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How to Write a Resume That Stands Out

You finally found it! The perfect job for you. Now, all you have to do to get the process started is to submit your resume. The problem is that hundreds of your peers are probably thinking exactly the same thing. How do you stand out?

You finally found it! The perfect job for you. Now, all you have to do to get the process started is to submit your resume. The problem is that hundreds or even thousands of your peers are probably thinking exactly the same thing about exactly the same job. So how do you create a one-page document that will make you and your accomplishments stand out from the crowd?

Your resume is a key part of the job application process: it is the first document that an employer reviews to determine whether they will interview and eventually employ you. Remember that employers often have very limited time to perform this duty. Crafting a strong resume really matters!

Resumes communicate who you are and what you have accomplished. They may be the only document an employer sees to evaluate your record before making a decision to move forward with your application, or they may be used in conjunction with resources like LinkedIn or professional networking profiles and/or a cover letter. A resume that “stands out” in a positive way is one that has been written thoughtfully, clearly and concisely, effectively communicating your abilities and strengths in a very brief space.

Six basic tips will help you build an outstanding professional resume. Note that resumes may vary by professional field (e.g. engineering vs. non-engineering), by location or by other factors such as professional degree. These tips are designed around some of the most common sections and most useful points for resumes across different types.

Tip 1: How to Write an Education Section that Stands Out

The education section demonstrates that you have the academic qualifications for the position. The key questions you should ask yourself while writing this section is, “Have I clearly communicated the strongest and most relevant aspects of my educational experience?” The next question is, “Is this section organized in a way that is easily readable by the employer?”

The education section is important for all applicants but may be weighted differently depending on how long it has been since you graduated from a degree program. For instance, an employer may have a different level of interest in the educational history of a college senior, compared to someone who has been professionally working for several years after college. Understanding this fact may influence where you choose to place this section on your resume.

In general, you should include all of the higher education that you may have had, including undergraduate, graduate, or professional schooling.  You may also consider including online courses, certificates, and completed programs through companies like Coursera. Most people list their experiences in an order called reverse chronological, meaning that they list the most recent experience first, and work backwards down the page.

For each listed school, provide the full name of the school or online program, the years of your attendance, your major or majors, if applicable, as well as a minor if applicable. Include the type of degree received (e.g. a Bachelor of Arts or Master of Science) and the year of graduation. If you are graduating soon, include the month and year of graduation so employers know when you will be available to work. If you have studied abroad, include the institution, program of study, and any relevant coursework.

You may want to include which semesters you qualified for special academic recognition, if any.  Other special awards, scholarships, or competitive grants can also be listed in this section. If you have non-academic awards, such as for sports or community service, you may choose to create a separate section of your resume for honors and awards.

Tip 2: How to Make the Experience Section Stand Out

Along with education, your experience is one of the most important ways to show that you are qualified for a position. Use this section to clearly convey your strongest professional experiences, whether paid or unpaid. Be sure to give detailed aspects of your roles and responsibilities for each listed position. Emphasize any relationships or similarities between your past experiences and the job you want. You should also include the start and end dates of your involvement with each organization, and any key accomplishments from the role. Don’t forget to include where the company is located, including city and state/province, or even country if different from your home country.

Ask yourself: while involved with the company, did I win any awards, get any special recognition, make new discoveries, start a new program? If so, what happened and what were the results? Quantify your experiences when you can! As the expression goes, “Show don’t tell.” In other words, you can more effectively convey a point by giving concrete examples, rather than through vague descriptions. Consider the following examples.

Instead of:

Improved worker productivity significantly, leading to recognition from upper management.

(A resume reader may ask: What does ‘improved’ mean? What does recognition mean? How much have you improved it by?)

Improved quarter returns by 25%, exceeding projections and leading to the Top Manager Award, given to only one manager in the company per year.

When it comes to language, be honest about your job functions while thinking of professional ways to present your experiences.

Sometimes people fall into a trap of thinking that their job or internship experience won’t sound impressive enough to list. The job may have felt like “sitting at a desk, answering the phone.” True, but you may have been performing other responsibilities or developing useful job-related skills without realizing that you were!

When you were at a desk, were you at the FRONT desk? Were you the only person or the main person in this position? Were you overseeing anything while you were sitting there? Were you the sole person responsible for any tasks? Did you have to learn how to deal calmly and confidently with any customer issues? Did people occasionally ask you to take on additional responsibilities, even for a short time?

It is fair to say that a person sitting at a front desk, may have been MANAGING the front desk, or even managing the desk when the person’s boss was away. Time during which an individual is placed in charge of a business or an office, even if for a limited time, can convey responsibility to a prospective employer.

Look at your accomplishment bullet and ask yourself:

• What did I do in the job?
• Using what?
• To what extent or impact?

Sometimes you may need to pare down your list in order to avoid making your resume too lengthy. Try to select the accomplishments based partly on how impressive they are and partly on how well they relate to the position you want. To describe your experience, always use more than one sentence or bullet. That said, word economy in your bulleted descriptions is also important. Try to keep each bulleted description or sentence to one or two lines at most. You can often rephrase a description, eliminating words while keeping the meaning. The more information you can present clearly and concisely within the short resume format, the more the employer will understand what you can do for them.

Remember that by providing relevant details in each statement of your experience, you will give the employer enough information to evaluate you and also provide them with ideas of what they might want to discuss with you in an interview.

Tip 3: How to Create a Leadership and Activities Section that Stands Out

For many people, especially students and recent graduates, a Leadership & Activities section can be a fantastic differentiator for your resume. If you have not been in the workforce for long, or if you have only worked summers and part-time, then you may not have much relevant content to add to your Experience section. A strong Leadership & Activities section can help you fill that gap while also telling an employer something about you as a person.

When creating the section, you should first consider what student organizations and activities you would want to include. Then, you should consider what you would want to write about each one. In general, this section is much like the Experience section, except that it is about what you have done in a personal, rather than professional, setting.

Of course, because student organizations and activities are personal, you should be careful about which ones you choose to list; they should be appropriate to a professional setting. For example, you should probably not choose to share that you were chosen “Top Drinker” of your college’s “Beer Keg of the Day” club. On the other hand, if you volunteered at a food bank, wrote for a school publication, or had a membership in an honor society, those accomplishments would be worth sharing.

