How To Write A Great Student Resume

Posted by GradConnection

What is a student resume?

A student resume has one key difference that sets it apart from your average resume - there’s usually little to no work experience listed. Students often haven’t had the chance to gain work experience, and as a result, their resumes typically highlight different things including their skills and education, rather than focusing on past positions.
 
If you’re a student applying for casual and part-time jobs and you’re not sure what to put on your resume, here’s a short guide for you!

What makes a great student resume?

A great student resume should focus on other things you have to offer a company besides work experience.

Firstly, showcase your education: if you completed Year 12, include that you obtained your certificate of completion. Alternatively, if you opted for pathways such as VCAL, mention what certificates you completed during that time! And if you’re enrolled in university, be sure to write down what course you’re doing and what your expected completion date is.
 
Putting down any volunteering you’ve done is another excellent way to showcase your great work ethic! Highlight the skills you gained in these positions, especially if they’re relevant to the job you’re applying for. Think outside the box for this, too - even if you’re going for a retail job and you volunteered at a sports club, there are definitely transferrable skills – such as leadership skills or the ability to work as a team – that you can mention!

Additionally, making your resume as concise as possible is important: keeping it to one page if you don’t have any work experience (or a two page maximum if you do!) is generally a good guide to go by. In terms of the layout, you should also stick to a simple template, and ensure that you put everything down in reverse-chronological order. For example, put your university degree above your high school, as it’s more recent.

How do you structure a student resume?

1. Name/contact details
It might seem obvious, but you want to start with your name and contact details at the top of your resume.

2. Summary
Just below your name and contact details, you should have a couple of sentences that “sell yourself” to employers. They can cover what your goals are and what experience you might have. If you’re stuck, our parent company SEEK has prepared a handy guide for you on how to write these summaries!

3. Experience
In a typical resume, you’d normally have work experience next, but if this isn’t possible, it’s a great place to put your volunteer experience instead.

4. Education
If you don’t have any work or volunteer experience, you can bump this up higher on your resume! You can also include certificates you completed here, too.

5. Achievements
Things to consider adding to this section are awards or recognition for high marks at university.

6. Skills
Ideally you should be putting up to eight key skills on your resume and tailoring them to each role you apply for. A good tip is to look at the position description and see what the company is looking for. Then, you can add some of those skills to your resume (within your expertise, of course!).

7. References
References are an important way for your employer to hear about who you are and what you’re capable of! Some appropriate references include lecturers and supervisors from volunteer experience. If you’ve had work experience, too, putting down a manager or supervisor from your role/s is best.

Need some help to get started? Check out these resume templates from SEEK!


Search

Enter an employer or university you want to find in our search bar.