Resume Guide
for College Students
By Lasse Palomaki | © 2025 The Strategic Student LLC
What to Expect
Skip the guesswork and unlock a complete blueprint on resumes through this comprehensive guide for college students. The advice covered is grounded in practical, real-world insights. (This guide is not major- or industry-specific.)
By the end of this guide, you should feel confident in your ability to:
✓ Build a resume that follows best practices for students and recent graduates
✓ Avoid common mistakes found in student and recent graduate resumes
✓ Tailor your resume to your target internship and job postings
No more guesswork. No more confusion. Just actionable tactics you can apply today.
What is a Resume
A resume is a concise, targeted summary of your relevant qualifications in relation to the role you are applying to — it is not a comprehensive listing of every experience, skill, and educational credential you have ever accumulated.
This does not mean that every qualification you list must directly relate to the role you applying to, but they should highlight transferable skills and support the overall narrative of your suitability for the position.
Overloading your resume with irrelevant information makes the document difficult to scan and your key qualifications less likely to stand out to the reader (recruiters take an average of 6-7 seconds to scan a resume).
Important: Your resume alone will not land you an internship or a job offer — it lands you an interview. Your other application materials, from LinkedIn presence to interviewing skills, play an equally important role in a successful search that leads to an offer.
Resume Best Practices
✓ Customize each resume to your target role by analyzing the job description
✓ Keep a simple format – one page, one column, black and white, no visuals
✓ Use a simple font (e.g., Arial, Calibri) – 16-18pt font for name, 10-12pt for body
✓ Name the file professionally (e.g., John Doe Resume_Marketing Intern_Cisco)
✓ Keep spacing, bolding, capitalization, and date formatting consistent
✓ Maintain enough white space between sections for easy readability
✓ Right-align dates evenly using the “right tab stop” functionality
✓ Align your LinkedIn profile with the content included in your resume
✓ Submit your resume in a PDF file format (not Word, Google Docs, or Pages)
✓ Use active (e.g., “Tutored…”) language, not passive (e.g., “Responsible for…”)
Common Resume Mistakes
✗ Missing contact information (e.g., phone and email)
✗ Fancy visual templates downloaded online
✗ Spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors
✗ Lack of demonstrated, quantifiable results*
✗ Use of paragraphs instead of bullet points
✗ Multiple pages of irrelevant qualifications
✗ Use of personal pronouns
✗ A references list included
✗ Broken hyperlinks
✗ Headshots
(*Not every qualification needs to include a quantifiable achievement, but do include them where applicable.)
Resume Template Example
Below is a resume template example. Your resume may include a different combination or ordering of sections depending on your past experiences and the role you are applying to.
The example above is geared toward a student who is looking for marketing roles. Depending on your major or desired industry you may need to make minor adaptations, like deciding whether you use a “Relevant Experience” and “Additional Experience” sections or consolidate all your experiences under one “Experiences” section. Consult your career services office for personalized advice specific to your situation or view our coaching services here.
Important: Always create your resume using software like Word or Google Docs instead of a resume building website (e.g., Canva) before converting to PDF. This gives you full control over formatting, makes future updates easier, and ensures your resume is readable by Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS). While many online templates may look visually appealing, they often use design elements (text boxes, columns, graphics) that do not align with resume best practices and can make it difficult for ATS systems to parse the information correctly.
Building a Targeted Resume
When applying for internships and full-time jobs, you should aim to make adjustments to your document to make it as relevant to the target role as possible. This does not mean a full overhaul, but a targeted process that results in a resume that aligns with the key requirements found in the job posting.
Start with a Master Resume
The first step in your resume-building process should be a “master resume.” In other words, a resume that captures all your experiences and qualifications regardless of how relevant they may be for an individual role you consider applying to. This can be multiple pages long.
You can view your master resume as a filing cabinet where you will pull out individual details from when customizing future resumes for individual roles you are applying to.
Build a Targeted Resume
A targeted resume is a resume written for a specific internship or full-time job opening. It is built to shine the spotlight on your most relevant qualifications (and omit ones that do not add to your competitiveness as an applicant) and should:
• Highlight your most relevant qualifications and achievements
• Include relevant keywords from the job posting (as applicable)
• List bullet points in order of their relevance within each experience
Follow the process below to build a targeted resume.
1. Review the internship / job posting
Review the posting line by line and look for key qualifications, skills, and responsibilities.
For each key qualification you identify, ask yourself:
• “Have I ever used this skill / done this task before?”
• “If yes, in which of my past roles?”
• “Does my resume clearly communicate that?”
See an example below.
(While you can apply for any internship or job you find, your chances are higher when you meet at least 75% of the preferred qualifications listed in the posting.)
