely a modern twist on a classic favorite.

The left/right margins in the template aren't the same. Should they be?

yeah, they are custom margins to pull the locations and dates a touch futher right (looks better when you have a longer first bullet that comes under the dates)...although for a template probably best to make margins more uniform, so I just uploaded a new version with the same left and right margins (0.7) and same top and bottom margins (0.5)...again, this resume is a bit crowded and you should not exceed the amount of content that is on this sample...i also changed the e-mail to a fake .edu e-mail so students know to use their school address...

Thanks for the feedback guys :-)

Is it a deal breaker for bottom margins to be 0.2 & left/right is 0.4?

For the first listed work experience, should the last bullet point start with Utilized instead of Utilize?

I know this is just a template but I wasn't sure if it's a typo or there is a reason behind it.

Utilized is correct, but you shouldn't be using this template for the bullets, just for the formatting. The bullets are not that great and just there to show what the resume looks like filled in...

Thanks for the reply. I understand not to use the bullet points. I was just unsure if there was some weird logic behind making one of the bullet points present tense.

wow its weird seeing washu on there since I used to live in STL, but great resume template!

I'm also going to steal the header :D

Wow this is awesome, I'm looking for different jobs!

THANK YOU!!!

Great work Patrick and generous to give this out to everyone free of charge.

And I just bought the WSO networking guide (that included this) a few hours before you posted this. :(

Quick question though: Would you recommend including your LinkedIn link somewhere in this resume, if so where?

Better yet, replace the entire resume with a QR code.

Great layout, will definitely use some of it. I am obtaining both a BS in Econ and BBA in Finance (one in b-school and one not), what is the best/proper way to display this on my resume?

Thanks for sharing, Patrick. I think many prospective monkeys will find this resume template very helpful. That said, I think you may have been overly harsh in your response to animalz ("projecting your own insecurities"... let's not attack the poster's character!).

Some quick thoughts on the WSO vs. M&I resumes from someone who has been mildly obsessed with resume formatting...

At a first glance, the WSO resume template looks better. When evaluating a thick stack of resumes, bankers can tell just by glancing which resumes look like a banker resume. Those resumes will get a little more attention becomes it primes the resume screener to take the candidate seriously. The two things I noticed that are most superior about the WSO format is that, from a purely high-level glance, it has (1) tighter margins and (2) a more distinct header. To expand, thick margins, such as the M&I one, convey that you are inexperienced. Doesn't matter if you're not, it just looks that way. And while it's understandable that a college kid may not have as much relevant experience and you don't want to pad your resume with too many BS items, thin margins still convey experience. As for the header, the problem with the M&I header is again, it conveys a lack of experience. Large headers imply you are trying to take up as much space as possible. The other issue is that it is a plain/vanilla header. While this is an appropriate resume header for most jobs, it doesn't, and this is subjective again, look like a banker resume.

General formatting points: I actually prefer the long divider lines separating the sections, but that is a preference. WSO resume does a nice job with smaller bullet points (the M&I bullet points are huge). WSO also does a nice job reducing the excessive bolding that the M&I format does, especially in the education and bottom section. My personal preference is to only use bold for the section headers and the company/school/organization name. I like keeping the dates in italics (symmetry with the italics of the job title), but to actually unbold the location of the job/activity. Like I mentioned, I just prefer bold items for the most important sections and the location doesn't really factor that high to me. Plus it's already in a pretty distinct location, separated from clutter, so there's no need to bold to make it stand out, it's already easy to read.

In re: animalz comment, I think two lines of coursework is OK. Based on the length of some of the course names, I'd be surprised if you could fit relevant coursework into one line.

I like separating the work experience from the activities/leadership experience, similar to the WSO format as opposed to combining them like in M&I. Bankers value professional experience more highly than activities, and I used to find it unnecessarily confusing when activities were mixed in with jobs. For instance, if I see "So-and-So Capital Management" in the work section, I expect it to be a real fund, not a student activity.

For the bottom miscellaneous section, I think both are more or less fine. Like I said above, I like how WSO doesn't bold everything. I'm not completely sold on some of WSO's category choices, especially the computer section. I know we're supposed to ignore the text, but I don't think the template should potentially mislead a student into saying that they are an "Expert in Excel, PowerPoint , CapitalIQ, Bloomberg ". MS Office skills are generally a waste of space and are probably detrimental to put on your resume. Calling yourself an expert would just be the icing on the cake if you want to get laughed at. I might consider replacing "computer" with "skills" or something of the like. Better yet, my personal preference might be just to do three sub-categories: Skills, Certifications, and Interests. Languages and CapIQ /Bloomberg can fit into Skills, while classes and certifications can fit into Certifications. That being said, there's a lot of flexibility to do whatever you want at the bottom section, but I will caution you that it is one of the few sections people look at closely just because it provides a sense of character to your resume.

Hope some of those comments were helpful. Best thing for applicants to do is to take elements that they like from different resumes to make their own. The WSO resume template is a great start for that.

