What makes a college student resume different
As a student, your education is your main credential, and your experience is usually a mix of campus jobs, part-time work, clubs and class projects. A good student resume puts education near the top, shows that you can handle responsibility, and connects what you have done to what the employer needs. It should almost always fit on one page.
College student resume example
Here is a complete sample for a fictional junior, Ethan Park, applying for a part-time research assistant job and summer internships in economics and finance.
B.A. in Economics, minor in Statistics — University of Wisconsin–Madison · Expected May 2028
GPA 3.7 · Dean's List (3 semesters)
Relevant coursework: Intermediate Microeconomics, Econometrics, Financial Accounting, Data Analysis in R
Student Research Assistant — Department of Economics · Jan 2026 – Present
• Clean and merge survey data from 1,200 households in Stata for a faculty study on rental costs
• Write short weekly summaries of data issues and fixes for the principal investigator
Barista (part-time, 15 hrs/week) — Lakeside Coffee Co. · Sep 2024 – Dec 2025
• Served customers during morning rush periods and handled cash and card payments accurately
• Trained 4 new baristas on recipes and opening procedures
Treasurer — Undergraduate Investment Club · Aug 2025 – Present
• Manage the club's annual budget and process member reimbursements
• Built an Excel tracker that replaced paper receipts and made monthly reporting faster
Housing Affordability Analysis (Econometrics course) · Fall 2025
• Used public census data and regression in R to study the link between rent growth and commute times in 50 metro areas; earned the top grade in a class of 80
How to write each section
Education first
Put education right after your summary. Include your degree, major and minor, school, and expected graduation month and year. Add GPA if it is 3.5 or higher (or if the employer asks for it), honors, scholarships, and three to five relevant courses. If you transferred, you can list both schools or just the current one.
Experience: every kind counts
Campus jobs, research positions, resident assistant roles, tutoring, retail and food service all belong here. Write bullet points that start with action verbs and show responsibility: how many customers, how much money, how many people you trained. Use real figures only; if you do not know an exact number, describe the scope honestly instead of guessing.
Leadership and activities
Club officer roles, team captaincy, student government and organizing events show initiative. Give them their own section if you have more than one, and describe results just like a job.
Projects
Major class projects, a capstone, hackathons, a personal app or a research paper can show exactly the skills an employer wants. One or two strong projects beat a long list.
Skills
List tools and technical skills first, then a few soft skills. Match the wording of the job post for skills you genuinely have. See our resume skills guide for examples by field.
Tailoring for different applications
| Applying for | Put first | Emphasize |
|---|---|---|
| Part-time job off campus | Experience | Availability, reliability, customer service |
| Internship | Education, projects | Relevant coursework, tools, initiative |
| Research or lab position | Education | Methods, software, attention to detail |
| First full-time job | Education or internships | Results from internships and leadership |
For internship applications in particular, see the dedicated internship resume example.
Common student resume mistakes
- Listing high school achievements when you are already a junior or senior.
- Using a decorative two-column template that applicant tracking systems may misread. Our ATS-friendly templates avoid that.
- Writing duties ("responsible for") instead of actions and outcomes.
- Overstating your role in group projects. Say "team of 4" and describe your own contribution.
- Forgetting to proofread. Ask a friend or your campus career center to read it too.
Sections you can leave out
High school details usually come off once you are in your second year of college, unless you earned a notable award or attended a specialized program related to the job. Hobbies only belong if they show a relevant skill, such as running a photography page for a marketing role. Skip references, a photo, your date of birth and your full street address. If space is tight, trim older part-time jobs to a single line rather than cutting your most relevant project.
Next steps
Create your resume in the free builder, then compare it to a specific posting with the job description matcher to see which relevant keywords are missing. Pair it with a short cover letter from the cover letter generator when an application asks for one.