A resume is a document created and used by an individual to present themselves, their background, the skills that they have, their accomplishments, etc. which assist in qualification for a specific position or a job. The document type is formal. The word resume itself means summary. It is like a summary of who you are and what you are as a person academically and professionally.
“What gets you short-listed for an interview is the presentation and the content of your resume.”
A resume accompanied by a cover letter is the first impression of you in front of an employer. A cover letter is a short write-up accompanying your resume. These letters are mostly written in the e-mail body unless the employer asks otherwise.
This cover letter contains a brief introduction about who you are, what is your academic background, the area of research or work, why you should be hired, why are you interested in the job, how are you a relevant candidate for the job and how is this aligned with your career prospects, what skills and ideas do you bring to the table, etc. In research, it was found that the majority of times the employer did not even open your resume because the cover letter was not up to the mark.
This resume and cover letter can make the deal or break the deal for you. The whole purpose of the cover letter is to get the employer to open your resume and read about you in detail. Although, a cover letter is not always needed for on-campus placement interviews it plays the role of a king in off-campus placement interviews. The employer spends 80% of the time reading your cover letter.
Your resume should be built so strong that after reading it the employer should feel that you might be a relevant candidate worth considering.
Although the hiring process has shifted to modern methods, some colleges still prefer the traditional style in the form of a resume with your application. In this article, we will learn how to write a college resume.
Guide To Writing a College Resume
1) Include relevant information only
It has been noticed that most of the time the resume is way more explanatory than it is required to be. Your resume should be concise, it should not contain every little thing that you achieved since you were a child. You need not mention that you won first prize in a debate competition when you were in 10th grade. Recruiters look for very specific information on a resume.
- Mention the worthy achievements.
- Keep it short. Not longer than one or two pages.
- Showcase those skills only which are relevant to the job you are applying for.
Your college resume should contain:
- Introductory part mentioning your name, address, and details of your e-mail and other contact details.
- Academic information of your high school mentioning the date of your graduation, the percentage you scored, and any competitive exam scores that are worth mentioning. For example, the rank you scored in your CATs.
- Academic awards and other achievements.
- Any seminars or workshops you attended.
- Extracurricular activities.
- Any Previous Work experience or Internships.
- Hobbies.
- Skills that you excel in (Example: Java, Ethical Hacking, etc.) and Certifications and Trainings
2) Keep your resume consistent
To keep your resume consistent means to keep a standard font size and font style. It should not be changing for every new heading or every new paragraph.
Your resume should also be formatted well enough to be readable. Do not use gaudy colors and extreme layouts for formatting, keep it simple and attractive. To keep it simple and attractive, your resume must include:
- Bold or Capitalized Headings
- Subheadings
- Bulleted lists
- A consistent font size and font style (Example: Times New Roman) – choose one format and stick to it
- It should be divided into sections
- Standard color combinations
- Focus on margins and white spaces
3) Keep the emphasis on Academic details
Your educational background plays an important role in you being hired for a job. Employers and Interviewers pay special attention to the education section of the resume. The key to making your college resume successful is to add education-related information of your high school accompanying under graduation college details.
It should include:
- School Name and High School details of 10th and 12th standard with the percentage you scored.
- Level of Degree, say, Bachelors.
- Date of your graduation.
- Details of any course you completed during your school and college studies.
- Achievement in college and high school.
- GPA of College.
4) Highlight your skills
The specials skills you have other than your educational background can add up to your plus point. State relevant skills that you carry. For example, JavaScript, HTML, SEO, Microsoft Office Suite, etc. This will increase your chances of being hired. The skills that you mention should be relevant to you for your college or your majors. You need not mention cliches like, “hard-working”, “talented”.
Marcus Buckingham once said, ” Emphasize your strengths on your resume, in your cover letters, and in your interviews. It may sound obvious, but you would be surprised how many people simply list everything they have ever done in their resume. Convey your passion and link your strengths to measurable results. Employers and interviewers love concrete data.
5) Work Experience
If you have been a part of some organization, part of a project, or worked in some company in the past mention it in your resume. You can also mention Internships you were a part of that would help you gain an upper hand over your competitors. List your work experiences in chronological order from most recent to past activities and avoid listing them in the first person. Example: Don’t say, “I worked…”, say, “Worked…”.
6) Avoid Typos
Make sure that your resume has zero grammatical errors, spelling mistakes. Always proofread your resume twice before sending it to the companies. Describe your work using active verbs and correct sentences.
Some points to remember:
- If you are sending your resume online, make sure you give a relevant name to the file. The title to your file should be professional and relevant.
- Keep your resume updated as you learn more skills and achieve more awards and participate in more work-related programs. Keep adding them to your resume.
- You are facing a lot of competition and some people may have a better experience than you in writing a resume as they have more professional knowledge but you have to be honest in your resume because you could be caught for any false information that you put there.
Examples of College Resume
Recommended Format for a College Resume
Contact Details:
- Name
- Contact Number
Education Details:
- College Degree
- College Name
- Duration
- Result
- School Name and Duration
- Course works
Projects:
- Name and Purpose of the project
- Achievements during the project
- Skills required during the project
Work Experience:
- Designation of the work
- Name of the Company
- Description of your role
- Skills Used
Extracurricular Activities:
- Volunteered at
- Participated in
Certifications:
- Courses and Achievements
Special Skills:
- Work-related skills details
After mentioning all the information in the above format, structure it into a single-page resume, in order to keep it clear and concise. It will make your resume stand out as it makes it easier for the recruiter to read your resume and review it in a better way rather than spending time switching pages. Make sure to keep your resume comfortable to read. Keep your sentences short. Try to quantify your achievements to get a lasting effect in the minds of the recruiters.
Conclusion
Our aim through is college resume is to make a lasting impression of our candidates instead of the last impression. If you follow all the points mentioned above in this article, you will make no mistake in your resume and by creating this resume yourself you will learn some technical skills along the way. So, what are you waiting for? You are just one resume away from that interview call, so, get the best out of it. Go ahead and submit your flawless resume. It is your time to shine. If you find this article useful, do comment below and share it with your friends.
References
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Sandeep Bhandari is the founder of PrepMyCareer.com website.
I am a full-time professional blogger, a digital marketer, and a trainer. I love anything related to the Web, and I try to learn new technologies every day.
All the team management, content creation, and monetization tasks are handled by me. Together with the team at PrepMyCareer, the aim is to provide useful and engaging content to our readers.