Most importantly, you should include student organizations and activities where you have made significant contributions or held leadership positions. Just as you did in the Experience section, you should think about what you did in the organization, any responsibilities you had, any skills you used, and any knowledge you gained. If you made improvements to the student organization or activity, definitely include concrete examples. Make sure to consider if any of your experiences with student organizations and activities could be related to the position you are applying for. Could any of the skills you have learned be useful in the job?

Because student organizations and activities can offer students leadership opportunities and experiences that are often limited to experienced professionals in companies, this section is your chance to show not only that you are qualified for the position but that you have even greater potential. Make the most of this opportunity to show the employer what you can do!

Tip 4: How to Highlight Your Skills

Another important component of what defines an attractive candidate in the modern economy is their skill set. Because employers want people who can quickly start being productive, they care about what skills a job prospect has, particularly in certain technical fields. In most cases, skills are incorporated into the Experience section, if you acquired skills as part of your internship or job, and in the Education section, if you obtained the skills through coursework, research, or projects. Sometimes people with additional skills, such as technical skills, foreign language, or certifications obtained outside of university, will place them into a separate section at the end of the resume. Whichever format you choose, you still need to emphasize the skills you have, so that an employer can easily see how you can help them.

You should ask yourself a few important questions. What skills do I have? What skills are my target employers looking for? Are my skills hard skills (i.e. technical, like computer programming) or soft skills, such as the ability to listen?

Make a list! Separate the skills into hard skills and soft skills. What skills are most in demand (on both lists) for the position you are interested in (One good way to decide this is to look at job listings for many similar positions and note how often a particular skill is listed.)? How can you highlight your proficiency in these skills?

Lead with your strongest skills and/or the ones that seem the most marketable. Let’s say you know the programming language Python. How well do you know it? How many years have you used it? Do you have any specialized knowledge and ability that may set you apart from a competing applicant? Do you have demonstrations of your work anywhere for a prospective employer to see?

Here’s an example of a skills entry that might be included into the Experience section:

Programming: 8 years of experience with Python and similar scripting languages, wrote MyFirstPythonProject software available on GitHub

Useful tip: Artists may have portfolios for their artistic work. Examples of appropriate work, such as for coding, may not be a bad idea to have available in addition to a resume!

Even if your field is not technical, you may still have important hard skills. Do you have experience with popular office software, such as Excel, PowerPoint, or Access? Do you know any foreign languages, even at a basic level? Think about not only what might be required in the day-to-day performance of the job, but what other skills could potentially be useful to the employer.

You will want to include all the relevant skills to demonstrate your qualifications, without including too much less-relevant information which could distract from your message. Think carefully about which skills you want to include, and which could be left out. Remember to choose your words economically to maximize content in a minimum of space. With a little effort, your skills details can transform your resume from a simple list of accomplishments to a document that gets an employer thinking about all the great ways you could contribute!

Tip 5: Formatting and Making the Resume Look Professional

Believe it or not, the appearance and organization of a resume can greatly affect the response. The first hurdle for any resume is to get the employer to read it. An attractively presented, concise resume is easy for a recruiter to pick up. On the other hand, if a resume is 5 pages, written in 6-point font, a prospective employer may not think that it is worth the time to find a magnifying glass and read it. In most cases, a resume should not exceed one page (sometimes two pages, mostly for more experienced candidates, or in scientific and technical fields where publication lists can be lengthy), which has a few key sections that are separated from one another or clearly delineated.

Here are some suggestions to make the format stand out positively:

• Use 10-12-point font or larger. (10 point may even sometimes be too small, and the choice can depend on the chosen font.) Your audience should easily be able to read the size of the writing. Often prospective employers may not have perfect vision, so readability may create problems if the text is too small.
• Use a clean, professional-looking font. Don’t use fonts that are overly artistic and hinder the ability for the reader to understand them. Some find fonts like Times New Roman most clearly readable; others find competing fonts better. The font is just an aspect of the writing; don’t let it overpower the words themselves.
• Use respectable margins. Don’t try to deviate too much from 0.5 margins at either side. Also, don’t make the margins too large, beyond 0.75 or 1 unit on either side. Around 1 unit on the top and bottom should be acceptable.
• Use adequate spacing.
• Abbreviate months of employment.
• Include proper contact information. Most people include full name, address, email address and at least one phone number at the top of the document.

Tip 6: Revision and Review 

One of the most important steps to writing a good resume is having others you trust look it over. A small spelling or grammar error on a resume could cause problems by making it seem like you lack attention to detail.

You can start with standard spelling and grammar checking programs. However, while these programs are very helpful, they are not enough by themselves. For example, the programs may not flag errors with homophones (e.g. hair and hare). They also have difficulty with uncommon, technical, or foreign words that may not be in their dictionaries. In addition, they are not looking for formatting inconsistencies or at the overall appearance of the resume. While computer programs can help with many issues, there is still no substitute for the human eye.

Start by printing a copy of your resume and looking for errors and inconsistencies yourself. Then, present copies to others along with a description of the job or educational opportunity that you are applying for. When presenting your resume to others, consider at least two kinds of people: a peer, and an experienced professional or teacher. Each may identify different issues with the resume.

Ask the reviewers to provide two types of notes: technical revisions and feedback on the writing, organization and effectiveness of the resume.

Once you get feedback, discuss it with them for a few minutes. Remember, don’t take constructive criticism personally! They are trying to help you, and their points of view may be similar to that of the employer. Your goal is to create a resume that most people will appreciate.

Once you obtain proper feedback, you can work on improving your resume. Try to incorporate your reviewers’ suggestions. Their ideas may even make you think of other ways to improve your resume! Most importantly, always remember that once you have made your revisions, review your resume again before you send it out!

The stronger your resume, the better your chance of getting an interview and landing a meaningful job. Just by following these simple tips, you will be well on your way to resume success, creating a clear, detailed, and concise document designed to impress employers. So, get writing and get yourself noticed!

A good resume can help you land an interview, but even minor errors can take you out of the running.  Schedule an appointment with a counselor  to ensure it will be effective.

