how to make a resume out of college

Career Advice for Job Seekers

8 resume writing tips for that second job search out of college

Whenever possible, include numbers and statistics, says McGuiness. These jump out to a recruiter and are a quick way to indicate your impact and value in previous positions. “Increased donations by 30% after implementing an annual silent auction” or “Managed a call center that received over 1,000 calls daily.”

4. Highlight certifications, training programs, stretch assignments and ongoing career or professional development

“It’s important for employers to know that you are invested in your career and are hungry to keep learning and developing,” says Eison.

If you attended a key industry conference, completed a certification or training class (whether online or in-person), reference this. For example, if you work in digital marketing and became Google AdWords Certified, or if you were trained on Adobe Experience Manager, list that. Better yet, list that with a success story/project example using those skills/programs.

In addition, recruiters are looking for candidates with great leadership skills. If you have taken on any additional responsibilities, projects or stretch assignments at your first job, you should include this on your resume.

“Companies are looking for ambitious leaders who are eager to learn and grow with their organizations,” says Eison

5. Highlight soft skills

Listing soft skills is important when writing a resume, because if a company is going to hire you, they will often train you using their own, unique processes.

“Those soft skills – like leadership, communication and team work – are harder to train, so companies want people that have those skills coming into the role,” says McGuiness.

But don’t just say you’re a “strong communicator” on your resume. Instead, show how you’re a strong communicator: “Presented quarterly earnings to senior directors and relayed their recommendations back to the team.”

Related: Communication skills factor into who gets promoted

6. Write the resume to fit the job description

“When applying for any position, at any level in your career, scan the job description and mimic frequently used keywords,” says McGuiness. “Most large employer utilize applicant tracking systems to help them sort hundreds, sometimes thousands of resumes to find the strongest candidates.”

The resumes that are a match to that job description, get noticed.

Related: Avoid common resume mistakes and stand out

7. Open with a strong summary statement

Take the guess work out of the recruiters hands and let them know what position you are interested in based on your skill sets, goals and passion, by creating a strong opening summary statement, says Eison. This isn’t a long-winded paragraph. This is short and to the point, like this:

Seeking financial analyst role where 2+ years of experience at a Fortune 100 organization will add value.

Bold the key terms, results, and language in that summary, and throughout the resume.

“Your resume will be skimmed at first, so make sure to bold your titles and other areas where you want to capture the hiring manager’s attention,” says McGuiness. “If they are intrigued, they’ll read more.”

Said Eison: “If you don’t have a clear summary, recruiters may wrongly assume the role you are applying to or they may not be able to decide where your skills would be an asset for the organization and your resume may be placed in the no pile.”

8. Proofread proofread proofread

“My biggest pet peeve is misspelled words and grammatical errors on resumes,” says Eison.

But it’s difficult to catch your own resume writing mistakes, so have a career coach, trusted colleague, roommate, significant other, or family member proofread your resume. Let’s be clear though: Asking someone (other than a career coach or recruiter whom you may know) to review your resume in terms of resume format or resume layout, is asking for trouble. Your roommate may be a great salesperson, but that doesn’t mean they are skilled at critiquing resumes. Your mom or dad be able to catch grammatical errors, but unless they work in HR, hire, recruit, or manage employees, their specialty is not “critiquing resumes” so save that for the professionals. But proofreading, that’s important. And anyone who can assist reading/reviewing the resume can catch mistakes.

Go to the last page of your resume and read it from the bottom to the top. Looking at it this way can give you another view and help provide clarity to each sentence and give one final proof for spelling, grammar, and/or formatting issues.

“The attention to detail in formatting, spelling, and grammar may seem trivial, but it can certainly make a huge difference and this may help you land an interview and ultimately getting your next job,” says Eison.

Use these resume writing tips to stand out, get noticed, and get an interview. Then in time, you’ll land that second job out of college, and continue to advance in your career.

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• Resume and Cover Letter
• Perfect Resume Guide for...

Perfect Resume Guide for Recent College Graduates

7 min read · Updated on April 04, 2024

Here's what to include in your entry-level college graduate resume

As you near your college graduation date, entry into the workforce gets closer and closer. That said, there are many factors to consider as you begin your post-grad job search. One of the most important considerations is how to develop your job marketing materials, like your resume, to grab the attention of employers. What resume standards do you need to consider, and what can you do to create a recent college graduate resume that stands out from the crowd?

Lucky for you, TopResume partnered with TheJobNetwork to produce a webinar all about resume writing for recent college graduates.. Watch the following video to learn how to write the perfect recent college graduate resume for an entry-level position.

Recent college graduate resume guide

Below are 14 reasons why the above example is an excellent resume for a recent college graduate.

1. He used a professional-looking email address

One thing recent college graduate resumes often include is an unprofessional email address. The email address [email protected] may have been funny when you were in college, but it's not the best choice to represent your professional brand in the working world. Do yourself a favor and set up a professional-looking email address that's reserved for your job-seeking activities.

2. It includes a customized link to his LinkedIn profile

Not only is LinkedIn a great place to build your professional brand and make connections, but recruiters also expect to find you on there.  In fact, a survey found that more than 90 percent of employers use LinkedIn to search for and evaluate job candidates. Make it easy for them to find you by including the link to your profile at the top of your resume. Take it a step further and customize your LinkedIn profile URL so it matches your brand and fits nicely on your resume.

3. The professional summary isn't full of fluff

It can be tempting to throw a bunch of buzzwords such as “ambitious” and “self-starter” into the summary section of your recent college graduate resume template, but employers know these are pure fluff and won't be impressed when they read them. 

Don't tell employers how you're a great team player. Instead, explain how you served on a committee to raise money for your lacrosse team or received accolades for a group project during your internship. Click on the following link for more tips to craft your professional summary .

4. Nicholas optimized his recent college graduate resume with relevant keywords

Your job application needs to get past multiple gatekeepers before it makes it into the hands of a hiring manager. Take a look at the job listings you're interested in and identify the key terms and phrases that routinely pop up. 

If you have those skills or were exposed to that industry or process, incorporate them into your resume. You can add them to a Core Competencies section, similar to Nicholas' resume, or incorporate them throughout the Work Experience section.

5. There aren't any mentions of high school

Hiring managers are interested in what you've done lately, not what you accomplished four or more years before you went to college as high school students. Focus on highlighting your activities, accomplishments, and the work experience that took place during your college career, calling special attention to anything that directly supports your job goals.

6. He lists his GPA

Only list your GPA on your entry-level resume if it's a 3.0/4.0 or higher. If the GPA in your major is higher than your overall GPA, feel free to use that instead. However, keep in mind that employers will know why you didn't include your GPA and may ask you about it during the interview process .

7. Nicholas didn't include his coursework

If you've held at least one internship that's relevant to your degree and career goals, there's no reason to also include a list of the courses you took. Employers will value your internship experience over the stuff you learned in the classroom any day of the week. 

However, if you did not intern, include a list of the 400-level courses you took that are most closely tied to your job goals to show hiring managers what subjects you're familiar with.

8. It plays up Nicholas' selling points

The format of your entry-level college-graduate resume will depend on the information you have to work with. If you have a ton of great internship experience, highlight that just below your professional resume summary and education sections. 

If you didn't hold any jobs that were related to your future career, play up other information instead, such as the high-level courses you took, major projects you participated in, academic or athletic honors you received, or extra-curricular activities and volunteer work that demonstrate your leadership roles and skills. 

In Nicholas' case, we divided his job experience into two categories so his relevant internships took the spotlight.    

9. Each employer has a company description

Help employers get a better understanding of the industries and work environments you were exposed to by including a line that describes each company with which you held an internship. 

If you're tight on space, feel free to eliminate this information for your summer jobs that aren't related to your current career goals. You can also omit this information from your internships if they were all held at companies with big, well-known brand names.

10. Nicholas bulleted the most important information

Use bullet points to draw attention to the information you believe recruiters will care most about. This may include an accomplishment or other major contribution you helped your team achieve.

