Student Resume Examples & Format for 2024

Did you know that employers care more about your experience than your grades? And did you know that you can have experience even if you haven’t had a job yet? Move on to learn how to make a student resume that checks all the boxes on a recruiter’s checklist.

In this guide you will find:

• Awesome resume examples for students that get jobs.
• How to write a student resume to get noticed.
• How to ace your student job description for a resume.
• What is the best student resume format. 

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Looking for a specific resume examples for students? See the list: 

• College Application Resume
• College Graduate Resume
• College Student Resume
• Graduate School Application Resume
• High School Graduate Resume
• High School Student Resume
• Internship Resume
• Law School Resume
• Scholarship Resume
• Sorority Resume

Haven't found what you're looking for? Check all our Resume Examples for Over 200 Jobs.

Student Simple Resume Format

 Now let's learn how to write the best student resume. 

1. Apply the Best Formatting to Your Student Resume

How to write a student resume that stands out? Make it relevant, navigable, and readable for humans and machines alike. First, pick a visually appealing template. Then, apply the correct formatting rules. Here's a checklist for best student resume format:

1. Go for the reverse-chronological format.

A good student resume starts with your latest school and goes back in time. The same applies to the other sections, such as summer internships, experience, etc.

2. Use simple and readable resume fonts.

Anything between 10 and 14pt works fine. Write simple headings. Make good use of white space. A cluttered resume will put the recruiter off.

3. Make it a one-page student resume.

With your experience that will be the perfect resume lenght. 

4. Put a catchy resume objective at the top of your student resume.

It's super imporant, as hiring managers don't read resumes. They scan them. 

5. Create a separate student resume skills section.

Show what you can do and what can you improve. You should list here only relevent skills, not everything you know. 

6. Add some bonus sections to attract attention.

Consider additional resume sections to show off your certifications, interests or membership in student associations and organizations.

Expert Hint: Export your student resume to a PDF file. Its formatting will remain intact and ATSs (Applicant Tracking Systems) will be able to read it.

2. Start With a Student Resume Objective That Turns Heads

Your student resume has 7 seconds to impress the recruiter. So cut to the chase and make the most of the little time you have and start it off with a powerful resume objective. This foolproof formula will help you nail it every single time:

1. An adjective/strong trait
2. Your education
3. How you can help
4. What you have to offer
5. Your experience

And here’s how it looks in practice:

Student Resume Example—Objective

A detail-oriented self-starter working towards an MA in Linguistics at UCLA (GPA 3.85). Eager to join TakeOff Media as Junior SEO Specialist to help execute data-driven campaigns, develop content, and optimize conversion rate. Strong background in statistics and language, internship experience with SEO and data-driven marketing.

A student with UCLA working towards a degree in Linguistics. Wishes to join your company in the role of a Junior SEO Specialist.

Mention the company you’re applying to by name. You don’t want your student resume objective to look generic. The opening statement sets the tone for the rest.

What about when you have no work experience? 

Student Resume With No Work Experience—Objective

A friendly and highly-organized student with web development experience. Conversant with CSS, HTML, and Photoshop. Eager to support Anubis Media in creating portfolio websites and landing pages for its clients. Set up a fan page for a music band that was recognized as #1 by an established music magazine.

A friendly student who’d love to join your company to gain some experience.

You obviously won’t be able to put a lot of professional experience in your student resume objective. But don’t let this discourage you. Leverage your passions. There’s always something you’re great at. Identify it, think how it can help you in the role you’re applying for, and boast about it in your student resume objective.

Expert Hint: Your student resume should start with the objective, but there’s nothing wrong with writing it at the very end. Once your entire student resume is ready, go through it, select the best parts, and arrange them in a snappy intro.

3. Write the Perfect Experience and Skills Sections on Your Student Resume

Reality check: A recent NACE study revealed that hiring managers pay the most attention to internships and employment on student resumes. It turns out that the biggest influence was having an internship with the organization. The second was the experience in the industry, and the third was a major degree. It means one thing: your student resume experience section must be anything but empty. 

If you’re serious about landing a job as a student, you need to show you’re not entirely green behind the ears. Think of your:

• internships
• volunteering and campus/students organisations
• part-time and freelance jobs
• extracurricular activities

Take a look at the example below. It’s all about a summer internship. But reads like a summary of Jeff Bezos’ early years:

Student Resume Template—Little Experience

June 2015– September 2015
Fragrance Unlimited
Website Intern

• Supported the eCommerce Manager in the optimization of categories (product and section) and content revamping across the site. Organized products in appropriate sections in a timely manner.
• Worked with eCommerce Manager & local SEO agency to optimize site content. Reduced the number of pages crawled by Google and implement local best practices to encourage organic traffic.
• Partnered with the international team to localize content and develop specific pages for the USA market.
• Worked with the eCommerce Manager on clean-up and implementation of local tags using Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics.
• Helped manage the overall portfolio of merchandise by ensuring strong, customer-centric categorization and updated content.