Quick Resume Tips:

• Use the position description to decide what to include.
• Pick a standard and consistent format.
• Describe your experiences with specificity and strong action verbs.
• Record accomplishments and contributions, not just responsibilities.
• Revise carefully!
• Don’t include personal information about your age, religion, health or marital status.
• Photos are generally not preferred for U.S. resumes.
• Typically, you will not be expected to share past salary information on a resume.
• Employers assume that “references will be available upon request,” so you don’t need to include them on your resume unless asked.
• Employers may use keyword scanning on resumes, so know what words are relevant to the industry and position and ensure they appear in your resume.

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Preparing a Resume

Many applications require that you submit a resume. Typically, the resume will be either one or two pages; it is important to adhere to this page limit. Even though you have achieved some incredible things during your time thus far at Harvard, it is important that you tailor your resume to the opportunity at hand. This does not diminish all of your varied experiences, but rather it shows that you really understand the opportunity and can highlight your most relevant qualities and experiences. For example, if you are applying to a high-level research program (ex. Herchel Smith), make sure that your resume is very research-focused. Or, if you are looking into a public service opportunity, you bet that you should be highlighting your public service experience (ex. extracurriculars, leadership, academics, etc.)! If you are applying to a program that emphasizes community as part of a research team, for example, feel free to include different community- or leadership-related experiences on your resume.

How to do this? Before turning to the draft itself, set some mini-goals for your resume to achieve within the greater whole of your application. After reading your resume, what do you want the selection committee to have learned about you? How does your resume contribute to the application as a whole? Does your resume complement other aspects of your application by giving context or additional detail (ex. your research proposal or statement)?

Be sure to go beyond listing responsibilities and dates and use deliberate and concise prose to demonstrate your qualifications for a particular opportunity. Also, keep both the impact and implications of the experiences on your resume in mind.

Impact: How was your contribution to this group/activity impactful? How was it different because you were part of it? This can be an aspect of your formal responsibilities or it can be an articulation of something less formal that you brought to the group. Also, what impact did this group/activity have on you? This doesn’t have to be an explicit articulation but it should be clear in how you describe the activity that it was formative in some way.

Implications: For students who study more esoteric areas of academia, this section can help non-experts understand your experiences. You do not have to sacrifice the sophisticated articulation of your research topic, but including some clarification that will help a non-expert understand the value of what you worked on. Remember, selection committees often include individuals from a broad spectrum of backgrounds.

For example: “Studied the functional implications of naturally selected polymorphisms in human TLR5. Potential implications for developing low-cost physiotherapy treatments to be deployed in emerging markets.”

A few things to remember:

• Once you have entered college, it is usually best to leave your high school experiences off of your resume, unless they are directly relevant (ex. research experience when applying to a research program). In some cases, first year students may find it helpful to list high school experiences.
• List opportunities that are indicative of your experiences, what you value, and how you choose to spend your time. Even if you are not able to include every experience, you will have lots of good fodder for an interview!
• Make sure that this resume is a specific fit for this opportunity and links your experiences to the selection criteria of the program.
• Be creative! You have lots of transferrable skills that might not be apparent to you at the start. Be sure to check out MCS resources  to help break down your set of experiences into their most essential skills and building blocks.
• Please make sure that your resume is easy to read! Consult The Mignone Center for Career Success (MCS) for examples of good formatting and templates. The selection committee can tell when you have adjusted your margins and changed the size of your font just to squeeze more information into the page limit!
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Resume vs. CV?

Most students at the undergraduate level write resumes (even though they may call it a CV).  When you get to grad school, you need to decide whether you should write a CV, a resume, or both. A CV is appropriate if you are seeking an academic positions - postdoc, professor, and, possibly, some positions at government labs (e.g., DOE national labs and NIST).  But for most non-academic positions, go with a resume.  

So, what's the difference?  If you do a simple web search of "CV vs. resume," you'll find lots of explanations.  The MIT career office web site has a nice chart , highlighting some of the differences.  One huge difference is the length, CV's being several pages and resumes being limited to one or two.  But the content also differs.  If you don't know whether you will aim for an academic or industrial job, make up two separate documents. You will be continuously revising both documents, as you move through your graduate career and beyond, so get both started now.

A CV is a several-page document in which you demonstrate your accomplishments that are essential for academic appointments - research, publishing, and teaching.  Details are important.  The professors who read these will certainly develop strategies for sifting through the many applications they receive for any given position, but expect them to spend time going over the details on any that they consider possible. 

OCS has a detailed guide that you can download from the GSAS tab on their Resumes, CV's, Cover Letters web page.  In addition to the several examples within that document, I suggest that you look at the examples on the MIT Career Office website.

Resumes and Cover Letters

A resume is often the first document that you will send or hand to a potential employer or even someone who might advise you.  You may (and should) spend time revising it continually, but you should always assume that the person seeing it for the first time may only spend 10-15 seconds looking at it.  Think of the hiring manager who has been given a stack of 100 resumes (which have already been filtered beforehand by someone in HR), who is trying to fill one or two slots.  You have a very short time to catch that hiring manager's attention to be one of the few resumes to survive her/his first pass through that stack.

It is quite tempting to try to pack as much information as possible into your resume.  But always think about that brief time to make a first impression.  While it is quite reasonable for a graduate student to have a two-page resume (postdocs even longer), pay particular attention to the first page. 

What will a hiring manager (who could be an individual engineer, scientist, programmer, etc. or a manager of a group who is hiring a summer intern) look for in that initial pass through the resumes.  This can differ by organization, which is one reason we encourage students to connect to alumni for advice. However, let me emphasize one concept - what the hiring manager is trying to accomplish by hiring you.

The hiring manager will usually be hiring you to solve a problem during your internship or a broader, yet focused, set of problems in your post-graduate employment.  She/he will want to know if you have the skills necessary to solve that problem.  You want to convey the message that you have such skills, even though your particular thesis research may be focused on a different problem than hers/his.  Hence, make sure that you have skills section on the first page of your resume. List programming languages, expertise with fabrication or measurement tools, machining skills, etc. It is also important for you to show how you used those skills.  You may have several undergraduate and graduate research experiences that you can list.  Don't just focus on the goal of the research; make sure that you also mention the skills that you used in conducting the research projects.

There are several items that are critical parts of a CV, but have little or no importance on a resume. 