Someone should make a computer program that takes thousands of resumes in varying formats and wording styles and associated data such as which people got first round interviews and which didn't and run complex algorithms to triangulate the perfect resume.

lol, not sure if serious, but we are compiling a pretty massive database of interview insights, company reviews and compensation that gives us cross sectional rich data sets on School, Major, Degree, GPA, Sex, Race, across all companies...some of this aggregated data will be available on the main Company Overview pages in 3-4 weeks (all will be available if you've contributed or are a subscriber), but we're trying to make it useful, so I spent a long time yesterday learning about Bayesian Estimates and how to get a fairly accurate percentile ranking across companies that takes # of votes into account. It's a bit off topic, but I found it interesting and was a bit shocked that Amazon doesn't do this with their 5 star rankings...: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_does_true_Bayesian_estimate_mean_in_connection_with_the_IMDb_Top_250_ratings

...so while we may be able to tell you what majors and schools (and even race) each company tends to target (on a relative basis of course), we will likely be forced to debate what the "perfect resume" is for a while.

I was being serious...basically the same idea as what you're doing with targeted stats with but with resume formatting "stats". But given the sheer amount of possibilities a computer program would almost definitely be needed, and you would need a ton of resumes to analyze as well as how they fared.

I think there is such a thing as the perfect resume in theory, just like the perfect woman...

I think what you would find is that many of the resumes of hired candidates would have similar features, but none of those features would be a particularly strong indication that a candidate will get an interview. Perhaps it would fit under one of those "causation vs. correlation" categories. As in, good candidates will generally always have a nicely formatted resume, but they didn't get the interview because of it. Experience is probably 95% why someone gets an interview and I suspect that if you ran an analysis on that, you would find that most candidates come from target schools, have high GPAs, good leadership experience, and so forth.

Awesome! Great resource.

Thanks! Mine looks very similar to it, after having spent obtuse amounts of time fixing and polishing.

Very nice - better than M&I. Not sure why idiots are critiquing the bullets you wrote in probably 10 minutes.

Obviously all the nooby college kids don't have any experience, but for the rock star target kids with a couple boutique and MM banking internships and leadership positions, the "additional information" section should be like 1-2 lines, and I would remove the "relevant coursework" section. Kids with too much white space need that shit on there, but the idea is that the older you get, the more you should focus on work experience bullets.

that's awesome!!!! can't pass any interview.. hope it helps!!!

Sorry if this has been asked before but I have a couple of questions about your excellent template.

I noticed you don't split the deals (and what you did per deal) like the M&I format. What do you recommend if an intern worked on a couple of deals/projects?

Not all the bullet points have 'results'. Does this matter? E.g. • Responsible for performing comparable companies and precedent transaction analyses in Excel --> which was included in the pitch book or something would be an example result. Should you include this?

In the interests section is it worth expanding a bit rather then just listing the interests e.g. Running vs Running (completed 10km marathon in 2 hours).

I just landed a job as an equity analyst, but I will definitely share this to my juniors and colleagues.

You da real MPV. May you - and this amazing forum - live long and prosper.

Great Resume. Went to this Investment Banking Workshop held at Columbia University last year and the guy showed us his resume which looked almost like this. Loved it!

Thank you, this is my first time come here, and this template will help me a lot . :)

you're welcome!

Thanks for the template WSO!

awesome thanks

I have a strong background in sports (played 3 different sports at a national level). How would I showcase this best? It seems that putting f.i. Rowing (national level heavyweight 8) is understating it.

it is like deja voo to mee

Thank you! This is great because it can be applied to any industry really, and definitely a huge improvement over the way I was organizing mine originally.

I've always been told that as a college student, your resume shouldn't be longer than a page, is it just bs?

no, that is correct. Keep it to 1 page max

Can somebody please enlighten me as to the differences between a "grid" resume like the one attached here and the standard "white space" resume? Are there any advantages of each?

We use a grid / box system to help make alignment and section spacing as consistent as possible. The grid doesnt / shouldnt show up in a PDF :-)

Can you clarify the difference between CV and Resume/Cover Letter?

Is this considered a CV or a resume?

Thank you for blessing us monkeys with a template that is superior to M&I. This template is an excellent resource for myself because as a USC campus rep I can use the information from the thread to point out the superiority and promote just one of the many benefits WSO websters can get! Every advantage counts! As well, Animalz has served as an excellent scapegoat for Patrick to fund the comparisons between M&I and WSO so thank you Animalz!

Time to get back in the cage!

Monkey Boy Out

@wallstreetoasis.com - this resume looks great!

But is anyone else having trouble editing the template? It seems, at least for me, that the sections were created using the tables feature? Maybe I'm not as savvy with Word as I thought? Just spacing down to add another entry under a section is turning out to be a real bitch...

turn view gridlines on...that should help you a lot. The resume uses tables to keep everything properly aligned like a good anal banker would ;-)

I can't find the link to download this resume template. Any help?

