How to Build your Student Resume

A student's resume is a part of their identity. It contains all the necessary information about you. In today’s day and age, a resume is very important whether you are a student or a professional.

There are various scenarios that you need a student resume for, such as applying for scholarships, grants or for a student research program. All of these will require you to submit a student resume, so here we will outline what it is and how to build your student resume.

What is a Student Resume?

A student resume contains important information including your name, contact information, work and volunteering experience, education and awards, your important skills and activities relevant to your job.

You might be wondering, why is a student resume important? There are a lot of places that require you to submit a resume even while you are a student. For example, if you are looking to apply for a part-time job, you’ll need to provide your resume for the position you are applying for. In addition, student resumes are essential when you are applying for scholarships, grants or any other type of financial aid as they want to see your accomplishments and experiences to determine if you are a good fit for the award.

A good student resume gives you an edge over your competition. Think about a job you are applying for. There might be hundreds of candidates applying for the same job. So, the employer reviewing the applications will not have very much time to look at your whole application. You need to do something to make yourself stand out and a good student resume will always help you stand out from the rest.

How to Build your Student Resume

Focus on the format of your resume: A good format is very important for a resume. You will probably want to start with your full name and contact information in a header. Next, add a Profile section that highlights key skills and experiences you will bring to the job. Then list your work experiences followed by your educational achievements. Mention if you have received any awards related to your education and specific skills you are good at. If applicable, mention any hobbies or activities that you really like to do.

You need to make sure to highlight the specific details that are important about you to have the best shot at getting noticed by the person reading your resume. To highlight important information, make the text bold or italicized without being too over the top.

It is essential that the font size and spacing throughout the resume stays consistent. Make sure all the characters in your student resume have the same spacing and font size.

Length of the resume: One misconception about the length of a resume is the bigger or the more information we can put in there, the better. This is a mistake that people sometimes make.

You will only have a few seconds to grab the attention of the reader and if you make your resume three pages long by putting in unnecessary information, then your application may be set on the rejection pile. Instead of including tons of information, focus on quality. You need to make sure the reader is able to notice the vital information about you, which will help you get the job or the scholarship you are applying for.

In short, keep your student resume clean, highlight the main information and do not overpopulate your resume with useless information. Try to keep your resume to a single page.

Keep the format clean: Student resumes can come in all different types, but you need to make sure the format you are following is clean and highlights the essential information about you. This will help get the attention of the person who will be reading your resume.

Make sure to include your name, address, email and phone number in the heading of your resume. Make the size of this text a bit bigger than the others as you want the person viewing your resume to notice your name. Make sure the font you are using is easy to read. Refrain from using fonts that are very hard to understand as that will only confuse the reader causing a disadvantage for you. It’s best to stick to basic fonts such as Arial or Times.

You can use color gently in your resume. Do not overdo it (for example, writing your whole student resume in orange is discouraged) as that will only make your resume look unattractive. Use color to highlight specific headings such as Education, Work Experience, Extracurricular Activities and more. Make sure the colors you choose are dark as light colors are harder to read, especially when your background is a white paper.

How to include the basic information: It is very easy to include the basic information on your resume. Your name should be written first and you need to make sure your name works as a header for your resume.

Underneath your name add your contact information: your address, phone number, and your email address.

Profile: A great way to start your resume is with a Profile. This is a two to three sentence description of your top skills and abilities. This can also be styled as “Key Competencies” instead of a profile, in which case you can provide 3-4 bullet points that show off your most impressive skills and experiences that relate to the job. List relevant languages spoken at the end.

Be sure to include in this your objectives. Most people usually just talk about their accomplishments in resumes but rarely mention the objectives they want to accomplish in the future.

In a student resume, you should take the opportunity to talk about your objectives as it is important for you to show them what you would like to accomplish in the future and how they are the right fit for you. Be a bit specific so that it shows the reader that you are focused and career-driven.

• Talk about your education: It is common for students to lack experience as they are not yet professionals. Instead, talk about your education, what you are being taught, why you are studying in this specific field, and what you will do with this education in the future. It is good to mention these things as it helps make your student resume better.
  
• Think about your work experience creatively: It is very important for you to think about your work experience creatively. As a student, it is very rare you will have a professional job so try to think about any jobs that you have done in the past.
  
  For example, I fixed a lot of computers in my neighborhood. I was not a technician and wasn’t charging anyone for my service. I was just good at it and our neighbors used to consult me if there was something they could not fix or understand about computers.
  
  You can mention this sort of work that you did, which may not seem like much, but will add a lot of valuable insight to your student resume about your talents.
  
• Proofread the resume: It is very important for you to go through your student resume to find any mistakes or any information that you forgot to add. Proofread your student resume a couple of times before submitting it.

We hope these resume tips are helpful! At GrantMe we are all about student success in and out of the classroom. Check out our world-class scholarship programs to help you graduate debt-free.