Resume Tips for College Students

Many college students lack experience in their field of choice.  The conundrum we hear all the time is: you need experience to get a job but you need a job to get experience.  Creating a resume can be really hard when you have little to no experience in the field for which you are applying for an internship or job.  Here are some tips to help you create a resume that sheds you in the best light!

1. Keep the references to high school very minimal… stick to only the most impressive, relevant stuff.  High school experiences lack relevance the further you get into your college years.  Adding too many high school references to your resume can seem juvenile and make it seem like you haven’t done much since leaving high school.  You can, and should, keep relevant high school experiences, but once you gain enough relevant experience, go ahead and eliminate your high school references entirely.

2. Play up responsibilities for retail and food service jobs.  If you had any leadership roles, however small, it shows initiative and responsibility.  It also shows that your boss trusted you to take on authority making you seem trustworthy and valuable.

3. If you have any office or internship experience, make them the most prominent.  If you have enough, you can leave out retail/food service jobs entirely.  List all of your responsibilities and play up the most impressive and relevant ones.  You can also make some of the more general or menial tasks more vague and play up your most important tasks in the interview. Employers want to hear most about what experiences you have that make you a good fit for their company and the position you are applying for, so it’s okay to gloss over, or leave out, the less relevant stuff!

4. Make a section dedicated to your skills and list all of your computer skills.  Technological skills are an advantage of our generation, so list everything you know how to do as far as the Internet and technology are concerned.  Include things like Microsoft Office, Social Media, and Photoshop; this amps up your resume and shows what you’re bringing to the table making you seem like more of an asset.

5. If you have a good GPA and/or have any impressive academic accomplishments, make sure to include that in your education section.  This information is impressive and something to be proud of.  It shows employers that you are a dedicated, hard-working, and intelligent student that will be able to adapt to their work environment and that you can handle a challenge.

6. List any extracurricular and volunteer activities together- this shows off your interests and well roundedness. You want to tell a little bit about yourself outside of the classroom/work to help potential employers to get to know you as a person.  This allows them to see you as a complete person and not just another applicant.  You also never know what the person reading your resume might connect with and if they happen to share an interest with you, that will help them remember you, which is always great!

Now get cracking on your resume and get yourself that internship!