Anyone know how to download this on the new forums?

same issue, couldn't find the link to download this on the new forum

same, cannot find link.

That dude's resume just shat all over my self esteem :-)

Very useful! Using a two column layout for name/position/date/location is key for glueing text exactly on the margin limits.

Edit: just noticed the tables. This might be more relevant to EMEA but does anyone know whether the CV scanning machines some banks use (APSs or 'Applicant Tracking Systems') can read through tables? I vaguely remember someone telling me they can't

Thanks WSO! Now we can all have the same resume format!

Prefer this to the M&I template. Thanks, WSO!

This is helpful! thanks

How would I go about adding an additional experience with this table format? I have tried copy/paste that doesn't seem to work

make sure you have gridlines turned on under view...

Thanks WSO! This site has been an invaluable resource, keep up the great work. Oh, and the the Interview prep packs is fantastic as well.

Awesome Thank you so much for this informative post!

Thanks for sharing

Awesome, thanks

This format seems to be longer than a page when i try to export it to word? Any reason why?

Anyone have a resume template? ( Originally Posted: 07/09/2010 )

Or would using a template be a bad idea?

Everyone uses the same format and that's how recruiters like it. It makes it easier for them to look over it. They look over so many that it's good to have them in a similar format. It shows that you have at least done enough research to know that there is a generally accepted format

I am not sure about the M&I template, it doesn't look really nice. personally I would only use it after I had my own modifications...

Experienced Resume Templates ( Originally Posted: 09/15/2011 )

Any one have any baller experienced IB resumes they'd be willing to share (i.e. IB lateral, PE resumes ). Thanks.

I've got a PDF of some experienced MBA resumes if you want to sift through them

I would like to if the offer is still available.

Would love that also.

Where do the odds & ends fit in the standard ib-esque resume template ( Originally Posted: 05/10/2015 )

Why i am asking is because many job advertisements do ask for the applicant to be knowledgeable or familiar with XX and YY. On other occasions the advertisement will give a quick description of the role (eg. pricing derivatives, analysis, etc) and i could not figure a way to show my knowledge on that besides listing a derivatives or analysis-type class under my "relevant coursework", which is definitely not going to help very much.

In another instance, the more quantitative sort of jobs request knowledge in calculus, which i studied in college however... unfortunately for me the name of that unit was not simply named calculus or mathematics. So, listing it under "relevant coursework" is not going to give the manager the impression i did calculus, he will probably think its simply another liberal arts elective and i do not have any calculus background --> dinged.

So fellas.. in a resume that has the usual 'education', 'experience', '(technical)# skills'. how do i present the odds & ends? a resume with bullets of 'familiar/knowledgeable in XX' is only going to make it good for fast food.

What exactly are you asking? And doesn't everyone take calculus during college? If any role was even that quantitative to use calculus material, I'm sure that they would require upper level proof based math courses which you can list instead of your "calculus" class.

Thank you so much!

Are there any examples on how to convert Military to Civil Investment banking resume ? I want to update blog post, so any of articles will be a great fit for my purposes.

Could someone guide me on how to format the grey line that separates your job function from its timeline? I can only seem to get it to split the two right down the middle, when on this template the grey line leans slightly to the right. Thanks.

This is awesome thanks!

Hi! the template is great, he only thing I wonder is why the age does not appear on the resume. Thanks again

What the best way to organize the following on you resume: Same company Multiple positions Multiple locations

E.g. You were an analyst for a bank in NYC , then became an associate for the same bank but based in Hong Kong. Where would you include the location?

Classic Option: ABC Bank_______________________________ New York, New York Analyst___________________________________September 2012 - September 2014 -bullet -bullet Associate_________________________________September 2014 - September 2015 -bullet -bullet

Unfortunately now it looks as if the Associate position is in NY as well.

Option 2: ABC Bank Analyst___________________________________New York, New York ___________________________________________ September 2012 - September 2014 -bullet -bullet Associate________________________________Honk Kong __________________________________________ September 2014 - September 2015 -bullet -bullet

Feels like option 2 takes up too many lines.

Thomas James, investment banker who moonlights as a bespoke suit salesman.

Helped a lot, many thanks

Thanks a lot for doing this, do you think it would be fine to add non-financial work experience or add volunteering experience overseas? Thanks again

Incredible resource here, I'm looking to update my resume using the deal experience template, but the link keeps circling back to this post. Any thoughts?

Thanks for the template!

Thanks WSO , used it and scored myself a SA gig at a very small PE firm! (I'm not from a target).

badass - great job!

What about the Jessica Pointing Resume?

What about it? Very impressive resume, but not necessarily banker-specific in terms of format and style.

Does anybody think one can be justified in using the 'experienced' resume template over this one for SA applications? For example, I have experience at a boutique corporate advisory shop and a small fund - I want to highlight this over the fact that I am from a non-target.

I have a question regarding the last one : Don't put "founded investment banking club" --- but I did, I really did, so what do I put on my resume ? President, Member ?