• Don't put references on a resume.  There may be an occasional job that will ask for them with your application, but most companies will only ask for them, when you are much closer to be hired.
• You can put teaching positions on the resume, but don't use too much space on them.  They mainly signify that you know the material for that class.
• Publications are often not nearly as important for an industrial job as an academic job.  If you have several publications, you can save space with a couple of techniques.  You could list one or two selected publications.  Or you could simply state the number of publications and provide a link to an online portfolio, where you list them.

There are many guides to writing a resume available online.  OCS has two guides that you can download from the GSAS tab on their Resumes, CV's, Cover Letters web page.   The first one is more general, aimed at the wide cross-section of Harvard PhD fields.  That one contains a page of action verbs that may prove helpful in composing your resume and a few example resumes.  Then there is also a guide (really a set of slides) aimed at Scientists, which will most likely apply to you.  The basics of writing a resume will be similar at most schools, but you may glean some additional ideas by checking out sample resumes elsewhere.  For example, I often encourage students to check out the sample resumes on MIT's career office website.  (Scroll down to the PhD resumes.) 

Portfolios and Github

Let's say that the hiring manager has put your resume into the small group of resumes to be examined in more depth.  At this point, if you have an online portfolio or github, they will likely want to spend extra time to look at your accomplishments and work/project history in more depth. 

If you are applying for a back-end programming job, have a well-organized github account that the hiring manager can search.  Don't put anything online that you don't want the outside world to see.  Obviously, if you did some work for a company, they will likely consider that proprietary.  But this caution may also hold for research work under a professor, as he/she may want to keep it secret until published.

For most other types of jobs - front-end programming, engineering, design, etc. - a portfolio is a better choice for demonstrating your skills and activities in a format that is much more extensive than a resume. 

Most students use templates provided commercial website companies such as Squarespace, WIX, Wordpress, Start Bootstrap, etc. - there are many out there.  A free alternative available to Harvard students is OpenScholar .

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Resumes: What You Need to Know

The resume is an opportunity to market yourself to a prospective employer. It should be succinct, target an employer's needs, and distinguish you from your competitors. Before you get started, think about your strengths, weaknesses, personal preferences, and motivations. You should also consider the company's needs, who your competition might be, and your unique skill set. The best way to convince employers that you will add value is to show them that you've done it before.

Alumni Resume Book

Our Alumni Resume Book connects you with organizations looking for talent. Visit 12twenty (our recruiting platform) and upload your resume to get started. You should complete your Profile in 12twenty by updating your Background tab which contains information about your career experience, skills, preferences and more. Ensuring your Background tab is complete and accurate will greatly improve your chance of being contacted by an organization. Looking to connect with fellow HBS alumni? Upload your resume to the Alumni Networking Resume Book to kick start those connections.

Resume Makeover Using VMock and Aspire  

Gain instant feedback on your resume and LinkedIn Profile

VMock is a smart career platform that provides instant personalized feedback on your resume and LinkedIn Profile to help improve aspects like presentation, language, and skills.

VMock Smart Editor tool will enable you to:

• Receive an objective score on your resume based on recruiter criteria
• Review line-for-line targeted feedback on your resume
• Re-upload your resume up to 10 times to track improvement

Sign up using your HBS email address. Account requests are granted within 24 business hours. During holidays and winter break (December 24th – January 1st) turnaround time will be delayed until the CPD office reopens. Please note, we recommend you review your resume before considering it final.

Resumes: Sections, Templates & Examples

• Contact details - Let others know who you are and how to get in touch with you. In addition to your name, you should list your mailing address, phone number, and email address. It is expected to be found at the top of the page. No need to include it on additional pages.
• Professional history - Start with your most recent role and list in descending chronology. For each role, provide a sentence or two that describes the scope of your responsibility. Then in bullet format, provide accomplishment statements. To write an accomplishment statement, state the problem you encountered, the action you took and the result or impact of your actions. For example, "Led team in implementing a new general ledger package by providing expertise and encouragement, which contributed to a successful, on-time project completion."
• Education - Spell out your degree so it will stand out better. It is not necessary to include your GPA or GMAT score. Do not list courses. Do list any leadership roles or study abroad experiences.
• Summary/Profile - A great opportunity to tell the reader exactly what you want them to know. It should be 3-4 sentences in paragraph form following your contact information. Be careful not to load up on overused resume jargon and avoid listing previous jobs/education as it is redundant. Instead, focus on your branding statement, unique themes in your career path, and skills.
• Key skills - Listing your skills is a great way for the reader to quickly evaluate your skill set. List skills that are relevant to your next position. For each skill, you will need a proof statement in the form of an accomplishment stated in the professional experience section. A good way to set up this section is in 2 or 3 columns with 3-4 skills in each column. The heading could be "Key Areas of Expertise" or "Core Competencies".
• Personal/Interests - Only include if it helps tell your story.
• Additional roles - If you participate in organizations outside of your professional employment, you may list these in a separate section. Headings are typically "Volunteer Leadership Roles" or "Community Service".
• Licenses and Professional Certifications - If you possess a license or certification, these should be called out in a separate section.
• Objective - No longer in style. Do not include in your resume.
• References available upon request - No longer in style. Do not include in your resume.
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Chronological - This is the most commonly used layout. Recommended for a mostly consistent record of employment showing progression/growth from position to position. Not recommended for gaps in employment dates, those out of job market for some time, or changing careers.

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Streamlined Chronological - This layout also shows progression from one job to the next, but does not include extra sections such as Summary/Profile or Areas of Expertise. Recommended for recent alumni.

• Template: Streamlined Chronological (login required)

Chronological/Functional Hybrid Resume - In this layout, you can highlight your employment history in a straight chronological manner, but also make it immediately clear you have filled a variety of roles that use different but related skill sets. This is useful to provide a few accomplishments in the beginning to show a theme. Each role would also have specific accomplishment statements.

• Template: Chronological/Functional Hybrid (login required)
• Sample: Accomplishment Focus Resume (login required)

Cover Letter Writing

It is essential to send a cover letter with your resume to provide a recruiter with insight into your qualifications, experience, and motivation for seeking a position. The letter also conveys your personal communication style, tone, and professionalism. An effective employment letter should:

• Be targeted and personalized
• State why you are interested in the company
• Explain how you can fill a need
• Convey your enthusiasm about the opportunity
• Suggest next steps for communication and action

Guidelines & Examples

Investigate your target company. What is the company's "breaking news?" What drives their business? What are their greatest challenges and opportunities? How can you contribute? eBaker can help with your research.