• Responsible for helping managers with content
• Managing the website
• Responsible for localization
• Updating content

Expert Hint: Not sure about the best jobs for students? Go right here to look for inspiration.

Your student resume won’t get you anywhere if you’ve never heard of ATSs (Applicant Tracking Systems). ATSs are commonly used in large companies to help recruiters separate the wheat from the chaff. To cut a long story short. ATSs screen your student resume for keywords. If they’re missing from yours, this is what you have to do:

When describing your experience (or education, or skills) tailor your resume by using the phrasing and vocabulary from the job ad.

1. Re-read the job posting.
2. Identify the sought-after skills.
3. Write your college resume using the language from the job ad.

In the student resume example above, the keywords are highlighted. But it doesn’t end here. Your key skills must be properly exposed. According to the mentioned NACE study, the following skills are among the most valued in recent college graduates.

Student Resume Skills—Examples

• Problem-solving skills
• Ability to work in a team
• Communication skills (written & verbal)
• Leadership
• Strong work ethic
• Analytical/quantitative skills
• Initiative
• Detail-oriented
• Flexibility/adaptability
• Technical skills
• Interpersonal skills (relates well to others)

Even though these skills are the most desirable, they don’t have to be the best skills to put on a student resume. So, what are the best skills to put on your resume?

Here’s the secret: Make sure the skills on your student resume stay as close as possible to those listed in the job ad. If the job ad refers to the ability to work in a team as collaboration go for the resume keywords used in the job ad. Both the ATS and recruiters like it.

Expert Hint: Keep your list of skills for a student resume at bay. Put up to ten skills you feel confident about and leave out the others. This way you’ll avoid the so-called presenter’s paradox.

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4. Turn Education Into Yet Another Reason to Hire You

It’s no secret that the education resume section isn’t as important as experience on your student resume. But it’s not unimportant either. So, if you’re serious about making the most of your student resume, don’t neglect this section. Make sure you:

• Show off your GPA if it’s above 3.5.
• List relevant coursework.
• Add thesis title.
• Include your key achievements and extracurricular activities (publications, honors, awards.)

Student Resume Example—Education

2018—present
UCLA
MA in Linguistics (Expected June 2020)
GPA: 3.85

Relevant coursework:

• Recognition of morphologically complex words
• Negative Polarity
• Evaluating perspective in meaning and discourse
• Python for language research

Key achievements:

• UCLA Golden Key—Member
• Dean’s List 2017

2017
UCLA
Bachelor of Science, Cognitive Science
GPA: 3.9

Relevant coursework:

• Communication
• Anthropology
• Linguistics
• Statistics
• Philosophy

Thesis title: “Logical Reasoning—On the Border of Philosophy and Psychology.”

Extracurricular activities and achievements:

• Dean’s List 2015, 2016
• Founder of LingoBuzz blog—a student-run blog on language changes observable in new media
• Freelance contributor to 5 online music magazines

On a good student resume, the education section has every right to be more detailed than on a seasoned pro’s resume. After all, this is what you do on a daily basis. The rule of thumb is to only list the latest school/degree. But if you’re an MA student, do list your bachelor’s as well. And don’t go back more than five years.

Expert Hint: If the experience section of your student resume looks meager, do a little trick. Swap the experience and education sections, so that education comes first on your student resume.

5. Light Up Your Student Resume With These Extra Sections

These little tweaks for your student resume can become a giant leap for your career. Dazzle the hiring manager with a couple of strategically placed extras.

• List your interests on a resume. To reassure the recruiters you fit the company culture.
• Your knowledge of foreign languages will give you an edge. Especially when working in an international environment.
• Blend in your additional skills if they’re relevant to the position.

Student Resume Sample—Additional Sections

Interests

• Independent music labels
• Graphic design

Languages

• French (Advanced)
• Spanish (Conversational)

Expert Hint: You can easily double the impact of your student resume by writing a student cover letter. Did you know? More than half of the recruiters expect a cover letter to be part of your job application, but less than half of the candidates write them. So learn how to write a cover letter an double your chances to land an interview.

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Key Points

Time for a quick recap. To write the perfect student resume:

• Select the best student resume template. A good student resume template will help you arrange all the sections in the most effective way.
• Make it look great. Fill up your student resume with relevant information. Make it one-page long. Choose an elegant student resume format. Put white space to good use, and avoid clutter.
• Tailor your student resume to the job offer. Your resume will be machine-read first. Do not allow poor phrasing to put you out of the game.
• Pay particular attention to the experience and education sections. These two sections of your college student resume will be scrutinized by the recruiters. If you ace them, you’ll land the interview.
• Sprinkle your student resume with extras. They not only prove you’re well-rounded and serious. They show if you’re a cultural fit.

Do you have what it takes to win a scholarship? Write a scholarship cover letter that will make you stand out from the crowd. 

Questions on how to write a resume? Want to share advice on how to prepare different kinds of student resumes? We’d love to hear from you. Leave your comment below.

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