Very nice template, I had to make some modifications to fit everything but awesome!

I just got admitted to a mentorship program in the Finance Sector Union in my country. I will basically get a mentor working in the financial industry that I can meet and get tips and stuff like that. Is this something I can put on my resume? Currently in the process of applying for MSc finance so really trying to polish it.

I cannot access to the resume template for candidates with deal experience.

Great! Any chance you would have a template for an experienced hire looking to change careers or would it be okay for you to have a look at my resume? Thank you!

Does this template work for wealth management? If I were interviewing for an advisor role.

Yes - it can work for any industry really, I would just make sure that if you are an experienced hire that you list Experience above Education.

Good luck! Patrick

Does it make sense to include Series 79 and Series 63 certifications? If so, which section should it be included in? Formatting?

Yes - always include certification information. Should go at the bottom in Additional Information

Thank you for this post!

Would you recommend that undergraduates with transactional experience structure the work experience entries to reflect that of the Private Equity template? Still keeping education at top followed by work experience, but indented work experience entries to make note of different projects.

I understand that summer analysts aren't typically employed long enough to gain significant exposure / see the deal close - but is it something to consider?

Thank you for the post!

^^^ seriously, thanks! been lurking for a while and have been using this template

This is so helpful! Thank you WSO!

Tuck format seems better than this.

Hi, hoping I get a reply. I was wondering if I should inculde my current part-time barista job on my CV. I already have a lot of other finance related stuff on my cv which is quite enough to fill the page. I was just wondering if I should include the part-time job simply because I am currently employed there. Pls help!

It depends, if some of the finance related stuff includes jobs, I would leave it off. If you've never had a finance job or internship before I would leave it on. You don't want to look like someone who has never worked in his life. I'd leave it off if you have had other finance jobs as it isn't relevant.

I like how you redid the article to give it more structure and put the spotlight on the many advantages of this template.

What should I do to improve my resume if I don't have any finance related internship or coursework. I don't have any work experience also, currently pursuing masters in comp.sci but want to apply to trading firms. Please advice how should I prepare the resume. Thanks.

This is the post that made join this site. Cheers.

Hi Patrick,

Resume looks great but is useless when it comes to editing it. E.g. I cannot add another experience sections (e.g. had 3 internships instead of 2), when I try to copy paste a section it does not work. You advised to turn gridlines on but it does not help, the only thing it does is that you can see gridelines? Please help

I would just do this manually

buggme: I would just do this manually

Great job ;)

Absolutely phenomenal

Hi, Thanks for the awesome template!

I was wondering if you could tell me what to put on this resume as an incoming freshman? If I have trading and investing experience for my portfolio, should I put them on?

Also, is it possible to secure an internship on Wall St as a freshman?

As @Hehetao" and probably others above have mentioned, the link to the experienced resume template is incorrect and leads to this very page pls fix thx

Yes, this still seems to be the case.

Thanks for the great information and template.

Resume questions - How are IB resumes different from regular resumes? ( Originally Posted: 11/08/2006 )

I was just wondering, are IB resumes suppose to be different from regular resumes? We've already established that it does not need an objective and it has to be all on one page. What else? What sections are most looked at and what are just being glanced through?

its pretty much the same as any other Financial services resume

Disclaimer: The post above has been made by someone who is not currently employed in IBD , and has not had an interview yet...

I know in my interviews the things the interviewers really keyed on was the previous employment section of my resume. The summer after my junior year I interned at a technical consulting firm doing mostly risk management. They seemed to be especially interested in that.

My resume had 4 sections: Education, Work Experience, Skills and Honors, and Activities.

Obviously they were more interested in the work experience and education background...but I still was asked about some of the honors I'd received (honor societies, leadership positions, etc).

I had 3 sections: Education; Professional Experience; and Activities and Interests. I included any "honors" under the education section when describing my college and high school education. The only academic honor I've received in college is dean's list anyway, but I had a bunch of awards (such as being a national merit scholar) that I made sure to put under my high school education description. I also put my SAT score under the high school description, and would particularly recommend doing this for anyone at a non-target if your score is good (minimum 1400) - it shows that you are smart and for example chose to attend whatever college you're at for a scholarship, etc. I'm at a target but have mine on their anyway, because let's face it, there are plenty of ways to get into a target school and thus plenty of people at my school with crappy SAT scores.

Make absolutely sure you include a section like "Activities and Interests." Sure, the banks want to see your GPA, college, and work experience most, but this "Activities and Interests" section helps to make you more three-dimensional and interesting - I was pretty much always asked about my extracurricular experience and "interests" (I had running and skiing listed among other things). It's good to put some athletic type of activity under your interests section (you don't have to be on a team, you can just say you play with friends or engages in the sport (like skiing) over vacations).

many people talk about SAT scores, would it be useful to be in a society like mensa for resumes, and where would you list that?