Outline your objectives using relevant information that attracts the attention of the reader.

• Salutation Address the letter to a specific person. Capture the reader's attention and briefly introduce yourself. Mention the referral/company contact, if applicable. State the purpose of your letter.
• Body Describe relevant information you discovered about the company. Discuss the position offered or the position you are looking for. Detail how your skills will benefit the company.
• Closing Convey your enthusiasm. Anticipate response.

Pay close attention to sentence structure, spelling, and punctuation. Always print your letter to check for typographical errors. Have a friend, colleague, or family member review your letter whenever possible.

Cover letters are the place to briefly and directly address the gap in your career. For example, "I am returning to the workforce after a period of raising children." Then address your strengths, qualifications and goals. Emphasize your excitement and preparedness to re-enter the workforce now.

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Branding You

Resume writing tips  , creating visual impact.

A concise, visually appealing resume will make a stronger impression than a dense, text-laden document. Respect page margins and properly space the text. Learn to appreciate the value of "white space." Limit a resume to one or two pages but not one and ¼. Ensure content is balanced on both pages. A CV is typically longer because it includes additional sections such as publications and research.

Use Parallel Construction

Select a consistent order of information, format, and spacing. If one experience starts with a brief overview followed by bullet points, subsequent experiences should follow a similar form. Parallel construction—including the use of action verbs (pdf) (login required) to start all phrases—greatly enhances a resume's readability.

Always Proofread

Pay close attention to margin alignment, spelling, punctuation, and dates. Read your resume backward to check for typographical errors. (You will focus on individual words, rather than the meaning of the text.) Better yet, have a friend, colleague, or family member review your resume.

Use Action Verbs

Action Verbs List (login required)

Improve Your Writing

Common questions, past program resources  .

How to Build a Resume that Stands Above the Competition

How to Write a Great Resume and Cover Letter

Linda Spencer offers helpful tips and resources to help you write your resumé and cover letter.

What makes a great résumé and cover letter? Linda Spencer, associate director and coordinator of career advising at Harvard Extension School, shares examples of a few strong résumés and explains what makes them stand out.

Perfect Your Marketing Documents

Spencer stresses it’s important to know that your résumé and cover letter are marketing documents. Also keep in mind that the average employer takes about seven seconds to review these documents. They’re not reading: they’re skimming. So you need to make it clear right off the bat how you can add value.

Strong résumés don’t have to be lengthy. One to two pages that feature your most top accomplishments works well.

Use Action Words and Customize Your Pitch

When highlighting your professional experience, use accomplishment statements rather than descriptions of your role. Start with an action verb. Then detail the impact that action had: Did you increase, decrease, modify, or change anything in your work? Finally, be sure to quantify the accomplishments. Data helps.

Your cover letter should be one page, highly customized to each position you’re applying for. It answers two questions: why are you the right fit for the position? And how will you add value to the organization?

While it’s important to have a strong résumé and cover letter, it’s also important to remember that the number one job search strategy is networking. You don’t want to simply be reactive, applying blindly to job postings. You want to conduct a series of informational meetings so that you build a network of people you can reach out to when it comes time to start your job search.

Any Extension student can attend first-come, first-served 15-minute call-ins (via phone or Skype) with Linda. See Career Services for more information.

Ready to take your next step? Browse graduate and undergraduate options

Choose from individual courses, certificates, or degree programs

Tips on Public Speaking: Eliminating the Dreaded “Um”

Learn how to remove filler words from formal speeches to present with confidence.

Harvard Division of Continuing Education

The Division of Continuing Education (DCE) at Harvard University is dedicated to bringing rigorous academics and innovative teaching capabilities to those seeking to improve their lives through education. We make Harvard education accessible to lifelong learners from high school to retirement.

10 Resume Summary Examples for Students (Plus, Tips on How to Write Yours)

As a student, you should be able to summarize your skills, experiences, and goals in just a few lines. Whether you're drafting your first resume or updating your existing one, these resume summary examples for students will help you do just that.

In this article, we'll explore student resume summary examples tailored to various academic levels, including those with no prior job experience. We'll also provide actionable tips on how to craft what is also sometimes referred to as a professional summary for students that captures your unique strengths, ensuring you stand out in a competitive job market.

Get your resume out there — apply for these open jobs on The Muse »

What is a resume summary for students?

A resume summary is a brief, impactful statement at the top of your resume that highlights your key skills , experiences, and achievements, providing a snapshot of what makes you an outstanding asset to any organization.

A well-crafted resume summary for students with no experience, for example, can effectively convey your potential by emphasizing academic achievements, relevant skills, and extracurricular activities, making it a crucial element in your resume.

How to write an effective resume summary for a student

Crafting a powerful resume summary for students involves more than just listing your skills—you’ll want to tailor your summary to the specific job you’re applying for and making a compelling case for why you’re the best candidate.

Here’s how to create an effective professional summary for students that captures attention:

• Review the job description : Customize your resume summary by reflecting the key qualifications from the job description—but don’t just make things up. Focus on aligning your real skills and experiences with what’s expected for the position. By honestly matching your strengths with the job requirements, you demonstrate that you’re a perfect fit and have thoroughly done your homework.
• Emphasize your strengths : A resume summary for students with no experience might seem impossible, but in fact all you need to do is highlight academic achievements, extracurriculars, and relevant skills to showcase your potential.
• Demonstrate initiative and curiosity : Highlight your eagerness to grow and develop new skills. This can make your student resume summary particularly appealing to employers.
• Use action verbs and quantifiable results : Enhance your resume summary with action verbs and quantifiable achievements , making your accomplishments clear and impactful.
• Ask others to take a look : Seek feedback from peers or mentors to refine your resume summary and ensure it effectively represents your strengths.
• Keep it updated: Regularly update your resume summary to reflect your latest achievements, ensuring it remains a strong asset in your job search.

Bonus tip: Ask yourself these questions when crafting your resume summary

When it comes to creating a compelling and focused resume summary, self-reflection is key. By asking yourself the right questions, you can home in on the elements that will make your summary stand out to potential employers. Consider these five essential questions as your guide:

• What are my top three strengths that align with this position?
• How have my past experiences prepared me for this role?
• What unique value can I bring to this company?
• Which of my achievements best showcase my skills and impact?
• How can I convey my passion and enthusiasm for this field in a concise way?

