Résumé Examples for Students
Finding your first real job is exciting and a bit scary; you know you need a good résumé but may have trouble finding résumé examples for students. The Internet abounds with résumé examples for students, but not all are good examples. Many of the same principles for résumés for experienced workers hold true for students as well.
Elements of a good résumé
· A good résumé is focused on the needs of the employer, not the needs of the job seeker. Before writing your résumé, do research and think hard about the job you are going after. What knowledge, skills, experience and character traits are important to the employer? To the extent you possess them, highlight them in your résumé.
· A good résumé contains relevant keywords so that it will show up in résumé database search results when a recruiter or screener searches the database using specific keyword search terms. You can find examples of these keywords in the advertisements for the jobs you are seeking.
· A good résumé is easy to read. Employers usually do not have time to do more than skim over them to narrow down the field to a manageable number. Résumés that are well-laid out, with relevant information that is easy to see have an advantage over cluttered, disorganized résumés.
· A good résumé has no errors. Inaccurate facts and claims are not acceptable and can end up hurting your chances rather than helping. Likewise, typos, spelling and grammar errors indicate a level of carelessness that may very well disqualify you from getting further in the hiring process.
Researching information for résumé examples for students
Because of your lack of work experience, as a student you will need to focus your résumé somewhat differently from the traditional chronological résumé that is largely made up of work history.
Begin by researching your targeted jobs to find out what knowledge, skills, abilities and character traits are important to employers. This can be done by looking at job advertisements, but consider also talking to people who are already working in the field you want to enter. Also, take advantage of any career guidance resources your school might offer. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has a very useful website (http://www.onetonline.org/) that helps you match your skills to jobs, identifies the job outlook for various careers and lists the knowledge, skills, abilities and education required for a whole host of jobs and job families.
Once you have identified the things employers are looking for in job candidates, consider which you possess and the evidence you have that demonstrates them. Think about successes and achievements in school work, sports, volunteer activities and previous jobs. What knowledge, skills, abilities or character traits did you use in achieving your successes? What did you acquire during these experiences? Write your findings down.
Gather information about academic achievements, awards, commendations and recommendations you may have received. Look at your school transcripts for classes you might want to mention.
Now you are ready to begin constructing your résumé.
Constructing your résumé
You can find templates as well as résumé examples for students online to help you format a professional-looking résumé. Microsoft (office.microsoft.com) offers free templates to use in various Word versions. Except for the contact information, set each section described below apart with a section title.
Begin with your contact information, including name, address, telephone number and email address. If your résumé has more than one page, make sure each has your name at the top.
Next, list your education, including school name, degree (if you have one) or the date you expect to receive it if you are currently in school. If you have a college degree, you do not need to list your high school. You may want to list specific course titles and grades if they are relevant to the job you are seeking.
If you have work experience, list it next, with the most recent job first. Put the job title, company name, location (city and state are enough), and dates of employment. For each job, list your responsibilities then, to set your résumé apart, include a description of accomplishments: ways you contributed during your job, bearing in mind what will be important to your potential employer. For example, you might mention your attendance or safety record, if they are good. If you trained someone else, either formally or informally, mention it. If you had ideas for improvement, especially if they were implemented, if you saved the company some money, figured out how to do something better (even if it was something simple), participated in a project, took on extra responsibilities, got a promotion or raise, etc. – these are accomplishments that give evidence that not only you worked at the job, but that you did it well. Write about each accomplishment in a separate bullet point, beginning with an action word in the past tense (such as: implemented, completed, invented, participated, assisted, trained, developed, etc.)
In the next section of your résumé, list specific skills, such as equipment you can operate, software you know or languages you speak.
If you have volunteer work, you can include a section to describe it. Remember to include the skills, knowledge and abilities you learned or demonstrated while doing it.
Finally, list any awards or recognition you might have received.
Final thoughts
Your résumé can only be as good as the actual work, schooling or activities you have performed. The better you apply yourself, developing marketable knowledge, skills, abilities and character traits, the better your résumé will be. As you progress through your career, keep your résumé up to date with the new experience and achievements you acquire. Then someday you might be providing résumé examples for students who are looking to you for advice.