A guide for students to make the process of creating a resume less daunting.

Writing a resume was a daunting task for me to complete; I did not know where to begin, I doubted my significant achievements since I was so young and I had no idea what skills employers or internship programs were looking for. After the past two years in college, I have developed a knack for constantly fixing my resume, adding in tiny tweaks to make myself stand out more and look appealing to employers and directors. The tips and tricks I have learned over the past few years have allowed me to apply to numerous internships and land many positions in healthcare, even as a student with very little experience.

  1. Before you even think about the format of the resume, start by listing all of your high school achievements, awards and skills that you have acquired. If you are a college student, list monumental high school experiences that show leadership and important qualities of someone that is hardworking. You can list community service, jobs you have had, school clubs, awards received through school, internships, research, etc. Seeing everything that you have accomplished in so little time will boost your confidence and push you to further talk about yourself in an uplifting light. 
  2. Focus on your education. As a student, you have been in school for a number of years so your role is to include information about your GPA, academic projects, thesis, research or any huge presentations. 
  3. The content of your resume is going to be brief but enticing. 

Name, Address, Email and Telephone all go at the top, usually in a form of a header

  • First and last name can be bolded and try to avoid nicknames
  • Your physical address must be current and where you can get mail
  • Don’t list an email you made in middle school with funny names. Make an email that is professional and sound, usually with just your first name or use a school email.

Next, list your Education under a new heading. As a student with little to no work experience, education should be at the very top.

  • List the name of the college, location, type of degree and the major as well as expected graduation date and GPA. If you have a scholarship, you can list this here as well. 
  • For example, mine is: Hunter College, City University of New York, Bachelors of Arts in Human Biology, Expected June 2022 GPA: 3.94, Sage Scholar
  • If you are applying for an internship for your respective field, list relevant coursework to show your employers you have taken the classes to make you a competitive applicant. 
  • In this section or in another heading, you may add Honors and Awards for academic honors, honor societies, and other major accomplishments.

List your experience. List the company or organization you worked with and foreach opportunity, provide action-oriented duties and outcomes. 

  • Experience can be club leadership, on campus involvement, volunteer work, internships, etc. 
  • You can have a different heading for volunteer work and internships if you have multiple experiences in each. 
  • Start listing opportunities from most recent to your first job. 
  • Start sentence describing duties with a verb such as “Manage” or “Assisted”
  • For example: Volunteer, XYZ Hospital and Location                      2015- Present
    •  Volunteer on Med-Surgical Ward
    • Assist patients by reading, providing needs and keeping patients company
    • Restock supplies and arrange material for physician assistants

List Skills and Activities. This can range from language, computer skills such as Adobe, laboratory techniques or technical skills. You can list hobbies in this section that are relevant to the job you are applying for.  

  1. Your resume is a gateway to obtaining the interview, getting a call back and unlocking doors to countless opportunities. It is important to remain professional when sending these emails out. Attach a CV along with your resume from a professional email and include a message focusing on what you bring to the employer. 
  2. Do not make it colorful. Keep it black and white, size 12 font with Times New Roman as a font. Reread you work for spelling and grammar errors.
  3. And lastly, do not doubt yourself. You worked hard and you tried. Believe in yourself and exude confidence with every step you take. Each time you submit your resume, you are putting your best foot forward and taking a huge leap to be better. 

Here is a link to action words you can use for experiences: http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/studentservices/cds/current_repository/files/resumes/ActionWords.pdf

Here is a link to examples of resumes for students just starting out: http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/studentservices/cds/current_repository/files/resumes/LittleToNoExperienceResumes.pdf