These questions will help you focus on the most important elements to include in your resume summary, so that it’s targeted and impactful.

10 resume summary examples for students

What is a good summary for a student resume? Below, we present some examples, tailored to different academic levels and experiences.

High school student resume summary examples

Example #1: for a summer internship in software development.

“Motivated high school student with a strong academic record and a passion for technology. Experienced in leading school projects, with a proven ability to work well both independently and in teams. Seeking to apply my problem-solving skills and enthusiasm for learning in a summer internship in software development.”

Example #2: For a summer internship in graphic design

“Creative high school student with a strong portfolio of digital art and design projects. Skilled in Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, with experience in designing posters and flyers for school events. Eager to expand my skills in a professional setting and contribute innovative ideas as a graphic design intern.”

College students resume summary examples

Example #3: for a marketing assistant position.

“Detail-oriented college junior pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, with hands-on experience in digital marketing strategies and content creation. Successfully completed an internship where I developed social media campaigns that increased engagement by 15%. Eager to leverage my skills in a dynamic marketing role.”

Example #4: For a content writing internship

“Passionate English major with a strong background in creative writing and editing. Experienced in writing blog posts, articles, and academic papers. Completed a writing internship where I helped increase website traffic by producing high-quality content. Seeking a content writing internship to further hone my skills and contribute to impactful storytelling.”

Resume summary examples for students with no work experience

Example #5: for a research analyst position.

“Ambitious student with a strong foundation in science and mathematics, seeking to apply my analytical skills in a research analyst position. Though I have no formal work experience, I have excelled in academic projects, including a data analysis project that was recognized by my professors for its accuracy and creativity.”

Example #6: For a social media coordinator position

“Enthusiastic student with a deep understanding of social media platforms and online communication. Though lacking formal work experience, I have successfully managed social media accounts for student organizations, increasing follower engagement by 20%. Eager to apply my creativity and social media savvy in a professional environment.”

Resume summary examples for students applying for internships

Example #7: for a finance internship.

“Proactive college sophomore majoring in Business Administration, with a solid understanding of financial principles and a keen interest in corporate finance. Actively seeking an internship to gain practical experience and contribute to the financial analysis and planning efforts of a forward-thinking company.”

Example #8: For a human resources internship

“Dedicated psychology student with a strong interest in human resources and organizational behavior. Completed relevant coursework in employee relations and organizational psychology. Seeking an internship in human resources to gain hands-on experience in recruitment, employee engagement, and HR strategy development.”

Resume summary examples for students with extracurricular leadership experience

Example #9: for a project management internship.

“Leadership-driven student with a background in managing student organizations, including serving as the President of the Debate Club. Adept at coordinating events, managing budgets, and leading teams. Looking to translate my organizational and leadership skills into a project management internship.”

Example #10: For an event planning internship

“Organized student with a proven track record of leading successful events, including charity fundraisers and school festivals. As Vice President of the Student Council, I managed teams and coordinated logistics for events attended by over 500 students. Seeking an internship in event planning to further develop my organizational and leadership skills.”

Key takeaways

To make your resume summary truly stand out, consider these tips. Always seek feedback from mentors or peers to ensure your summary accurately reflects your strengths.

Regularly update your summary as you gain new experiences and skills, keeping it fresh and relevant. Use action verbs and quantify your achievements to add impact. Finally, always be authentic—tailor your summary to the job, but don’t exaggerate or misrepresent your qualifications.

Keep your eyes on opportunities from The Muse to stay ahead in your career journey and discover new ways to elevate your professional profile.

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A résumé is a professional document highlighting your skills, education, goals, and experience. Employers will often spend less than 30 seconds looking at each résumé, so yours needs to stand out while clearly demonstrating your qualifications for the job, internship, or other opportunity. 

Get Started

Use these resources curated by the Career Center to help you craft a strong résumé.

Editable Worksheet

Use this worksheet to help you plan and develop your résumé content.

Editable Template in Word

Download this template and tailor your content to specific opportunities.

High School to College Transition

Learn how to transition your résumé format to make it career-ready.

Samples by Career Path

Review three sample résumés from each of our career paths.

• Communication, Arts, and Marketing
• Consulting, Finance, and Business
• Education, Nonprofit, and Social Impact
• Government, Law, and Public Policy
• Healthcare, Nursing, and Counseling
• Science, Technology, and Engineering

Why do you need a strong résumé?

• Your résumé is a tailored document that conveys to a potential employer the skills, experiences, and qualifications you have for a position you are interested in pursuing.
• In most cases, your résumé will be part of every job, internship, or graduate school application you submit.
• Your résumé—along with your cover letter—is what will determine whether you are invited for an interview.
• Your résumé is one of the few parts of the job search process over which you have 100% control. The effort you put into your résumé also sends clues to potential employers about the level of effort you put into your work. If your résumé looks like it was put together quickly with little attention to detail, what message might you be sending? Make sure your résumé is excellent!

Drop-in Sessions

Once you have a draft of your résumé, stop by our office for a 15-minute résumé review.

Get immediate feedback on your résumé as a supplemental resource to drop-ins.

• Content and formatting matter. If you have great content, but your reader can’t easily make sense of it or find it, you won’t get invited for an interview. Likewise, if you have a beautiful document, but don’t articulate your skills and experiences effectively, you won’t get invited for an interview. 
• If you're an advanced graduate student, you may, at times, submit a résumé of no more than 2 pages.
• Learn more about Applicant Tracking Systems here . 
• Use this article to learn how to write a résumé that gets through applicant tracking systems. 
• Your résumé is a dynamic document.  Continue to add to and edit your résumé on a semesterly or annual basis as you gain more experience. If your career interests change, it is recommended you rethink how you convey your experience on your résumé to align with your new field of interest.
• Artificial intelligence (AI) tools, such as ChatGPT, can be used to enhance your résumé. Read our best practices for appropriately leveraging AI in your application materials.

How to Write a Strong Résumé

Start with a blank document or our ATS-friendly, editable template . We don’t recommend using templates from sites such as Pinterest or Canva as they become restrictive when you are trying to adjust formatting later. Then add each of the sections detailed below.