I would only include SAT if it helps

Don't list mensa..it's not that hard to get into, and it makes you sound cheesy. And yea, only list SAT scores if they're good. If they are good, it's a nice way of showing you're smart without bragging (it's just a score after all, and many people list them).

MENSA scores would make you look like a tool, I would axe any resume that had it.

To add to this, one of the main differences between IB Resume vs. other ones is that you create ayour resume, send it to your friend, wait for comments and edit accordingly. Keep doing that at least 10 times and then change it back to what it was originally.

Also, dont forgot to get OCD with your resume and make it PERFECT!

A thought, are employers fond of reading through same format resumes? Is it acceptable and is that what they prefer?

I once thought this too. However, was reassured that analysts appreciate the easy to read, universal-style template(s) used. I built my template from scratch but it's basically identical to this one, barring the following differences:

• Name sits in the centre of the document, all personal contact info is centered on the line underneath
• I separated professional experience and extracurricular / leadership experience
• The lines separating education, professional experience etc are extended to meet both margins, rather than just underline the heading length

I know you said not to include the "Investment Banking Club," but I genuinely did something impressive with my academic club. Not only was it trash before I took over, but I organized a Business Career Connection that hosted a BB bank, a regional bank, and the largest credit union in the world, which led to several jobs for the club members and increased membership... would it be acceptable to list this?

Just wanted to let everyone know that before submitting my resume to an alumni who was helping me out, he almost laughed me out of the room, told me to fix my resume even if it took all night and to submit it the next morning so he could hand it in.

Typed in on WSO the investment banking template, found this article, made the changes, submitted my resume, and got a phone interview within the week. One of the comments was "we called you for two reasons. One: how well your resume was put together"

Even went as far as to speak in front of the club I run with about 50 participants that if they were not using this template, to immediately format their resume to this style.

Thanks so much for the template WSO!

NonTargetHardo2019

awesome, thanks for sharing and happy to help! :-)

File is corrupted FYI!

should be fixed now...updated to latest version of Word

The link for deal experienced resume redirects to this page. Anyway , I was wondering could I somehow mention a deal that just closed when I joined the company ? I I can and have studied the deal in detail, including its valuation and negotiation

Can this template be used by MBA students targeting Associate positions? Or does the structure and format differ?

You should use your school's resume format — MBA recruiting is largely done within your school's alumni team.

Thought this was a very helpful resume! Most colleges provide you with industry-specific templates but at times seem to lack that extra edge or detail that recruiters/HR is currently looking for.

Thank you for sharing!

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Harvard College Bullet Point Resume Template

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Word (.docx) version.

Download or make a copy to edit (do not request edit access): Google Docs version.

Use this bullet-point template to build out your first draft of your resume.

8+ Best Google Docs Resume Templates—and How to Use Them

I remember the first time I had to write a resume . I was 16 and applying to a role at American Eagle (yes, I made a resume in high school; no, I did not need one to get an after-school job; yes, I was very extra). Having zero context for what one should look like, I took my older brother’s resume and copy-and-pasted my own experience into his template.

Maybe that’s your go-to strategy: Find someone with a great resume and make it your own. I won’t deny it worked well for me—and I still use that same template to this day.

Once you perfect your resume, check out open jobs on The Muse to maximize your chances »

But if you’ve never made a resume and don’t have someone else’s to work off of, you may be in need of a template. We’ve collected eight of our favorite Google Docs resume templates that are fun and cheap (if not free!)—as well as some tips for using them to your advantage.

What makes a good resume template?

You want to pick one that’s visually appealing, easy to use, and allows you to include all the necessary resume sections. But you should also choose a resume template that can be easily “read” by an applicant tracking system (ATS) . 

ATSs are software that most employers use to store, file, and search candidate resumes to help them stay organized and find the applicants that meet the most qualifications. These programs are pretty advanced, but they’re far from perfect, and certain types of formatting may make it difficult or impossible for an ATS to accurately parse your resume.

To give yourself the best chance of getting to the next round of hiring, you want to make sure  the Google Docs resume template you choose doesn’t include any of these formatting elements:

• Images , including photos ( in the U.S. ), logos, graphics, graphs, other visuals, or text contained in any of these elements
• Headers and footers
• Less common fonts
• Columns: ATSs are programmed to read left to right, so they’ll often read columns straight across rather than reading each column from top to bottom. If this doesn’t change the experience of reading your resume, columns may be OK.

Best built-in Google Docs resume templates

Want to make creating a resume in Google Docs super easy on yourself? Choose one of Google’s premade resume templates. If you’re on docs.google.com, just click on “Template gallery” near the top right of the page and scroll down to see your resume options. If you’re already in a Google Doc, you’ll want to click “File”> “New” > “From template gallery” to see all of your options.

While Google has five built-in templates, we only recommend three of them for getting through any ATS you might encounter.