11. Action verbs and numbers are used to describe his work experience

Notice how the bullets under Nicholas' roles begin with an action verb? This information focuses on how Nicholas contributed to an end result. When you're new to the workforce, you may not have many major accomplishments and contributions to include in your resume; however, use action verbs (e.g. created, led, managed, improved, developed, built) to describe your activities.

Nicholas also included quantifiable data to highlight his achievements. When showcasing accomplishments, it's best to include as many numbers as possible to represent the level of results achieved.  

12. His extracurricular activities and honors are provided

Your first resume out of college should play up your best selling points. This may include any projects or extracurricular activities you held while attending college, as well as any scholarships or other honors you received during that time. Click on the following link for more tips on how to build a resume using college involvement as experience .  

13. Nicholas' relevant skills are listed

Take a closer look at the job descriptions that interest you and note what technical skills they expect you to possess. This may include proficiency with a particular software program or language skill that's considered valuable in your chosen field. If you have a working knowledge of these platforms, list them on your resume. 

If you keep seeing a skill or tool mentioned that you don't know much about, look for free or low-cost online courses on the topic to bolster your skill set. Resources such as edX , SkillShare , and LinkedIn Learning are great places to start.

14. References are not included

As an entry-level professional, you only get one page of resume real estate — don't waste it by adding references or the phrase “References available upon request.” Employers usually won't ask for this information until you make it to a face-to-face interview, and they know you'll provide it if they request it.

Additional recent college graduate resume examples

Looking for more samples and advice? Click on the following links to check out a recording of our recent resume-writing webinar and take a look at another recent college graduate resume sample that TopResume's resident Career Expert Amanda Augustine provided for Business Insider.

Need help with your recent college graduate resume? Learn more about our professional resume-writing services to get a resume like the one above. You can also submit it for a free resume review to get started!

This blog was originally written by Amanda Augustine and has been updated by Ronda Suder. 

Recommended reading:

How to Check if My Resume is ATS-Friendly for Free

The Hottest Entry-Level Jobs for Recent Grads

17+ Job Resources for College Graduates

Related Articles:

Do Hiring Managers Actually Read Cover Letters?

How to Create a Resume With No Education

From Bland to Beautiful: How We Made This Professional's Resume Shine

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• How to Write a Resume When You’re Just Out of College

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I was there quite recently… Fresh out of college: mum and dad were so proud, I was happy, life was good.

Unfortunately, in my case this blessed state lasted for about five minutes.

I soon realized that my college education took approximately four years of my life, that I need to find a job and that I have absolutely no idea how to do this.

Don’t get me wrong… I knew what I should be doing, but for some reason, I found every step of this process extremely exhausting and even, depressive.

Resume drafting turned out to be a complete challenge but not for reasons you’ll probably think of intuitively…

For me, the hardest part was to let go of my idea of a resume and how it should look like.

Namely, I believed that a resume with no relevant work experience is not a resume at all ! So, I knew I needed a resume but couldn’t get myself to ignore this annoying voice telling me that I do not have anything relevant to put there.

I seriously didn’t know where to start but I knew there must be a solution!

So, I did what any other average person in the 21 st century would do… I googled this situation and tried to find answers for myself and my jobless misery.

As you may presume, I found many hacks, tips and tricks one can use to draft a good resume even if lacking work experience.

Having collected much of this wisdom, I decided to try to sum up some of those advices I myself found most useful or interesting…

Therefore, bear with me and do not despair! Definitely do not hate yourself for “throwing away” 3-5 years on your college education.

You didn’t “throw away” anything and nothing is lost. You simply need to learn to…

WORK AROUND THE LACK OF EXPERIENCE!

Easier said than done. You are probably thinking: what is there to work around?

I totally understand. I thought the exact same thing while reading similar advices.

But then I started wondering… What was I doing for the past couple of years if not investing into myself? I wasn’t working full time, that is true.

However, I wasn’t having the time of my life either… I was studying like crazy, doing major and elective courses, trying to squeeze in sport and languages and fun was really at the bottom of my endless ‘to-do list’.

And thinking about all of this made me realize: I was, in fact, working during my college years. I was working on myself while obtaining priceless education. I was developing useful skills and valuable abilities and economically speaking, was investing into myself.

The idea behind it all was to utilize the obtained knowledge on the job market when the time comes and while studying, I never got the impression I was wasting my time.

So, this was a first step towards the shift in a perspective…Understanding that I really wasn’t fooling around or wasting anything.

The other thing which helped me change my perspective was imagining my resume without my education section.

I imagined work experience on that place, but the work experience I could have obtained solely with High school was not really something I would be aiming at long term.

I already had a few part-time jobs of this kind, but it was really my education that had the biggest significance on my resume.

This made my proud and partially returned my self-confidence. And that is how I actually realized what it means to work around your lack of experience.

Don’t focus on it! Don’t insist on what’s missing, highlight assets you already have.

Focus on your strengths. And definitely, try to stay confident!

Tell the world (and recruiters) what you have been doing for the past couple of years. Not everyone decides to sacrifice their time, energy and free time to commit to studying.

Therefore, you will want to elaborate on your sense of commitment but also everything you have learned during this time.

You are unique and worthy, but it is only after you realize it and learn how to market your assets, you can hope for others to realize this as well.

So, let me help you to a successful career start with a set of helpful tipps…

BEGINNING OF A RESUME: RESUME SUMMARY OR RESUME OBJECTIVE

The first inevitable question is: How do I begin? What do I write after personal information section (you always need this one)?

Resume summary or resume objective . Both are equally good and/or useful, the important question is: which one works better for you?

• Resume summary is a short summary of your background, most important strengths and simply, a way to explain what you can offer to the employer. A good summary should not be more than 5 sentences and it can also be presented in a form of bullet points as well, e.g.: “An experienced English translator with over 10 years of experience. Motivated, inter-cultural and flexible. Excited for new challenges and opportunities, especially interested in alternative learning methods.”
• A resume objective is a way to convince an employer/s you know what you want in your career. It should be a clear, structured message, e.g.: “An experienced English translator with over 10 years of experience, actively searching for opportunities in international corporations.”

If written well, both resume and objective, can and should spark recruiter’s attention and lure him/her to take a closer look at your application.

If you have a really clear career perspective or you know exactly what you want, a career objective may be better suited for you.

Also, it may be better suited for beginners because it states what you want or are aiming at and is not stressing out your prior achievements/experience.

Naturally, it is not written in stone that a career resume must focus on ones’ professional achievements. It can be a subtle way to stress out some of your soft-skills and personal qualities .

Some people like to use a quote which describes them well instead of a conventional resume summary… Personally, this doesn’t work for me as I don’t feel comfortable or professional quoting other people on my resume.

Nevertheless, I did come across a few examples where this kind of beginning made a truly strong impression and was very successful with recruiters.

Therefore, there are no strict rules.

You should decide what works better for you by taking your personality and a concrete job application into consideration… Test a few options out and simply decide what you like best!

ORDER: EDUCATION FIRST, PRIOR EXPERIENCE SECOND

Your resume should focus on stressing out your most important achievements.

For highly skilled professionals with 20+ years of experience, prior work experience is, naturally, more valuable than their university education.

The education was, of course, a necessary step but since they already got there where they are now, a future company will be much more interested to hear about what they actually did, not studied.

And this is exactly why they put their work experience section first and elaborate on that in a lot more detail than their education (except in certain very specific cases: researchers, PhD candidates etc.).

In your case, being a fresh-out-of-college candidate, you won’t have any relevant work experience to elaborate on.

Your biggest asset is your education! And this is by no means a bad thing.

Everybody must start somewhere and being a holder of an academic title is already a huge thing. For this reason, you will want a recruiter to pay attention to your education, rather than your work experience.

How will you do this?

Well, first of all, you will put it higher on your resume.

So, the next section following resume objection or summary will be the education section. And yes, this is perfectly fine and in fact, advisable for juniors, recent graduates and/or students.