Use this worksheet to help you plan and develop your résumé content. 

1. Contact Information

First, add your contact information at the top of the page

Your name should be large (e.g. 14 pt font or larger)

Your contact information should include your email address, phone number, city, and state (street address is not needed), and a personalized link to your LinkedIn profile.

To personalize your LinkedIn profile link, click on ‘Edit Public Profile & URL’ in the top right corner of your profile page. Edit your custom URL to your name.

Baldwin Eagle

Chestnut Hill, MA | 617-552-XXXX | baldwin@bc.edu | linkedin.com/in/baldwineagle

2. Education

Next, as a current student, your education section should be listed at the top under your contact information.

Information that should be included: 

• Institution name, city, and state
• School or college, including study abroad institutions and graduate schools, where relevant
• Date of graduation (month and year)
• Major, if known
• GPA, if above a 3.0 or if required by an employer

Other optional information:

• Relevant coursework: You can share up to five classes that are relevant to the position to which you are applying. This is a great way to tailor your résumé to a specific position and to show content knowledge that may not be reflected in your major or elsewhere on your résumé.  
• Academic honors or awards: e.g. Dean’s list (with dates) or other academic recognition can be included here
• High school can be included through your second year of college if space permits unless there is a compelling reason to keep it there (e.g. for networking purposes). 

3. Experience

For most students, your experience section(s) will come after Education. An exception would be if the position description calls for key technical skills.

• Keep in mind that your experience is not just your paid experience. It can include jobs, internships, research, volunteer work, leadership, or campus involvement. You can choose how you title your experience section(s). Some ideas include: Relevant Experience, Volunteer Experience, Leadership & Involvement. 
• Since you want your most relevant experience closer to the top of your résumé, consider how you want to represent your various experiences. What experiences are most relevant in terms of skills gained and content learned to the positions to which you are now applying? 
• Within each section, list your experiences in reverse chronological order by end date. 

How to write strong bullet statements for each experience:

Great bullet statements will describe your achievements rather than tasks.

Start each bullet with an action verb, then demonstrate the value you added to your work by stating what you did (Project), how you did it (Action), and why you did it (Result).

• What was the project or task?
• What actions did you take? (think specifically about your individual contributions)
• What was the result or outcome of your contribution?

Cite numbers whenever possible to demonstrate the scope of your work (e.g. number of people supervised, number of children in classroom, size of event, budget you oversaw, etc.).

• Example Action Verbs

4. Additional Sections to Consider

Following are some additional sections you may include on your résumé:

Objective or Summary: For most students, this is unnecessary and simply takes up space. However, if you are looking to enter a field in which you have very limited experience, it can be helpful to include a short objective that articulates what you are seeking and can show that you are applying to a role with intent and purpose. 

Skills/Interests: It is strongly encouraged to include a section on skills such as computer skills, languages, laboratory skills. For most students, this section will appear at the bottom of your résumé, but for students interested in science and technology, see specific tips in the next section. Personal interests such as hobbies can be included if space permits.

Career Field-Specific Résumé Tips

Creative fields.

• When applying for a creative position, such as a graphic designer, web designer, or creative manager, it can be appropriate to have a creative résumé designed in a program like Adobe InDesign.
• While a creative résumé can include graphics and colors, it should still look professional and be easy to read. 
• It’s a good idea to have a traditional version of your résumé along with the creative one. Applicant Tracking Systems cannot always pull information from graphics or heavily designed résumés, so use a traditional résumé when applying for a position online and save your creative résumé to be emailed directly or to give to someone in-person.
• See more information here about how to design a résumé for the creative fields.
• When applying to positions in the federal government, it is appropriate to submit a federal résumé. Federal résumés are generally 2-5 pages in length and include more required information, including U.S. citizenship status, veteran status, the address and contact information for prior employers and supervisors, and specific USAJobs.gov job identification number.
• As the large majority of federal jobs are posted on USAJobs.gov, we recommend using the website’s  résumé builder  for a step-by-step guide to craft your federal résumé.
• List the number of hours worked during clinicals.
• List any non-clinical work or volunteer experiences you have had. This shows the recruiter that you are well rounded.
• It is critical to keep your Nursing résumé to 1 page only.
• Additionally, if you have worked with any data entry system such as EPIC, list it under the skills section.
• Prioritize key technical skills, such as laboratory (e.g. PCR, gel electrophoresis, western blot, etc.) and statistical analysis software (e.g. R, SPSS, STATA, etc.), in the top half of the résumé. This is especially important if the position description explicitly calls for them.
• Include a research experience section that outlines any on- or off-campus research you have been involved with. Be sure to include relevant achievements in the bullet statements.
• If applicable, include a publications section following the citation style most commonly used in that field of research.
• For teaching in the public schools, create a Licensure and Certifications section, just below your Education section. The title and contents of this section depend on the norms for the state in which you are seeking work. For Massachusetts, include your SEI Endorsement; your 51A Mandated Reporter Training; your MTEL results (if you have passed all of them, you do not need to list each one); and any other endorsements or certifications you have achieved. 
• Create a category for Teaching and Related Experience, or break it up between two categories, such as Practicum Experience and Other Teaching Experience.
• Emphasize experiences with children with special needs; with English Language Learners; communicating with parents; using technology in the classroom, including remote teaching; using assessments to modify your teaching and improve student learning; and/or developing curriculum.
• Emphasize positive outcomes for your students - e.g. “collaborated with teachers to design and teach math units with an emphasis on encouraging students to build a strong foundation, explore the topics, and enjoy math.”
• View sample resume one and sample resume two .
• Prioritize key technical skills, such as programming languages (e.g. Python, C++, JavaScript, etc.) and analytical software (e.g. SQL, Spark, Hadoop, etc.), in the top half of the résumé. This is especially important if the position description explicitly calls for them.
• Include a projects section that outlines any personal or group projects you have been involved with to develop your coding skills. Be sure to include relevant achievements in the bullet statements.
• If applicable, include a link to your GitHub in the contact information section.
• In your heading beneath your name, include any theatre-related professional organization memberships such as SAG and AFTRA.
• For actors, include your physical description—height, weight, hair and eye color, and vocal range. Actors should also include a color 8 x 10 headshot with their resume. Singers should specify their notes.
• Column One: Name of play or movie.
• Column Two: Role you played.
• Column Three: Name and location of the theatre, the director’s name. You can save space by abbreviating "director" to Dir."

