Whether you're looking for a part-time job to help cover the cost of college or if you're seeking an internship or professional position in your chosen profession, you'll need to create a quality resume that accurately conveys your qualifications to prospective employers. The resume template provided here can easily be customized for your specific situation.
General Resume Template for College Students
The resume template below is designed for college students. It can easily be adjusted to meet your needs no matter what year you are in or what type of job you are seeking. The document is available in a customizable PDF and Word formats.
PDF Resume Template
To access the PDF version, simply click the image below. If you need assistance, use this guide to printables. Click anywhere in the document to edit.
Word Resume Template
Click the image below to download a Word version of the document if you have access to Microsoft Word. Save the file and edit as you would any other Word document.
Additional Resume Templates
Depending on how much experience you have or what your job search goals are, you may want to use a more specialized, such as academic or skill-based student resumes. You may find it helpful to review several sample resume formats or templates for certain occupations.
Resume Writing Tips for College Students
Every college student needs to know how to write a resume. A few resume important writing tips for college students include:
- Gather relevant information by creating a list of job skills, jobs held (title, duties, and dates), volunteer work, relevant school projects or activities, etc.
- Get a professional sounding email address if you do not already have one and use it on your resume, as well as in your cover letter and job applications.
- Craft a good resume objective and/or summary of qualifications to begin your resume.
- Use resume keywords effectively to help your application stand out to recruiters.
- Use a template like the one above or resume builder software to help organize and format your resume.
- If your college offers resume writing workshops, attend those sessions. If not, ask someone with your school's career service office for advice and assistance.
- Ask a few of your contacts who are already in the job market to provide you with feedback on the first full draft of your resume.
- Consider hiring with a resume writing service to help draft your resume, or at least to review it and provide feedback.
- If you are looking for different types of jobs, use the Save as function once you have a completed resume so you can use your first resume as a starting point for creating multiple versions.
- Proofread closely, making sure your resume is free from errors.
Making Good Use of Your Resume
Crafting a well-written resume is a good first step, but you also need to use it properly as you search for jobs. A few strategies to keep in mind include:
- Prepare a cover letter to send out along with your resume. Just as you may want multiple versions of your resume, you may also want to prepare several cover letter versions.
- Use your resume as a guide when you are filling out job application forms.
- When emailing your resume or uploading it to an application form, use a PDF format. That way, it will look the same on any system.
- Keep copies of your resume with you at all times so you'll be able to hand it out to anyone you meet who may be a potential employment or referral source.
- Once your resume is complete, use the information on it to update your LinkedIn profile so that it portrays you appropriately to prospective employers.
Preparing for a Successful Job Search
Your resume is an important job search tool. The time you invest in putting together a solid resume while you are still in college will help you not only now, but well into the future. You'll be able to update the resume you create now as you progress beyond college and begin to make progress toward accomplishing your career goals.