1.  Google Docs Coral resume template

Need something super simple? Look no further than this resume created right in Google Docs. With just a pop of color and clear direction as to what goes where and how to best organize your information, you can’t go wrong with this template. To make sure the ATS doesn’t get confused, you’ll want to just delete the “Hello” and “I’m” from the top of the page. Then it’s your choice whether you want your name in black or coral.

2. Google Docs Spearmint resume template

What we like most about this resume template is that the skills section goes first, which makes it perfect for career changers .

Why, you ask? Listing your skills at the top allows you to emphasize what you bring to the table (a.k.a., your transferable skills ), especially to a hiring manager who may not be able to tell how your past experiences apply to their job posting. (This resume format , where your skills are listed above your work history, is called the hybrid or combination resume .)

If you’re using this template as a career changer, make sure to keep it relevant to the job you want. This may mean removing certain jobs and skills that don’t add to your qualifications for the role you’re applying for, and possibly renaming the “Experience” section, “Relevant Experience.”

And don’t forget to tailor your bullets to apply to the job’s requirements.

3. Google Docs Modern Writer Modern Writer resume template

This is the third and final of Google’s default resume templates that we recommend. Like the “Spearmint” template above, the skills are at the top of the page, but remember that you can always tweak the order of a resume template to suit your situation (just copy and paste to move a section up or down if needed!).

Other Google Docs resume templates

Here are a few more templates from around the internet that can be opened as Google Docs files.

4. The Muse’s Resume Template

Yes, we made a resume template on Google Docs! It’s free, easy to plug your own information into, and explains where everything should go and how, from what your bullets should look like to what skills you should list.

Just click “File” > “Make a copy” to create your own copy.

5. Career Reload’s Mindy resume template

This Google doc template from Career Reload makes it easy for anyone reading your resume to spot the section they’re looking for. Just swap the outdated resume objective for a resume summary and you’re good to go.

6. Career Reload’s Josh resume template

Here’s another option from Career Reload that uses white space to change up the visual look of your resume. This is a great choice if you’re earlier in your career or want to focus on just a few experiences—since the formatting makes for less text space overall. 

You’ll notice that the section headings in this template are in columns, but this is an example of ATS-friendly columns—since reading the text from left to right still makes sense.

7. ResuStudio’s Google Docs resume template

If you want to up your game (and are willing to pay a bit extra to do so), this template looks that extra level of sleek and professional without being too much for the hiring manager (or ATS) to parse through. 

If you’re a bit further into your career, this template also has a two-page version. But make sure to remove the “References available upon request” bit from whichever version you use—it’s just wasting valuable space. When employers want your references, they know they can request them.

Cost: $9.26 (with frequent changes)

8.  BestResumes’ Google Doc resume template

For a very reasonable price, this template gives you color, ATS-friendly design, and several ways to emphasize your most important qualifications. Plus with the purchase, you’ll also get a two-page template, a cover letter template , and a reference sheet template to match your resume design.

Cost: $5.96 (with frequent changes)

9. Any ATS-friendly resume template you’d like

None of these templates doing it for you? That’s OK—you’ve got options. Etsy has many more paid resume templates made by designers and you can search for ATS-compatible ones.

You can also use almost any Microsoft Word or other resume template you find in Google Docs with a few easy steps:

• Download the template.
• Go to docs.google.com and click the folder icon to open the file picker.
• Choose “Upload” along the top of the box that appears and pick the file.
• Save the file as a Google Doc.

Or if you’re already in a blank Google doc, click “File”>”Open” and follow steps three and four above.

Some formatting won’t translate well between programs, so be sure to double check that the template still looks good in Google Docs.

Bonus tips for using your Google Docs resume template

Not to sound too obvious, but using these templates is about more than just plugging your skills and experience in and calling it a day. You’ll need to follow a few steps:

• Replace everything in the template with your own information , otherwise the hiring manager is going to wonder why it says “Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet” under your education. This means giving your resume several looks over, and then having a friend or two check it for errors, too.
• Make the template your own , whatever that means for you. If you don’t like the color of the headings, change them. If you think your name is too big and it’s taking away space you could use for your bullet points, go ahead and decrease the font size. If you want to add your own section, whether for “ Certifications ” or “ Projects ” or some other category that’s relevant to the job description, feel free to convert an existing section you don’t need or otherwise tweak the template to fit it in. Templates are meant to be personalized, not followed to a T.
• Focus on the content . Pretty resumes are great, but if what they say isn’t tailored to the job, thoroughly proofread, or at least somewhat interesting to read, you’re not going to land that interview. So make sure you’re writing stellar resume bullets and following these important resume tips .

How does all that sound? Great, now get out there and make your resume shine! Teenage Alyse would be so proud.

Regina Borsellino contributed writing, reporting, and/or advice to this article.

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Best Resume Advice According to Reddit: 6 Tips That Actually Work

• Júlia Mlčúchova , 
• Updated January 29, 2024 9 min read

Do you often turn to Reddit for answers to your burning questions? And, have you considered exploring this popular online forum to uncover what the best resume advice according to Reddit is?