Action Verbs and Keywords

Can one word make a difference? Yes! Strong action verbs provide power and direction, so start each line of your résumé with an action verb instead of more passive words. Use keywords to make sure your résumé gets noticed. 

Management Skills

• administered
• consolidated
• coordinated
• prioritized
• recommended
• strengthened

Communication Skills

• corresponded
• interpreted

Clerical or Detailed Skills

• implemented
• systematized

Research Skills

• interviewed
• investigated

Technical Skills

Teaching skills.

• communicated
• facilitated

Financial Skills

Creative skills.

• conceptualized
• established
• illustrated
• revitalized

Helping Skills

• demonstrated
• familiarized
• rehabilitated
• represented

Keyword Strategies

• When you’re applying for a position, be sure to include keywords or skills from the job listing in your résumé.
• Browse online job listings in your field. Words that appear consistently in a variety of ads are your "key" words. Company pages on LinkedIn are another good resource.
• Talk to professionals in your industry.
• Include at least four industry- or job-specific keywords in your résumé. The ideal number is 12.

Keyword Examples*

PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY: Award-winning corporate controller with more than ten years’ experience in two $500 million corporations. Impressive record implementing financial record database architecture that saved over $2 million annually. Proficient in Oracle, Prism, Red Brick, and SAP systems, as well as MS Project, Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and FrontPage.

SKILLS Languages: C, SQL, C++, Assembler, Pascal Software: Oracle Developer 2000, Informix NewEra, FoxPro OS: UNIX, Windows NT/95/3.11, MS-DOS RDBMS: Oracle7, Informix 7

*Pam Dixon,  Job Searching Online for Dummies

Résumé FAQs

What are the exceptions to the “one-page résumé” rule.

Undergraduate students should keep their résumé to one page, although there are some career fields for which a two-page résumé is acceptable (e.g. teaching and federal government). Longer résumé (up to two pages) are acceptable for graduate school applications as well. 

What is an applicant tracking system? How do I know if a company is using one?

Because companies receive so many résumés for each job, applicant tracking systems (ATS) that screen résumés electronically are commonly used. Over 98.8% of Fortune 500 companies use ATS while 66% of large companies and 35% of small organizations rely on them ( Jobscan ). Given that so many companies use this technology, assume that your résumé will be screened by an ATS and create an ATS-friendly résumé.

The ATS will screen your résumé and cover letter for keywords that match the job description, so make sure to use keywords from the job description in your résumé and your cover letter.

What will make my résumé stand out to employers?

• Putting keywords on your résumé that match the job description (as long as they make sense). 
• Making sure your résumé is readable, neat, and free of typos and spelling or grammatical errors.
• Dividing your experience into Relevant Experience and Additional Experience with Relevant coming first.
• Using bullet points rather than blocks of text to describe your experiences. Start each bullet point with a strong action verb, and show the result or purpose of what you did in each bullet point.
• Using numbers to quantify achievements when possible (e.g. served over 100 customers per day during a three-hour shift).
• Having a well-rounded variety of experiences and activities.

Should I use a résumé template?

While it might be tempting to use a résumé template from sites such as Pinterest or Canva because it is predesigned, it is best to stay away from résumé templates and create a Word document from scratch. Résumé templates are often not compatible with ATS and could render your résumé unreadable by many employers. See our editable résumé template for ATS-friendly formatting. 

You should avoid using graphics and colors in your résumé unless you are applying for a creative position, such as a graphic designer, web designer, or creative manager. For these roles it may be appropriate to have a creative résumé designed in a program like Adobe InDesign, however you should still avoid using a template. See more information here about how to design a résumé for the creative fields.

Can ChatGPT write my résumé? How should I use it?

ChatGPT and other AI tools can be used to enhance your résumé, but should not be used to write one for you! AI should not replace your own creativity and perspective and the results generated are meant to provide suggestions rather than to be copied and pasted word-for-word. Think of these ChatGPT résumé prompts as a supplement to your own ideas and insights, not a replacement.

When using AI to help with your application documents, submit prompts that are specific to the role for which you are applying. This will help you create materials that are tailored to the position and demonstrate your relevant skills and experience.

Just like any other writing, edit and proofread anything generated by AI before submitting. Make sure the content flows well, the wording is typo- and error-free, and the metrics are accurate. You should be able to speak to every bullet point on your résumé if asked about it in an interview.

Should I include things I did in high school on my résumé?

Yes, you may include extracurricular activities, sports, jobs, internships, and volunteer roles on your résumé up through your second year in college or until you start replacing your high school involvement with activities you are involved in at Boston College. You may still keep work experiences from high school on your résumé if you have space and/or they are relevant to your future career interests.

What document format should I use when applying for jobs online?

There are pros and cons to submitting your résumé either as a PDF or Microsoft Word document. Read more here . Either way, follow the format instructions on the employer’s website or in the job description, if they provide them.

Should I include my pronouns on my résumé?

Some people choose to put their personal pronouns at the top of their résumé after their name. This is entirely optional. Do what feels most comfortable for you.

What is a CV? How is it different from a résumé?

A curriculum vitae (CV) contains significantly more information and is more detailed than a standard résumé. Unlike the one-page rule for résumés, there is no page limit for a CV. The CV includes your career history as well as your education, awards, special honors, grants or scholarships, research or academic projects, and publications. You might also include professional references, coursework, fieldwork, descriptions of dissertations, and a personal profile that lists your relevant skills and attributes. 

Check out the Ultimate Guide to Writing a CV  and a video overview of putting together your first CV .

Is there a difference between an undergraduate CV versus a graduate CV?

There are no formatting differences between an undergraduate and graduate CV except that a graduate CV might be longer because graduate students typically have more experience.

When would I use a CV? When would I use a résumé?

CV’s are primarily used when applying for faculty positions in higher education or high-level positions in the sciences. CV’s are also often used in countries other than the U.S., but they can vary by country so make sure to research each country’s specific guidelines ( Interstride’s country insights can be helpful here). Résumés are used when applying for most other types of positions in the U.S.

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