resume format for a college student

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24 College Student Resumes That Landed Jobs in 2024

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 24 college student resume examples to help inspire your resume in 2024 .

College Student Resume Example

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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.

College Student Education Resume

A career objective statement is typically a brief 1-3 sentence pitch that highlights your inspiration for the role (internship, in this case), but with a twist—it’s better custom-fitted to match the hiring company’s needs. Plus, it’s a sweet spot for reiterating your enthusiasm to contribute to the potential employer’s goals.

College Student Social Work Resume

College student social work student resume example with restaurant server experience

In your college student social work student resume, right after your work experience, slide in your Projects section. It’s a good spot to detail experiences like that community outreach workshop or mental health seminar you attended. And when you talk about your wins, throw in some numbers to beef up your credibility.

Related resume guides

College Graduate
Grad School
Entry level

Job seeker in purple shirt reviews past accomplishments and statistics to include in job materials

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

Job seeker reviews qualifications and accomplishments to build job application for next role

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

Portfolio of past work experience proving impact on the job with statistics, graphs, and examples

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

Two hands rearranging sections on job application materials

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:

College student resume - education section example

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

Yellow and purple computer screens depict career document builders on BeamJobs

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!

11+ Best Student Resume Templates (W/ Examples & Resources)

Writing an impressive resume as a student with no work experience can be a challenging task, often resulting in a generic document that fails to capture your full potential.

This challenge intensifies in the face of a sea of applicants vying for the same role as you, making it all the more critical to stand out.

Fortunately, we’re here to solve this problem!

This article presents a selection of impactful student resume templates and examples that will help transform your raw skills and academic accomplishments into an impressive, attention-grabbing resume.

Here’s what we’ll cover:

12 Student Resume Templates

3 student resume examples, 5 other professional resources for students.

Let’s dive in!

#1. Creative Resume Template

The Creative resume template offers a visually appealing and unique design that can greatly benefit students.

With a modern and innovative layout that leverages eye-catching colors, this template allows students to showcase their skills, experiences, and achievements all on one page.

The template's artistic element can help you stand out from the crowd and make a memorable impression on potential employers by highlighting your creativity, attention to detail, and ability to think outside the box, all of which are valuable attributes in today's competitive job market.

#2. Basic Resume Template

This resume template comes with a straightforward and clean design that offers numerous benefits to students.

For starters, it provides a professional and well-organized structure that lets you present your skills, education, and experiences in a concise and effective manner. Not to mention, by positioning the skills section at the top of the resume, this template emphasizes your skills over your work experience (which is something you’re likely lacking).

This template can help any student, regardless of their standing, create a professional-looking resume that showcases their abilities and increases their chances of securing interviews and job opportunities.

#3. Combined Resume Template

Just like the name implies, this template is a perfect blend of two resume formats , namely the functional and the reverse-chronological format .

This Combined template can arm you with a versatile and effective way to present your skills and professional experiences, as well as any relevant optional sections like certifications and personal projects.

In a nutshell, the Combined template gives you the flexibility to leverage both the popularity of the chronological format and the impact you can make by emphasizing your skills and abilities.

So, if you’re not sure which resume format works best for you or if you’re on the fence about a particular template, this stylish and impactful design might just be the choice for you.

#4. Minimalist Resume Template

Novorésumé's Minimalist resume template offers a sleek and simple design that comes highly recommended for students.

True to its name, this template aims to highlight only essential elements through clean aesthetics. Specifically, it lets students present their strong points and most noteworthy achievements concisely, eliminating unnecessary clutter.

With a stylish color palette of pink and gray and a design that puts skills and work experience side by side, there’s no way you can go wrong picking this student resume template.

#5. Traditional Resume Template

This template’s classic and time-tested design is guaranteed to work wonders for students looking to work in all fields, but especially those aiming for more traditional industries like banking or finance.

Following a structured design that highlights all key resume sections, such as the resume objective , education, work experience, and skills sections, this template lets you include all your relevant information without your resume spilling over to page two .

#6. General Resume Template

The General resume template is meant to offer you a versatile and adaptable format to showcase your qualifications, including your awards, your foreign language skills , your education, and much more.