Alternatively, you can also use the ChatGPT prompt to analyze the posting:
“Act as a hiring manager with a deep understanding of [specific industry/job role]. I need your help analyzing the job description copied below. Highlight the main skills, qualifications, and key responsibilities the employer is seeking in qualified candidates. Here is the job description: [insert job description].”
Important: Want to learn how to fully leverage ChatGPT in your internship and job search? Check out our AI resources for college students:
ChatGPT Interview Prep Guide – this guide provides a detailed breakdown of how you can leverage ChatGPT at every stage of your interview preparation process
ChatGPT in Internship and Job Search Guide – this guide provides detailed information, step-by-step instructions, and templates for everything you need to know about leveraging AI in your internship and job search, from exploring careers to optimizing your resume to researching your target organizations
2. Optimize your resume for the posting
After reviewing the posting you should create a first draft of a targeted resume and include all relevant experiences that you possess. (If you have created a master resume, you can easily copy-paste relevant experiences over to the new document.)
Your education and experiences should be listed in reverse chronological order (most recent first); however, if you have directly relevant experiences, you can bring attention to those by creating multiple experience sections (e.g., Marketing Experience and Other Experience).
When building your experience section, acknowledge that some of your bullet points will be more relevant to the posting than others – list them in order of their relevance under each experience.
3. Format and name your document professionally
Turn your document into a PDF and use a clear, professional filing format.
e.g., John Doe Resume_Marketing Intern_Cisco
Resume Sections
Header Section
Your Header section should align with the following best practices:
• First name and last name (16-18pt font)
• List phone, email, custom LI URL fully spelled out, city and state (10-12pt font)
• Optional: Include portfolio URL (if relevant to your target field – e.g., Comp Sci)
• Ensure any/all hyperlinks (e.g., portfolio URL) work properly
Important: Use a personal email instead of an .edu email for full-time applications, as you may lose access to your .edu account 3-6 months after graduation, risking loss of active applications and recruiter communications.
Professional Summary Section
Your Professional Summary section should align with the following best practices:
• 2-3 sentences that highlight your most relevant qualifications
• Focus on hard skills, relevant experiences, and key achievements
• Avoid generic traits (e.g., hardworking, passionate) that any applicant could claim
Important: Most student resumes do not need a professional summary. Include one only if you have relevant experiences and skills that directly support your target role. If you don’t have substantive content to add, do not include a professional summary.
Additionally, do not include an Objective Statement (e.g., “Seeking an entry-level financial analyst role in a company with a great culture.”). These statements add little value, as your application already implies your interest in the role.
Education Section
Your Education section should align with the following best practices:
• List education in reverse chronological order (i.e., most recent first)
• Only include institutions you have earned degrees from
• Spell out degree (e.g., Bachelor of Arts in…) and institution (no abbreviations like “UT”)
• Include GPA if 3.0 or above (remove after you land your first full-time role)
• List max 3-4 courses that are most relevant to the role you are targeting
• Include study abroad institution(s) and dates in the education section
Do not list institutions you might have attended before transferring to your current institution, if you did not earn a degree. The only exception is study abroad institutions.
Experience Section
Your Experience section should align with the following best practices:
• List experiences in reverse chronological order (i.e., most recent first)
• Include internships, campus employment, full- and part-time work, and side hustles
• List your title, organization name, city and state, and working dates for each position
• Order bullet points based on their relevance to the key qualifications in the posting
For working dates, use “May 2022 – Aug 2022” not “Summer 2022” or “2022.”
Include 3-6 bullet points (1-2 lines per bullet) for each role using the formula below:
Imagine you served as a student leader in the campus food pantry and you are working to create a bullet point about your fundraising efforts.
1. Action verb: A strong, descriptive, and direct verb that captures your core action(s)
• e.g., “Led…”
• Use present tense (e.g., “Lead”) for present roles and past tense (e.g., “Led”) for past roles
• Do not repeat the same verb for multiple bullet points (action verb options below)
2. Specific what: A detailed description of the object of your action verb
• e.g., “Led a fundraising campaign for the campus food pantry…”
• Consider specifics such as numbers, types, or levels
3. How: A description of how you approached and achieved the action
• e.g., “Led a fundraising campaign for the campus food pantry by organizing four charity events…”
• Consider specifics such as technologies, methods, or tools
4. Who: A description of relevant stakeholders
• e.g., “Led a fundraising campaign for the campus food pantry by organizing four charity events in collaboration with four local businesses…”
• Consider specifics such as teams, partners, or clients you worked with
5. Impact: A description of the positive outcomes your actions created
• e.g., “Led a fundraising campaign for the campus food pantry by organizing four charity events in collaboration with four local businesses, raising $5,000 in donations and providing meals for over 400 students.”