Of course, Reddit can be notoriously difficult to navigate and not all of its users actually know what they're talking about.

Still, Reddit and other public forums can be valuable sources of first-hand experience in all things resume. 

We've painstakingly sifted through countless subreddits, all dedicated to resume writing and career tips, to save you the trouble.

Now, we present to you the crème-de-la-crème of Reddit resume advice. 

In this article, you'll find:

• 6 best resume advice according to Reddit;
• What we think about them; 
• And, of course, examples. 

Table of Contents

Click on a section to skip

TL;DR: 5 Best resume advice according to reddit

1. use a single column layout to pass the ats.

• 2. Don't name your resume 'resume.pdf'

3. Keep your job descriptions short. Use bullet points and action verbs

4. use numbers to quantify your achievements, 5. less is more for both word count & job applications per day, 6. use resume builders to make your life easier, key takeaways: best resume advice according to reddit.

First, for those in a hurry, here's the TL;DR version of our top five resume advice gathered from Reddit:

• Use a single column layout to pass the ATS.
• Don't name your resume 'resume.pdf'.
• Keep you job descriptions short. Use bullet points and action verbs.
• Use numbers to quantify your achievements.
• Less is more for both word count & job applications per day.
• Use resume builders to make your life easier.

Now, let's look at the best resume advice according to Reddit users more closely. Here's what we think:

If you thought that layout doesn't play any significant role in the success rate of your resume, you thought wrong!

In case the company you're applying to uses an Applicant Tracking System, always opt for a single column layout . 

The reason? ATS compatibility. 

Even though all ATSs are designed to read text from top to bottom, left to right , not every ATS is programmed to distinguish between columns. 

And you just can't know with certainty which software you'll encounter. Therefore, reduce the risk of your resume being incorrectly processed or rejected by picking a one-column ATS friendly resume template . This will make the process of parsing and interpreting information easier and safer.

HOWEVER. That doesn't mean you should discard the two-column resume all-together. Here are some reasons why a two-column layout can still be beneficial :

• Non-ATS employers . Many companies still don't use ATS systems, making the ATS compatibility argument less relevant in these cases. For these employers, the visual and organizational benefits of a two-column layout could be more advantageous.
• Aesthetics . A two-column format can be more visually engaging, making your resume stand out.
• Ease of reading . Smaller chunks of information can make the resume easier for the human eye to navigate.
• Space management . For those with less experience, a two-column layout can help evenly distribute text and avoid large empty spaces.
• Strategic organization . It allows for a more strategic presentation of information, guiding the recruiter's eyes through your resume efficiently.

Moreover, if you're just entering the workforce with no experience , your resume is probably still quite sparse. 

Because of this, you may end up with a large, unattractive empty space at the bottom of your document. And with one-column structure resumes, this is often the case. 

There' s an easy fix! Organizing your resume sections into a two-column structure can help spread the text more evenly.  

2. Don't name your resume 'resume.pdf'

Indeed, putting together a good resume is quite a tedious process.

There're so many rules and principles to think about, for instance:

• Every single resume section, whether it be the resume summary , work experience section, education section, skills section, or any other optional section, requires your full and undivided attention. 
• You must remember to always tailor your resume to fit a specific job description . 
• Not to mention the subsequent formatting and proofreading!

By the time you've finished writing your resume, you're likely mentally drained. 

It's at this time that errors creep out from the most unexpected places.

One such error is not naming your resume file appropriately .

How to name your resume file: step-by-step.

When naming your resume file for submission, it's important to consider clarity, professionalism, and the likelihood of it being easily found by the recruiters.  

Here are our recommendations for naming your resume file:

• Use your name. Start with your full name. This is the most crucial piece of information because it clearly identifies the document as yours. For example, "PeterStones" .
• Specify the document type. Make it clear that the document is a resume . This helps distinguish your resume from other documents like a cover letter . For example, " Resume ".
• Add the job title. This can be particularly helpful if you are sending the resume directly to a hiring manager. For example, " ProductManager ".
• Use a professional format. Avoid using any unnecessary symbols or fancy formatting. Underscores (_) or hyphens (-) are acceptable to separate words.

A good file name for your resume could look like this: "PeterStones_Resume_ProductManager.pdf".

Finally, before hitting send, consider carefully what to write in an email when sending a resume . Of course, when you're applying for a job, every detail matters. Don't neglect the content of your email – it's also responsible for making a positive first impression.

Undoubtedly, you know that the work experience section is the heart and soul of your resume.  

The recruiters always pay it the most attention, and so you need to be extra diligent and patient while writing about your past employment. 

Consequently, many will try to fit in as much information as humanly possible, disregarding the readability and quality of their entries. To steer clear from such mistake, follow these two simple principles:

• Organize your work descriptions into bullet points . Under each work experience entry, list 4-5 bullet points underlining your most notable responsibilities and achievements. That is to say, you should focus on demonstrating the impact your presence had on your former employment, rather than just stating your daily duties. 
• Open the said bullet points with action verbs . The recruiters don't care about long winding sentences! That's why it's a good idea to start each bullet point with an action verb . This will not only make your writing more concise, but it'll also depict you as a proactive, and therefore valuable, employee.