With time, this order may and will change. The more experience you gain, the more important your experience section will be and at one point, you will only mention your education in a few short bullet points, below the work experience section.

Nevertheless, for now, you will want to follow this order: education first, experience second .

EDUCATIONAL FOCUS INSTEAD OF WORK EXPERIENCE FOCUS

When speaking of education, we are not done with this topic just yet…

You now know that you can place focus on your education by putting it higher on a resume, but you can additionally highlight it by adding more details and by elaborating your achievements thoroughly.

Try looking at it this way: space on your resume is limited, you need to use it wisely. Therefore, you will focus only on things that look good for you.

Here are a few things you can consider mentioning:

• Include your majors and electives , especially those courses which could be useful for the job you are applying for. Naturally, you shouldn’t list all courses you ever took and passed but you should be able to distinct a few specific employer would find useful or interesting.
• You can mention interesting courses you took during your studies: Art courses, languages, sport team memberships… Something that can draw attention to your resume.
• If you had a scholarship , you can put that in your resume as well. And especially if a scholarship depended on high performance in a specific field (grades, sports etc.).
• You can and should mention any volunteering work or membership in college organizations . Recruiters tend to find these very interesting. This shows that you have interests, organizational skills and dedication which is directed not only towards books and good grades.
• When it comes to grades average , opinions are divided. Some say you should disclose it, others that you shouldn’t. Basically, if you feel very confident about your average, I don’t see a reason why you shouldn’t disclose it.

Personally, I always considered my average good but not excellent which is why I only mentioned that I graduated with honors and skipped the exact numbers.

Furthermore, if you are applying in different countries or places where you aren’t sure they will understand how good or bad your grades average is, it may be simpler to just skip this information.

Finally: When in doubt whether an information is worth sharing, you may consider asking a skilled professional you know or a friend with more experience in this field to check your resume. A fresh perspective can’t hurt!

In any event, do make sure to stress out how valuable your education was, everything you learned and highlight anything that could present you as more qualified or skilled (in employer’s view).

ELABORATE PRIOR EXPERIENCE (EVEN IF IT SEEMS IRRELEVANT)

I have no work experience. This is such a common phrase, right? I (regularly) used it for quite a while after my graduation.

However, this phrase is rarely completely true…And I will explain why in a minute.

Part-time jobs and jobs unrelated to your studies can be a valuable experience as well. They may not sound fancy and may seem irrelevant to you now but try looking at it from a different perspective.

• A job at a bar or a coffee shop shows dedication, patience, people and communication skills.
• A job in McDonalds shows the same, plus, a very stress-resistant personality and the ability to react quickly.
• And don’t even get me started about tutoring jobs or part-time jobs on campus. The name of the institution is already sufficient to boost your profile.

Most importantly, all jobs you ever held demonstrate two remarkable qualities: Consciousness and readiness to work.

And trust me, employers do appreciate these. You may think it is completely normal to work during studies, but some people actually feel they should not be working at all during their college years.

Furthermore, people who have no prior work experience have more issues with organization, commitments and hierarchies. And employers are aware of this.

It is very simple really: Every new experience is hard. Past experiences help you predict what is going to happen and deal with new challenges easier.

If a person has no previous experience whatsoever, he/she may experience potential anxiety and will, most probably, get familiar with the job and obligations later.

Don’t get me wrong, I do not want to discourage candidates with absolutely no experience from applying for jobs.

I rather wish to say that having a work experience, regardless of what it is, can be an extremely valuable asset, both on a resume and in practice.

Therefore, if you are a student or a recent graduate, reconsider whether there is not some past experience you failed to mention.

I was a waitress, a babysitter and a tutor during my studies and no, these positions weren’t directly contributing to my long-term goals. They also weren’t very prestigious either!

Nevertheless, these jobs demonstrated my readiness to finance my studies and a few other qualities, such as: responsibility, communication skills, organizational skills and teaching abilities.

Therefore, despite my worries about some of my friends having high-scale, prestigious internships, I still decided to mention these jobs on my first resume.

There will always be someone better or more experienced than you. Nevertheless, you should always try to focus on your experience, your story and what you can offer to the employer .

Don’t be too hard on yourself. Even employers in big and fancy companies know how hard a job of a waitress or a bartender can be and they will appreciate your effort and responsibility.

Chances are they were also there once.

ELABORATE ON RELEVANT EXTRACURRICULARS, HOBBIES AND SKILLS

Having my resume updated recently, someone advised me to delete my hobbies / extracurriculars (not the skills section though).

To be honest, I am still thinking about it because the advice came from a person highly skilled in these matters while I personally, lean in favor of this section. I think it adds a bit of a personal touch and can make you “stand out” in the crowd.

Now, I am still a recent graduate but I do have a couple of work experiences and relevant skills to put on my resume so I am a slightly different category.

For those of you who do not have major work experience and are worried about what to put in there, definitely consider hobbies and extracurriculars as a separate section.

It will show your interests, it will demonstrate that you manage to find time for different things and recruiters may even feel drawn to your profile owing to common interests!

People tend to prefer similar people and a common hobby / interest could be a good starting point.

If a recruiter shares your passion, being a semi-professional cyclist can easily be a big plusfor your application, regardless of the fact you are applying for a position of a junior accountant.

It happened to me that I was chatting about my hobbies and interests on my first job interview… A recruiter asked me to elaborate my “interest in history and art” and we actually ended up discussing WW 2.

This is a true story and I did ultimately get this job!

Regardless of how insecure you may feel, you are not just your studies or your previous experience. Employers are generally interested about other things you can bring to the table and they love seeing someone with a wide range of interests, hobbies and ultimately, knowledge.

Additional Tipp : You may want to find a bit more about a recruiter or a manager you may end up dealing with in an interview. If you can find out a few things about his/hers interests and hobbies, it may be wise to consider matching these.

Of course, I would never say I like football regardless of anything. Do try to keep it real!

When speaking of skills section , this one is pretty much mandatory for both, experienced professionals and entry level candidates.

You will want to include both, “hard” and “soft” skills :

• Include anything that makes sense: languages, computer skills (esp. programming, coding, working in specific programs), driver’s license, debating skills, public speaking and writing skills etc.
• The more leverage you can provide, the better. If you participated in debate clubs, if you are publishing articles in the university papers or are writing a blog… Don’t be shy, put it all out there!
• Soft skills are also useful, and they are surely worth mentioning, especially when you have a relevant experience to back this up. This means that you should briefly elaborate why you consider yourself to be organized, flexible or inter-cultural and this is especially important in cases of candidates with little or no experience. At least think about it before an interview, recruiter will most probably ask you for examples or explanations.

Therefore, both hobbies/interests and skills sections are very useful and should be used wisely by entry level candidates.

What do you consider your genuine strengths are? What do you think other people would consider interesting about you? What is it about you that makes you proud other and people could consider price worthy?

I always mention jogging and I proudly stress out that I ran a half-marathon.

Some recruiters couldn’t care less, some love it, but most importantly, this kind of information will rarely work against you, while at the same time, can easily work in your favor.

CONSIDER ALTERNATIVE FORMATTING

Apart from minding the order in your resume (education first), you may want to think about its format as well.

There are specific resume formats customized for people with little or no experience.

Why am I stressing formatting out?

Because you can really use this to your advantage and make your resume stand out with the help of interesting templates or color use. And this can be a big advantage for junior level candidates!

It can be relevant for senior level candidates as well, however, they usually manage to stand out with the help of their experience and recruiters are generally more interested in hunting them than the other way around.

That is why you generally notice experienced professionals rather modest and plain resumes while junior level candidates appear to have dedicated a lot more attention to the resume looks and format.

This is true and it is so for the above-mentioned reason.

So, think about tricks which will help you highlight your assets not only verbally but visually as well.

Furthermore, think about the company you are applying for: You may consider customizing your resume so that colors on it match the logo or official colors of the company.