• Include quantifiable outcomes where possible — consider data points such as: Dollars generated or saved, new leads generated, hours reduced, customer satisfaction ratings, people supervised, productivity increased, on time delivery percentage, new followers gained, social media engagement increased, customer renewal or retention rates, training sessions held, etc.
Important: Keep track of your projects and their outcomes in your internships and other roles to make this process easier when updating your resume for future applications.
Compare the two bullet points below – which one is likelier to stand out?
While the second example includes every component of the bullet point formula, it is not always possible (or even desirable) to do so for every bullet point. And even if they are all included, they may be in an order that differs from the example above.
The only components you should always include are the Action verb and the Specific what, followed by some combination of the How / Who / Impact.
Service and Leadership Section
Your Service and Leadership section should align with the following best practices:
• List experiences in reverse chronological order (i.e., most recent first)
• Include relevant volunteering, campus leadership, and community leadership roles
• List your title, organization name, city and state, and working dates for each position
• Include 1-3 bullet point descriptions (1-2 lines max per bullet point) for each position using the bullet point formula covered under the Experience section
• Order bullet points based on their relevance to the key qualifications in the posting
Projects and Research Section
Your Projects and Research section should align with the following best practices:
• List experiences in reverse chronological order (i.e., most recent first)
• Include relevant academic, independent, or contract projects and research
• List project name, your title, organization, city and state, and working dates for each project
• Include 1-3 bullet point descriptions (1-2 lines max per bullet point) for each position using the bullet point formula covered under the Experience section
• Order bullet points based on their relevance to the key qualifications in the posting
Skills and Certifications Section
Your Skills and Certifications section should align with the following best practices:
• Include hard / technical skills only (e.g., software, languages, coding languages, industry-specific skills)
• Do not include soft skills (e.g., communication, teamwork, leadership)
• Include your skills in the bullet points in your other resume sections to show how you have applied them in a specific project (e.g., In addition to listing “Excel” in your skills section, build it into a bullet point if possible (e.g., “Analyze quarterly sales data using Excel…”)
• For certifications, include the issuing organization name and issue date where relevant
• For languages, include proficiency level (e.g., Elementary / Intermediate / Proficient / Fluent)
• Do not include LinkedIn Learning certifications
Awards and Accomplishments Section
Your Awards and Accomplishments section should align with the following best practices:
• List awards and accomplishments in reverse chronological order (i.e., most recent first)
• Include awards you have earned at your institution / organization and make note of how exclusive the award is (where possible)
Memberships and Affiliations Section
Your Memberships and Affiliations section should align with the following best practices:
• Include memberships in relevant professional organizations or associations (e.g., American Marketing Association)
• Include memberships in honorary societies (e.g., Beta Gamma Sigma International Business Honor Society)
• Where possible, make note of exclusive the membership is (e.g., Given to the top 10% of undergraduates in their class in AACSB-accredited schools)
Get Your FREE Resume Template
Important: Want even more resume help? Check out our Resume Template for College Students — built using best practices and developed in collaboration with university recruiters to ensure it's ATS-friendly, easy to edit, and highly effective.
(Yes, I mentioned avoiding templates earlier — that is because many online templates from unverified sources aren’t designed with recruiters or ATS systems in mind. They often include formatting issues that can hurt your chances. This one is built to help you stand out the right way.)
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This document is created in Google Docs for easy use and future edits.
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Conclusion
Your resume is only one piece in the application puzzle; however, it plays a crucial role in passing the initial applicant screen and moving you forward to the interview stage. Therefore, you want to dedicate the time to ensure your document paints a strong picture of you as a qualified applicant.
PS. To receive further personalized 1:1 resume or LinkedIn coaching that can address questions specific to your unique situation, you can check out our coaching services here.
Important: LinkedIn has become a fundamental piece of today’s internship and job search, and your presence on the platform can be a massively valuable tool for your candidacy. Whether you list your LinkedIn URL on your resume or not, chances are that the recruiter reviewing your application will try to find you on the platform anyway.
Now, covering LinkedIn is well beyond the scope of this guide, so if you want to learn how to fully leverage LinkedIn to your benefit in your search, check out our LinkedIn guides for college students below:
LinkedIn Profile Guide – this guide provides a detailed breakdown of how you can optimize every section in your profile to build your brand on LinkedIn
LinkedIn Strategy Guide – this guide provides detailed information, step-by-step instructions, and templates for everything you need to know about LinkedIn as a student, from optimizing your profile to exploring careers to finding and engaging with your target persons to preparing for interviews
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This guide is intended for educational and informational purposes only. While the strategies and advice provided aim to assist students in their internship and job search, The Strategic Student LLC does not guarantee employment or any specific job outcomes as a result of using this guide. Success depends on individual effort, qualifications, and other factors beyond the scope of this guide.