For example, a well conceptualized work entry description can look like this:

Work experience entry example:

Senior Product Manager XYZ Tech Solutions, New York, NY | June 2019 – Present

• Led a team of 8 in the development of an innovative mobile application, increasing user retention by 35% within six months.
• Collaborated with cross-departmental teams to streamline product delivery, reducing time-to-market by 20%.
• Managed product lifecycle from concept to launch, including market analysis, positioning, and rollout strategy.
• Oversaw a budget of $1M, optimizing resource allocation and cutting costs by 15% without impacting product quality.

This is another great resume advice according to a Reddit user!

The recruiters adore to see numbers in your resume! Why, you ask?

It makes life a bit easier for them. By quantifying your accomplishments, you simultaneously allow recruiters to better gauge your abilities ; and add more weight to your words . 

Be as specific as you can - numbers are universal. 

Struggling to figure out how to incorporate numbers into your resume? Here are few examples of what you can quantify:

• Revenue and sales increases. If you contributed to growing revenue or sales, specify the percentage or dollar amount of the increase. For example: " Boosted sales by 20% within a six-month period. "
• Cost reduction. Similarly, if you implemented strategies that reduced costs, mention the amount or percentage saved. For example: " Cut operational costs by 15% through process optimization ."
• Time efficiency. If you streamlined processes, indicate how much time was saved. For example: " Reduced project turnaround time by 30% ."
• Team management. If you manage a team, you can specify the number of people you supervise. For example: " Led a team of 12 sales professionals ."
• Project scope and delivery. Quantify the size or value of the projects you managed, then mention if you delivered them under budget or ahead of schedule. For example:  " Managed projects worth $2M, consistently delivering 10% under budget ."
• Training and development. If you were involved in training, mention the number of people you trained or the improvement in performance post-training. For example: " Trained over 30 employees, leading to a 40% increase in overall team efficiency. "

Resume advice two-in-one!

As this Reddit user rightly pointed out, less is sometimes more . 

This is especially true when it comes to the content of your resume as well as the amount of job applications you send out each day .

When crafting your resume, keep in mind that you must show the recruiters that you have everything they're looking for . Chances are, you actually have much more – more diverse job experience; more interesting hobbies; or more fulfilling volunteer work you'd like to share with them. 

Obviously, resumes have their length limitations . Once you've started to write yours, you'll soon learn that you have to be picky! 

Recruiters prefer resumes that are focused, relevant, and straight-to-the-point. In other words, don't make them read information they didn't ask for. 

The same applies to applying for jobs.

Many in this situation start panic-applying to every single job posting they find. Because they assume that the more applications they send, the bigger their chances at landing a job will be. 

Makes sense right?

In theory, maybe. In practice? Hardly!

Believe it or not, there's such a thing as sending too many applications. Basically, if your solely focus on the quantity of applications, you're running the risk of sacrificing their quality . 

And that is a problem. If you'd like to learn how to go about this problem, including tips on how to manage the pressure of job hunting, take a look at what research says about the ideal number of job applications .

Now, hand over your heart!

Would you prefer to sit in front of your computer for hours, battling with Microsoft Word and its many settings? Trying to create a perfect resume design from scratch? 

Admit it, even the thought of setting margins and spacing makes you roll your eyes. 

Hence, arguably the best resume advice according to reddit is to make a resume with an online resume builder to avoid these inconveniences (politely said).

No need to scratch your head over a layout or the best colour palette! Instead, simply pick a resume template that best suits your needs (both aesthetic and practical), fill in all your information, and watch your resume come to life in seconds. 

Additionally, resume builders can proofread and correct any misspellings or typos you might've otherwise missed. 

Sounds good? If so, your perfect resume is one click away.

Resume template by Kickresume

This resume was written by our experienced resume writers specifically for this profession.

In conclusion, Reddit and other public forums can serve as a good starting point for seeking resume advice.

Apart from first-hand applicant experience, many posts are sumbitted by actual hiring managers.

However, there's a lot to weed out first to find the best resume advice according to reddit.

Plus, you should always compare your findings with reputable sources. Which is exactly what we did.

• Don't forget to name your resume file appropriately.
• Keep your job descriptions short with bullet points and action verbs.
• Keep your resume concise and the number of daily applications reasonable. 
• Use online tools (like Kickresume) to build your resume.

Ready to create the perfect resume?

Create a beautiful resume quickly with the help of AI and our customizable templates.

Julia has recently joined Kickresume as a career writer. From helping people with their English to get admitted to the uni of their dreams to advising them on how to succeed in the job market. It would seem that her career is on a steadfast trajectory. Julia holds a degree in Anglophone studies from Metropolitan University in Prague, where she also resides. Apart from creative writing and languages, she takes a keen interest in literature and theatre.

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