Of course, this shouldn’t be too obvious, but such subtle cues may trigger a subconscious impression that you are already fitting with the company’s image.

Finally, while still at the beginning, you may want to keep your resume shorter, so one is fine and definitely do not write more than two A4 pages. Quality should always prevail over quantity.

Give it a nice format and keep it clear and concrete .

FINAL TOUCHES AND TIPPS

You should definitely pay attention to the content of your resume, but this is not the only thing you will be focusing on.

As already mentioned, the resume looks can make a significant difference and basically, everything is important.

• Pay attention to the picture ! If you decide to put it on a resume, you will want a picture to present you in the best way possible. It should be nice and professional: you should be presented on an above waist portrait with a pleasant smile, wearing a professional outfit. From my experience, investing in a resume photo done by a professional really pays off, but of course, the choice is up to you.
• Next thing: Pay attention to the font you choose for the text. Although, there are hundreds of fonts you can use, I think it is better to stick to conventional ones (e.g. Times new roman, Calibri, Ariel, Georgia etc.). It may not look so interesting but keeping it simple tends to be smarter.
• Extra Tipp : When submitting both, Cover Letter and a resume, it may be advisable to use the same font on both documents . It looks neater and demonstrates attention to detail.
• Extra Tipp 1 : Even though you are still a beginner, do consider making a LinkedIn profile and using this tool to connect with potential recruiters and colleagues.

It can be a very useful tool, especially when considering the importance of reference and connections by the job hunt.

At the beginning, you will probably use it to just connect with university classmates and acquaintances but with time, recruiters may start approaching you.

Attach your resume to your LinkedIn profile and let them notice you!

Also, there are a lot of interesting articles, courses and job postings that you can check out on LinkedIn and finally, this network can help you when researching for a concrete job application.

Finally, this is something rather intuitive and logical, however, it may be useful to repeat it just in case.

• You will need to update your resume with every relevant experience or change which happens on a professional plan… Any relevant trainings, projects or successes, make sure you include it!

Also, you will want to revisit your resume with every new job application and think about what you wish to highlight and point out for that particular vacancy…

Still, let us not get too unrealistic. Rare are those who really modify a resume with every job application and especially in the case of beginners, there is really nottoo much information or experience to play with anyway…

Nevertheless, do make sure to remember that your resume can and should undergo modifications, hence, that you should update it following relevant developments in your career.

• And my final and most important advice would be: keep it positive and do not give up! Job hunt is hard, rejections are painful, and you probably already wondered whether the whole struggle is worth it.

I want to tell you that it is… Once you get where you want to be, this will all seem ridiculous and funny and you will perceive your beginner’s struggles in a different light.

Keep up the confident attitude and remember that someone out there needs someone just like you and that your worth and qualities will be recognized when the time is right.

Your only job is to present yourself in the best way possible and you can start doing that right now, by drafting or updating your resume.

Get to work, there are so many exciting opportunities waiting for you!

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College Graduate Resume Examples and Writing Tips

What to Include in Your Resume

Resume writing tips for college grads, college graduate resume template, college graduate resume example, more college resume samples.

If you're a recent college graduate, you might not have much work experience. However, you can still write a strong resume that will get you hired. By emphasizing unpaid internships, volunteer work, and positions in school organizations, you can show you have the skills needed to succeed in the workforce.

Read below for tips on writing a strong college graduate resume. Also see below for a resume sample for a recent college graduate.

Begin with a resume summary.  A  resume summary  (sometimes called a “summary of qualifications” or “qualifications profile”) is a statement (either narrative or formatted in bullets) at the top of a resume that immediately attracts a hiring manager’s attention to the skills you would bring to their organization.

The summary statement should be placed immediately below your name and contact information. 

Use this section to demonstrate that you have the qualifications that are emphasized in the job listing of the position you’re applying for.

Use keywords.  To make your resume stand out, use words from the job listing in your resume. You might include these  keywords  in your resume summary, your descriptions of work experiences, and/or your section headings. For example, if the listing says the company is seeking a candidate who is “tech-savvy,” you might include a section called “Technological Skills.” Again, use words that clearly link your resume to the job listing.

Mention a high GPA.  At this point, at the beginning of your career, it’s a good strategy to include your GPA on your resume if it is 3.5 or above. You should also include any academic awards (Dean’s List, scholarships, etc.). After you’ve racked up three or four years of work experience, though, you can remove this information from your resume, replacing it with examples of professional achievements.

Emphasize your soft skills.  “ Soft skills ” like teamwork , leadership, or good communication talents are always a selling point with employers. For many entry-level positions, they can be as important as job-specific  hard skills . Describe how, during your college years, you have led or contributed to team projects, either in the classroom or as a member of campus or extracurricular organizations. Additional soft skills that are good to mention include: active  listening skills ,  “people” skills , decision-making, and self-motivation.

Emphasize education.  As a recent college graduate, your education is one of your strongest assets. Include an  “Education” section  towards the top of your resume. Include the college you attended, your graduation date, and your major and minor. If you have a strong  GPA , include that as well. You might also include any study abroad experiences. Most employers see a well-traveled student as a plus.

Highlight any related experience.  If you have any work experience, include this. However, you can also include any other relevant experience. This might include volunteer experience, unpaid internships, or positions in school organizations. Even if these are unpaid positions, they can still display the qualities that will make you a strong candidate for a job opening.

Use resume examples.  When writing your first resume out of college, it can be hard to know where to start. Examples can give you ideas on how to structure your resume and what kind of language to include. Check out these student resume samples, as well as the sample below. However, make sure to always revise an example to fit your own background and experience.

Proofread and edit.  Thoroughly  proofread your resume  for spelling and grammar errors before submitting it. Also make sure your format is consistent: for example, you should use the same size bullet points throughout your resume. Ask a friend, family member, or college career counselor to read through your resume as well.

This is an example of a resume for a college graduate. Download the resume template (compatible with Google Docs and Word Online) or see below for more examples.

Here's a text version of the resume example to review.

College Graduate Resume Example (Text Version)

Susan Quigley New York, NY 123-555-8910 Cell: 555-555-1234 susan.quigley@abcu.edu 

CAREER OBJECTIVE

Soon-to-graduate honors college student, fluent in Spanish and with several years of teaching and tutoring the language to adults and students, seeks a position as a translator at a top East Coast firm.

ABC UNIVERSITY, New York, NY Bachelor of Arts in Education , May 2022 Double Majors: English and Latin American Studies; Minor: Spanish; Overall GPA: 3.875

• Honors and dean’s list every semester.
• Studied abroad in Bogota, Colombia, January-May 2020.
• Served as president of the school Spanish club; tutored nearly two dozen students in Spanish.
• Received three “Best Student Awards.”

RELATED EXPERIENCE

CERVANTES LIBRARY, New York, NY Library Assistant , September 2019-Present Perform general administrative duties to support professional staff and assist students with research.

• Designed a presentation, published to the university website, outlining how to most effectively use all of ABC University’s facilities when undertaking a research project.
• Received award for “Outstanding Student Employee of the Year” due to excellent customer service and research skills.

CALLES Y SUEÑOS CULTURAL SPACE, Bogota, Columbia Intern , Spring 2029 Helped design and implement programs in which community-based artists traveled to schools to work with children, teaching them about expression through art.

• Assisted teaching complimentary English lessons to community members of all ages.

QUEENS COMMUNITY LIBRARY, Queens, NY English Tutor/Volunteer , January 2018-May 2018 Assisted students in writing and proofreading essays, utilizing rhetorical devices.

• Cataloged thousands of donated books, CDs, and DVDs in Excel database.
• Started a weekly book club group to help elementary students learn basic Spanish.

Other Experience:

Summer Counselor, NY Arts Camp, Catskill, NY • Trombonist, All-State Wind Ensemble • Swim Team Assistant Coach, YMCA, Brooklyn, NY • Editor-in-Chief, ABC University Student Newspaper

Review more resume examples for college students and recent graduates , listed by type of position and type of job.