The header’s blue color is meant to grab recruiters’ attention to two of the most important resume sections–the contact information and the resume summary sections.

Once you have their attention, you can wow them with other relevant sections such as your skills, work experience, and anything else you deem important.

Easily customizable and practical to skim through, this resume template can make your application look good even if you don’t put too much effort into it.

#7. Modern Resume Template

The Modern resume template is a great choice for students who want their resume to look sleek and stylish, and yet professional.

By incorporating modern elements like horizontal lines and bold blue color, this template is a great choice for practically every field you apply to.

By using the Modern template, students can present themselves as forward-thinking and professional candidates, increasing their chances of standing out from the competition.

#8. IT Resume Template

If getting into IT is your dream, then this resume template is for you!

The team at Novorésumé specifically designed the IT resume template to cater to the needs of students in the field. Using a clean and modern layout , this template offers a comprehensive structure that highlights your relevant technical skills, certifications, and education history.

And, if you have any professional experience in IT, even if it’s through freelance work, internships , or personal projects, this template can surely help you highlight it through the reverse-chronological format - a favorite among recruiters.

#9. Simple Resume Template

Sometimes, a simple resume template can be just the way to let your personality and achievements shine through.

This is exactly what the Simple resume template does for students.

With a straightforward and reader-friendly structure that strays away from extravagant design elements and flashy colors, this template aims to let your achievements do the talking.

So, if your professional journey is already rich in accomplishments or if you’re one of those people who think simplicity is always the right choice, then you just found your match.

#10. Functional Resume Template

Just like the format it’s named after, the Functional resume template lets you highlight your skills and qualifications upfront, which is perfect if you don’t have enough work experience to list.

What makes this template even more impactful is the minty color that grabs recruiters’ attention, the perfectly aligned sections, and the way it leverages symbols to show your proficiency in say, foreign languages or technical skills .

#11. Skill-Based Resume Template

The Skill-Based resume template does just what the name implies - it provides students with a valuable format that emphasizes their key skills and competencies.

This template allows students to highlight their relevant abilities and qualifications, regardless of their work experience . By organizing their resume based on skills rather than professional achievements, students can effectively showcase their strengths and demonstrate their suitability for a particular role.

This resume template lets you focus on your most marketable skills, making it easier for potential employers to quickly identify your strengths and match them with job requirements.

#12. College Resume Template

Are you a college student looking to land your first gig? Then the College resume template is just what you need.

Specifically designed to cater to the unique needs of college students, this template offers a comprehensive structure that lets you highlight your academic achievements, extracurricular activities , internships, and relevant coursework.

The College resume template lets you effectively showcase your education, skills, and experiences in a concise manner and contemporary style. The resume’s design is tailored to the specific needs of college students, increasing your chances of impressing potential employers and securing your next entry-level position!

#1. High-School Student Resume

#2. College Freshman Resume

#3. Internship Resume

Picking the right template for your resume is just a small first step toward landing your first gig.

There are several other things you’ll need to do during your job hunt , such as networking with the right people, applying for the right positions for you, and continuously honing your skills.

Here are some resources that are guaranteed to come in handy:

Professional Networking | What Is It & Why It Matters . Networking is an excellent way to lay solid career foundations and make professional connections you can even use down the line. This article outlines all the benefits of professional networking and gives you 9 essential tips to get it right.
30+ Jobs for Teenagers (Where & How to Look) . These jobs are perfect for students of all ages, from high school freshmen to college seniors, so start digging.
101 Essential Skills to Put on a Resume . Without a solid work experience section, your skills section is the most important part of your resume. Do it justice by going through the most essential skills every resume should have in 2024.
How to List Computer Skills on a Resume . Nowadays, 92% of jobs require digital skills , according to the National Skills Coalition. Since students and younger professionals are more likely to be well-versed in digital skills, it’s good to know how to list such skills in your resume. Learn how with our article!
How to Write a Cover Letter in 2024 . Cover letters are still an essential part of job applications, so you shouldn’t submit one without attaching a cover letter. If you think writing a cover letter is even harder than creating a resume, though, head over to our dedicated article to become a cover letter pro.