How to Get Your Resume Noticed

• A resume summary, which briefly lists your qualifications and soft skills, will spark a hiring manager’s immediate interest in your candidacy.
• Emphasize the skills that are requested in the “Preferred Qualifications” section of the job announcement.
• Highlight your achievements, including significant college and extracurricular accomplishments.
• Carefully edit your resume to correct grammatical, spelling, and formatting errors.

How to Write a College Resume That’ll Get You Hired (Plus an Example!)

When you’re in college, a strong resume is one of the first things that helps you land an internship or part-time job. It represents you to employers when you can’t be in the room (yet!) and is essential to convincing them to call you for an interview based on your previous experiences and current skills. Whether you have a resume you used for college applications or are starting completely from scratch, putting effort into your resume now gives you a higher likelihood of success and sets a solid foundation, making it a breeze to update in the future as you—and it—evolve.

If you feel like you have nothing to put on your resume, don’t worry. After advising hundreds of students on these documents, I know you have more to offer than you think! I frequently meet first-year college students who believe they can’t include many of the things they did before college on a resume. You absolutely can—and you should—until those get outranked by all the other awesome things you’ll accumulate over the course of your college career. Even if you’re a freshly minted high school graduate, you have valuable skills and experiences employers want, and this guide can help you showcase them.

Read on to learn about what goes on your resume, how to format it, and what else you can do to ensure it makes you shine—and to see our college resume example.

What Goes on a College Resume

In setting up your resume, you should use a few core sections to help you easily lay out all the information a recruiter is looking for when they make quick decisions about whether or not to interview you. (And yes, recruiters do skim, reportedly spending an average of 7.4 seconds making their first pass on a resume, so you want to make a good impression fast).

Contact Info

It’s traditional to start with your basic contact information at the top of your document including your name, email, phone, and the city and state where you live. Use your full name (and maybe bump up the font a point or two because you’re a big deal!), and if you have a nickname you prefer, you can include it in parentheses.

Use your college email as it’s typically professional and establishes your educational brand. Now is also a good time to check that your phone’s voicemail greeting is up-to-date. In case a recruiter calls while you’re busy—or you don’t recognize the number and swipe it to voicemail—this greeting could be their first impression of you. Even recording something as simple as, “ Hello, you’ve reached Christine. Please leave a message and I will return your call as soon as possible, ” can help them feel confident they reached the right person and that you’re able to present yourself professionally.

Your physical location can be based either on your school’s address or your permanent home address. If you’re targeting opportunities in one location or the other, include the most local address so they know you’re familiar with the area (and likely won’t have a problem finding housing).

Pro tip: Save space by listing your email, phone, and location all on one line. If you have a LinkedIn profile , you can add that in your contact information section as well. The result might look like this:

Karla Perez Stillwater, MN ∙ (000) 765-4321 ∙ [email protected] ∙ www.linkedin.com/krperez

For college students, education should be right below the contact information on your resume. This immediately orients your reader to the fact that you’re a current student and conveys important information, like what you’re studying. What you include in your education section can also demonstrate that you’re a good match for the opportunity you’re targeting, increasing your chances of a recruiter call.

The basics you should always include are:

• Your school’s name
• Your expected graduation date
• The type of degree you’re pursuing: For example, you might write “Bachelor of Arts” or “Associate’s Degree.”
• Any majors, minors, or concentrations: If you’re applying to opportunities in these areas, this will help an employer see you already have some knowledge and a motivation for working with them.

Depending on your personal strengths and what jobs you’re applying for, you might also want to include:

• Your GPA: But only if it’s strong. (It’s usually good to include 3.5 and above.) If you stumbled through some of the general requirements you had to take but nailed all the courses in your major, consider adding two GPAs—your cumulative GPA and your major GPA—to show you have stronger grades in your chosen discipline.
• Standardized test scores: If you’re applying to opportunities in quantitative fields, like finance or consulting, you might consider listing standardized test scores like the SAT or ACT.
• Relevant coursework: Selecting and highlighting three to five classes that match closely with the specific opportunity you’re applying to is a really fast way to tailor your resume and make you a more attractive match. For example, if you’re targeting an internship in computer science, you can list your “Introduction to Python” and “Introduction to Algorithms” classes.
• Other colleges or universities you’ve attended: If you’re a transfer student or you studied abroad at another university, adding these schools can signal that you have other strengths, such as cultural awareness or language skills, or give you a chance to highlight key classes you took elsewhere.
• Your high school: If you’re shooting for an opportunity local to your high school or went somewhere well-known, then you may want to keep that as your last entry for educational experience. Otherwise, high school is the first entry to cut when you’re short on space. It has gotten you to where you need to be, but the focus should now be on the higher-level degree you’re working on and you should dedicate as much space as you need to boast about all of your amazing college accomplishments!

Here is an example of what a completed “Education” section might look like:

Candidate for Bachelor of Arts degree ,   St. Olaf College , Northfield, MN Double Major: Political Science and Economics ∙ Expected Graduation: May 2023 ∙ GPA: 3.7 Relevant Coursework: Introduction to Political Theory, Politics and Human Rights, Global Interdependence

The experience section is where the real substance of your resume lives. This is the chance to show a snapshot of the jobs and internships you’ve had (if any), the work you did, the skills you used, and your accomplishments. Let’s talk about what experience you can include, how to pull out skills and demonstrate your value, and what it should look like on the page.

Experience can cover a lot of things. It can be full-time jobs, part-time jobs, internships, or research. Unpaid work—like volunteer and community roles—counts too! Don’t discount the value these other kinds of experiences can add to your resume just because you didn’t earn money. You can leverage all of your experiences on a resume by pulling out transferable skills , or broader talents you’ve developed that will be beneficial even if you aren’t applying to the same type of role.

Take a significant class project, for example. That can be built out as experience as long as you’re clear it was for a class. If you worked on a group project, you probably collaborated on a team, organized, worked under deadlines, completed some independent tasks, presented your work to others, and had some kind of outcome. Even if you were doing something that might not seem widely applicable, like designing a rocket, many of those skills can transfer over to another role. Say you had to do cost comparisons for the materials you selected for your rocket, those same analysis skills could be useful to a business role or for a part-time job where you have to order supplies for a restaurant.

You can also create targeted headers for your Experience section(s) if there are themes that correlate with the internship or part-time job you want. Specific headers—such as “Research Experience,” “Marketing Experience,” or “Software Engineering Experience”—can immediately help your reader see that you’re aligned with the needs they have for their open role.

If you don’t have something that specific, it’s OK. You can still shift your experiences into categories like “Relevant Experience” and “Additional Experience.” For example, if you’re applying to research roles, you’d want to put any research related work under “Relevant Experience,” and your cashier job and website building side hustle would go under “Additional Experience.” These two headers are great for allowing you to bump the best of your experiences up toward the top of your resume.

Once you decide which headers to use, make sure each entry includes basic information—the title of your role, the organization’s name, the location, and the dates you worked there—along with bullet points describing what you accomplished. For example:

Intern , Minnesota State Senate , St. Paul, MN June 2019–August 2019

• Researched prior legislation and current bills, summarized content, and identified alternate actions
• Coordinated the schedule for Senator Harriet Maxwell and kept accurate minutes for all meetings
• Drafted memos for important interoffice updates outside of normal meeting schedule

A skills section is a great way to make your most valuable knowledge and expertise stand out—and be easily spotted by a recruiter. Which skills belong in your own skill section depend on the jobs you’re applying for, so be sure to read the job description carefully to figure out what skills are most relevant for each particular role.

Skills that might appear in this section include (but are definitely not limited to): technical skills; software or other tools you know well; languages you can speak, read, or write; other job-specific skills like using a POS system or cash register; and, for some jobs, even your ability to drive different vehicles.

From this range, you can see why it’s important to change things up based on what job you’re applying to! Some skills—for example, being fluent or conversational in a second language—might be relatively permanent fixtures on a college resume. If you’re looking for a part-time job waiting tables, you might add the fact that you can bartend, whereas you might list your mastery in JavaScript instead when going after that software engineering internship you have your eye on.

Once you’ve decided which skills are most important for this role, you can simply list them on your resume. If you have a few different types of skills, you can separate them into categories. For instance:

Languages: Spanish (Fluent); Russian (Basic) Software: JavaScript, Python, CSS

Note that just listing your skills in a separate section isn’t always enough. You also want to make sure to describe how you’ve used key technical and job skills elsewhere on your resume (usually in the bullet points of your experience section).

Other Optional Sections

There are some other sections you can consider adding depending on your experiences and what your target employer might be looking for. For example, a consumer product firm might be looking for examples of design work. In that case you could add a section called “Design Projects,” which might include significant assignments from some of your academic classes or independent projects that you’ve developed in your spare time. Don’t be afraid to include links to your work if you’re submitting your resume online! (Just avoid hyperlinking out from important words, as this could trip up the online systems that scan most resumes.)

Another popular section is “Leadership Experience” where roles like being the vice president for one of your student organizations or being a co-captain for your athletic team would be a good fit. Employers love to see leadership themes on resumes, as it demonstrates the transferable soft skills they’re looking for like communication, collaboration, and initiative.

An “Activities” section can also demonstrate skills. If you dedicate time to learning more about consulting cases with your consulting club, you likely increased your analytical skills in a team setting, which is valuable for many business roles. If you’re an athlete, you can showcase your ability to manage your time, create or be part of a cohesive team, or organize and motivate teammates during practices. These skills gained as an athlete can be ideal if you’re applying for a heavily collaborative role. Additionally, if the activities that you’re involved in are directly applicable to the job, these are powerful to include as it demonstrates interest and dedication. So if you’re majoring in healthcare administration, adding that you’re a member of the Healthcare Society on your campus can be a major plus for an employer.

Any optional sections like these will usually need to be set up similar to your experience entries. Include the organization (or class), your role, the location, the dates you participated, and your key achievements. Here is an example of an entry you might put under a “Leadership” heading:

Head Delegate , Model United Nations , Northfield, MN September 2019–April 2020

• Researched global topics such as human rights and sustainable energy and developed persuasive positions
• Represented Chile as a delegate in an education simulation at a conference with 2,000+ participants; negotiated with others and collaborated on common goals to deliver resolutions on political issues
• Liaised between the delegation and the Secretariat, serving as a first point of contact and resolving issues

6 Tips for Writing a Successful College Resume

From formatting to crafting strong descriptions, attention to detail can pay off when tackling your resume. Here are six tips to help you develop a great resume:

1. Choose the Right Resume Format for You

Your parents or other family members might share their resume and have you copy it because it has worked for them. But they’re at a different place in their career and their format may not be the best one for you.

There are three main types of resume formats for laying out your experiences, skills, and education—the functional resume , the combination/hybrid resume , and the chronological resume . The chronological format is almost always the best fit for college students.

With a chronological resume, you’ll list your experiences within each category/section in reverse chronological order (most recent to least recent, based on end date). Since this is the most traditional and common resume format, recruiters are familiar with it and can quickly see what you have to offer.

2. Be Clear and Consistent

In terms of resume formatting, there are a lot of small choices to make about things like font, style, and spacing. Whatever you decide, make sure it is easily readable, consistent, and not overly fancy. You could have the greatest content in the world, but if it’s too difficult or annoying to read, a recruiter is going to move on.

In order to make a document easy to scan, use clear headers for your sections. Maybe they’re bold and in all caps, or maybe they’re a couple font sizes larger, but they should be the same throughout your resume. The rest of your content should be consistent as well. For example, all your organization or previous employer names might be in italics, your dates all right aligned, your locations in plain text, and the titles of your roles in bold. Keeping things uniform helps the recruiter easily absorb all the relevant information you want them to have.

3. Make Sure It Can Pass Through an Application Tracking System (ATS)

Formatting is also important because your resume will likely pass through something called an applicant tracking system (ATS), a type of software that helps recruiters organize incoming candidate applications. Recruiters can apply filters or search for keywords, and the ATS will show candidates matching the desired criteria, making it easier to identify good candidates in large applicant pools.

In order for your resume to pass this first round and make it to the human who has the power to get you to an interview, the ATS needs to see you’re a good match. But there are formatting choices that can confuse an ATS—for example, some won’t read the content inside tables, text boxes, or graphics. And if the ATS can’t read your materials, your resume might be filtered out. (Read more about formatting your resume for an ATS here .)

This all means that using one of the fancy resume templates you see online isn’t necessarily the best move . Most basic formatting can be achieved with bolding, italics, and spacing, and you will still end up with a good-looking resume—meaning that starting with a blank document can actually be a better bet. (If you still want to use a template, we’ve curated 41 free ATS-friendly templates here .)

4. Create Impactful Descriptions

Give the descriptions you use for your experiences some TLC, as this is what recruiters will focus on once you’ve caught their attention. I often discover students undersell—or simply forget—all the things they’ve done that might be interesting and of value to an employer (including those transferable skills).

Here’s an exercise that can help. Reflect on an experience (such as an internship you had or volunteer work you completed) and quickly jot down what you did. You don’t need to have much structure for this—try it as a brainstorm. Think about answering some of these questions:

• What was your role?
• What were the goals for that position or experience?
• What tasks did you specifically do?
• What projects did you work on?
• Were there any side projects or tasks you completed?
• Who did you work with?
• What did you contribute?
• What did you accomplish? (Or what did/do you intend to accomplish? This can be a useful way to think about things especially when considering research or longer term projects that are still in progress!)
• Can it be quantified? Numbers can paint a clear and impressive picture of your accomplishments to someone reading your resume. You might write that you fundraised as part of the Student Government Association, and that will generally get your point across, but if you can say you increased SGA fundraising by 30% and were able to create two new social events attended by 100+ students each, that will make more of an impact. Look for ways to quantify your accomplishments wherever possible.

Once you have a good brainstorm, take the information you gathered and try crafting several statements using this formula:

Action Verb + Subject + Outcome/Purpose/Result (i.e. Accomplishment)

So you might say:

Organized a fundraiser event for 70 participants resulting in $1,000 in donations to a local hospital

Your descriptions are most valuable when leading with an action verb that reflects specific skills. For example, swap “Worked on” for “Collaborated on” and “Responsible for” with “Oversaw.” Other verbs I often recommend students use include:

• Communicated
• Facilitated

5. Tailor Your Resume for Each Opportunity

Always tailor your resume to each specific job you apply to. Making it easy for the recruiter to connect your skills to what they are looking for can increase your chances of success. The job description is your blueprint and key to doing this. A couple of these exercises could help you identify what you’ll want to highlight.

• Activity 1: Take the job description and go through and underline everything you’ve had some experience in. This might be specific tasks, software/programs/tools, or qualities. Write a quick note in the margin to highlight when you’ve done that. Underline things where you have transferable skills too. For example, if you’ve used a software that is similar to a software they’re looking for, underline it. A recruiter should be able to see on your resume that you used similar skills and would be a quick study.
• Activity 2: If you aren’t sure which skills to emphasize, take the entire job description and pop it into a simple online word cloud generator, like TagCrowd . It automatically shows you the words most used in the description, which are likely of highest importance to the company or role. If you have those skills, make sure you mention them in your descriptions and mirror the language as exactly as possible (our friend the ATS will be looking for precise keywords!).

These activities can help you identify the right action verbs, keywords, and tools—like software—to weave into your descriptions. They can also help you decide what past experiences to include or which of your college courses are relevant to this role and which direct and transferable skills to highlight to make your resume a stronger fit for your target job.

6. Keep a Few Other Tried-and-True Tips in Mind

Here are a few other parting tips to keep in mind as you build your document:

• Avoid writing in first person (“I,” “we,” “our,” and “my” statements).
• Bullet points will make your document more readable—usually two to three per entry works well. But it doesn’t have to be even: Give more description space to the most relevant entries.
• Attention to detail matters. Proofread—not just for typos, but to make sure formatting is consistent (like date dashes). Employers will use your resume to make assumptions about how detail-oriented you are.
• Review any headers you put in all caps. Some spell checkers are programmed to assume that they’re acronyms and skip them.
• Ditch jargon and acronyms wherever possible. Don’t assume the reader always knows what you’re talking about. Sometimes the first person reading your document is a general recruiter and not familiar with the technical side of a role.
• Be aware of tenses. If you’ve completed an experience, those descriptions will be in past tense, and current roles can be described in present tense. (If you’re still actively involved in a role you can list the role through “Present,” and if more than one entry has the same end date, make a strategic decision to put the most relevant experience first.)
• Acceptable margins are usually between one and 0.7 inches.
• Pick a readable font, like Arial, Calibri, or Times New Roman, and try not to go below font size 11.
• As a college student, stick to a one-page resume. However, you should consider keeping a longer version (called a master resume) for your own personal use. That’s where you keep a full record of your experiences to make it easier to pull out the relevant ones each time you tailor your resume for a specific job.

What Does a College Resume Look Like?

A college resume should showcase your education, experiences, and skills (direct and transferable!) in a clear way, while keeping in mind what is most relevant to your target employer. The resume below shows a student highlighting their relevant education and experiences specifically for internship opportunities in government and politics.

Download sample college resume

There are many ways to write and format a resume. Ultimately, you want one that best represents you and your accomplishments to recruiters for the job at hand. Try out some of these tips, and I hope they help you succeed in catching that recruiter’s eye!

How to Write a Resume for College – A CollegeAdvisor Guide

How to Write a Resume for College – Introduction

Standing out as a stellar applicant in the college admissions process is tough. One way to separate yourself from the crowd is by crafting a strong resume for college. Your college resume can highlight information about your background, activities, and achievements. Some of these might not be indicated elsewhere in your college application or recommendation letters . 

In this article, we will teach you how to write a college resume. We’ll highlight 5 simple steps to building your college application resume. We will also discuss what a college resume is and why you may need a resume for college. Additionally, we will provide examples on how to write a resume for college by reviewing college resume examples. Finally, we’ll walk you through some college resume templates in our example college resumes.

So, let’s look at how to write a college resume and explain what makes a good college resume, why you should include a resume for college in your applications, and more!

What is a college resume? 

A high school resume is typically a one-page document that complements your college application . Your high school resume (or college resume) can help you showcase your achievements and extracurriculars for college. It does this by sharing information that is not elsewhere within your college applications. The goal of a college resume is to show the college admissions officers who you are and how you spend your time outside of the classroom . 

Before we jump into how to write a college resume, let’s examine some things that make up a good college resume.

A good college resume should include: 

• Clear structure
• Concise language (bullet points over essay-style)
• Relevant details
• Strong formatting

As we discuss how to write a resume for college, you might wonder what purpose a college resume serves. In short, a college resume is a summary of experiences that you can use to add depth to your college applications. You can also think of a college resume as your high school resume, or a resume for college. Your college resume will include a brief description of each of your experiences and extracurriculars for college. 

While we examine how to write a resume for college, you should first note that your college resume should include key details like your educational details, GPA , extracurricular activities/jobs, and honors/awards. As we’ll discuss, your college resume will have other key features. We’ll go through each of these as we learn how to write a resume for college. 

Many colleges list a college resume within their college application requirements. But, even if a college resume is not listed in the college application requirements, we recommend creating one anyway. 

We will look at a sample college resume later in this article, along with a 5-step guide to creating a resume for college that you can use as you begin writing your college resume. 

Do I need a resume for my college applications? 

No, you do not necessarily need to include a college resume with your college applications. However, a high school resume or resume for college can be a helpful tool in the college admissions process. 

So, how could including a resume for college application be beneficial? First, including a college resume in your college applications can help highlight your skills, experiences, and qualifications to the admissions office of your dream school.  

Having a college resume can help you showcase your extracurricular activities in your college applications. You can highlight leadership positions, accomplishments, interests, and activities on your college resume that might not appear elsewhere in your college applications. 

Creating a resume for college application can also demonstrate your accomplishments and experiences to college admissions officers. Even if a high school resume is optional in the list of college application requirements, including one in your college applications can help you stand out. Standing out is incredibly important in the admissions process, especially if your ideal college is high on the list of college rankings . 

It is a good idea to start putting together your college resume as you near the end of high school.

You may forget the names of clubs, supervisors, mentors, teachers, etc. as you get ready to apply to college. So, the earlier you can gather all the information for your high school resume, the better! That way, all of your experiences are fresh in your mind, and you can create the strongest resume for college possible. 

When should I prepare my college resume? 

As you begin the process of applying to college, you might be wondering when to prepare your college resume. The ideal timeline for creating your high school resume can start as early as 9 th grade. 

In general, you won’t want to include anything on your high school resume before 9 th grade. Like other college application requirements, college admissions officers are only interested in the activities you have participated in during high school. 

Keep a list starting in 9th grade

As early as 9 th grade, you can start keeping a list of your accomplishments and activities. Even though you won’t need to format this list into a college resume yet, it will be the basis for your future college application resume.

As you begin the college admissions process, you can use the list you created and turn it into a college resume. As you apply to college and prepare your college resume, research which college resume format works best for you. Reviewing a sample college resume or college resume template can help you find the perfect college resume format. 

As you look through college resume examples, think about which aspects of the college resume template you like the best. Then, adapt things from those college resume examples to fit your college resume. Once you have decided on a college resume format, list your accomplishments, jobs, and activities within that college resume format. 

Summer before senior year

The best time to create your high school resume is during the summer before your senior year. This gives you plenty of time to perfect your college application resume. 

We’ll examine the necessary components of a successful college resume in the next section of this article. So, read on!

What should a high school student put on a resume? 

As you begin the college admissions process, you may be asking yourself what to include on your high school resume. You can start the college application resume writing process by brainstorming how you spend your time outside of your courses. 

Think about everything you have done or achieved since you started high school and write it down. Your high school resume should highlight your activities, interests, and skills. Pay particular attention to these factors as you consider what to include on your high school resume.

Your high school resume will be organized categorically. Some of the most common categories for a resume for college application include personal information, work experience, extracurricular activities, volunteer experience/community service, education, and skills.  In addition to the categories listed above, below is a list of some other things that high school students should list on their resume for college.

Top ten things to list on your college resume:

• School name and address
• Contact Info
• GPA or Class rank, if applicable
• Internships & volunteer roles
• Awards and honors
• Extracurricular activities
• Leadership positions
• Language competencies

As we mentioned earlier, you may not have information or experiences for every category listed above. That’s perfectly fine! Focus on what applies to you and what you can include on your high school resume as you learn how to write a college resume. 

What does not belong on my high school resume? 

Now that we have examined what to include on your high school resume, let’s discuss what does not belong on your college application resume. 

Keep it current

In general, you should avoid including any activity or achievement from before 9 th grade on your resume for college. However, it’s okay to include something that is particularly impressive and/or attached to a current activity. 

For example, if you have 12 years of experience in playing the violin, you will want to include that on your high school resume. However, if you joined your middle school band for a semester, you should likely leave that out of your college resume. Your resume for college should reflect activities that matter to you now.

Avoid listing daily duties

There is no need to include informal everyday activities on your college resume, such as cooking for your family or cleaning around the house. When you are crafting your resume for college, it’s best to stick to things that are relevant to admissions committees or future employers. 

Note that this is one area where your college resume differs from your activities list. For instance, if you spend considerable time caretaking your three siblings, you may choose to include that on your activities list within the Common App. However, the same responsibilities likely shouldn’t appear on your resume for college.

Keep it clear

As you examine college resume templates and college resume examples, take note of the language and structure in a sample college resume. It’s important to use concise language and clear structure throughout your resume for college. 

Additionally, do not include excessive text or overly detailed explanations on your college application resume. You want your resume for college to be simple and clear. In general, you should limit your high school resume to one page, or two at the absolute maximum. Most people who review your college resume will spend about 30 seconds with it. So, your resume for college should be easily scanned, above all. 

When you use concise language throughout your college resume, it will make it easier for your reader to understand your accomplishments. Because most people will skim your high school resume, having a clear structure throughout will make it easy to read. Keep it simple and keep it consistent. 

Steer clear of images and graphics

While you might come across this in your college resume format research, it’s best to avoid including images or graphics in your college application resume. Although this is a new trend and can be seen on multiple college resume examples and college resume templates, it can be distracting and take up valuable space on your high school resume.  

For instance, if you volunteered at twelve different soup kitchens, there is no need to list each one separately. That will become tedious and take up too much space on your essential resume for college application. 

Finally, you should never misrepresent your qualifications on your high school resume. Be honest about your involvements, however many you have. It’s not worth potentially getting caught in a lie or an exaggeration during a college interview.

Where do I submit my college application resume? 

While you apply to college, you might be wondering what to do with your resume for college applications. Many college application portals will include a section for your college resume, especially if a resume for college is listed as one of the college application requirements. 

Most college application portals list the high school resume section as optional. While you are applying to college, you might notice that most colleges require that you fill out an activities section as part of the application process. The activities section will ask you to list your extracurriculars for college. Often, your activities section will serve the same purpose as your college resume. 

If you choose to include a high school resume with your college application, it should reflect your accomplishments in more detail than your activities section. Additionally, if you choose to include a resume for college with your application, make sure it adds something new to your activities list. 

You will receive access to your college’s application portal once you have completed the process of applying to college but before you receive a college acceptance letter and officially enroll . When it’s time to upload your high school resume, be sure to upload it as a PDF rather than a Word document. That way, you can ensure that your formatting of your college resume stays consistent on every application. 

We’ll provide more details about the college resume format later in this article, when we examine college resume examples and college resume templates. 

How often should I update my college resume? 

It may be helpful to update your resume (or other records) every six months to a year in order to avoid missing any important details. You can use your college resume for more than just your college application requirements. In fact, there may be internships or other opportunities you seek out in high school that will ask you to submit a high school resume. Updating your college resume often will help you keep track of your experiences and accomplishments. 

In general, you should update your high school resume as often as it works for you. However, when you are almost done applying to college , you will want to make sure that your college resume is up-to-date and accurate before including it with your application. 

No matter how often you update your resume for college applications, we encourage you to keep copies of any old college resume examples you might have. Having old copies of your college resume can help you in the future as you begin to tailor your college resume for potential reviewers. 

How to write a resume for college

Now that we have a better understanding of what makes up a college resume, let’s focus on how to write a resume for college. You can begin writing your college resume by creating a list of your key details . Your key details will be the starting point for your college resume. 

First, you will include information about where you go to school, as well as your current GPA and any Honors statuses. You will also want to list your academic interests on your high school resume, including what you hope to study or pursue beyond high school. 

You will also include your extracurricular activities and the years you engaged in them on your resume for college. Additionally, you will want to add any jobs or internships you have had and the dates you held them. You can also list any leadership positions and the years you held them on your college resume. 

Finally, you will want to include any special skills you have on your resume for college. This can include certifications as well. 

Once you have a list of your key details, you will want to organize these details into sections on your high school resume. For some, these sections might include Objective, Education, Leadership Positions, Work and Internship History, and Special Skills.  

College Resume Walkthrough

Linked about is our college resume walkthrough. Let’s do another walkthrough of these sections here to see what kind of information to include in each one. 

Your objective is the reason why you are writing your college resume. This section will vary depending on where you send your resume. 

If you are creating a resume for college applications, you should include information about your intended major or future career in this section. However, if you are sending your high school resume to a potential employer, your objective section will include information about why you are uniquely skilled for the job. 

Education 

The education section of your college resume should include all high schools you have attended, along with your GPA and anticipated date of graduation. 

If your high school provides you with a class rank, you can also include that piece of information within this section of your resume for college. 

Additionally, you can include your SAT or ACT score within this section, especially if you are submitting your resume for college applications. 

Leadership Positions 

Be sure to highlight any leadership positions you have held in your college resume. This includes any appointed positions you have received and even informal leadership positions. 

For example, if you were voted Class President of your Student Council, you can include that information here. Or maybe you are a peer mentor on your soccer team—you can include those details within this section of your college resume. 

Work and Internship History 

This section of your high school resume will list your whole work history, including internships , summer jobs , or part-time jobs. 

You will want to include the job title, company, dates of employment, and a brief outline of your duties for each of the work or internship experiences in this section of your resume for college. 

Special Skills 

Finally, this section of your college resume will outline any technical or soft skills you might have. Soft skills include things like teamwork, communication skills, and conflict resolution. 

In this section of your resume for college, you can also include any languages you speak or certifications you have. 

After you have organized your high school resume into sections, you will want to include a bulleted list detailing your responsibilities within each of your engagements/leadership roles. Be sure to include only relevant details in your descriptions, as it’s important to be concise on your college resume.  

Remember to include the years for every role/activity on your college resume. You will want to list them with the most recent positions/activities at the top of your resume for college. 

College resume format

Your college resume format is one of the most important features to consider as you apply to college. As you construct your college resume format, make sure that it’s readable. 

Most people won’t look at your college resume for more than 30 seconds. So, any reader should be able to skim your high school resume and come away with a relatively clear idea of your qualifications and background. 

The ideal college resume format will have the name of the student clearly listed at the top of the college resume. Another aspect of a strong college resume format will have clear sections with strong headlines. Additionally, the best college resume format will include bulleted lists where appropriate. 

We will look at the college resume format in action as we review some college resume examples and college resume templates. 

College resume examples

As we review our sample college resume, we will explain how to use it to craft your own college resume when you apply to college. Use this sample college resume as a reference point for your resume for college. Then, adapt it to fit your own unique needs. 

We will discuss the sample college resume in the next two sections of this article. As we review the sample college resume, pay particular attention to what makes this college resume clear and effective. You can use this sample college resume as a college resume builder while you apply to college. 

At first glance, you can see that this college resume is organized. This resume for college has clear sections and a concise structure. What makes this college resume clear and effective is its formatting, language, and length. Be sure to incorporate these same elements into your own high school resume as you apply to college. 

Remember, this sample college resume is just one of many college resume examples available. Figure out what you like best about this sample college resume and use it to craft your own college resume. 

Sample college resume – What works? 

The key features of this sample college resume are its formatting, language, and length. Focusing on these in your own college resume will ensure that your resume for college stands out. 

Clear delineated sections

The formatting in this college resume works so well because it includes clearly delineated sections and organized by year. Keeping your information and experiences organized by year is an effective format for a resume for college applications. 

Simple and straightforward language

Another feature of this college resume that works well is the language. There is clear language and details throughout this resume for college that provide context for each role and accomplishment. For example, each of the work experiences in this high school resume feature a brief description of the student’s role and duties/responsibilities. 

Concise structure

Additionally, this resume for college application features a concise structure that helps the reader clearly understand the purpose of each section. The descriptions within this college resume are brief but comprehensive. Having a concise structure and clear language throughout your college resume is key. 

The final key feature that works well in this college resume is the length. This resume for college is just one page in length. Ideally, you want your college resume to fit on one page, but that is not a hard and fast rule. If you have a wealth of experiences and extracurriculars for college, your college resume can go over the typical one-page length. 

Even though this high school resume is a little over one page, it does not have any irrelevant details or extraneous information on it. As you begin writing your college resume, be sure to only include relevant details on it. 

As you learn how to write a college resume, keep track of what features work well and incorporate them into your own college resume. If you are unsure if the sample college resume will work for your college resume, don’t worry. There are plenty of college resume examples and college resume templates to choose from as you are applying to college. 

College resume template

There are multiple college resume examples that you can review as you start your college resume or college application letter . Looking at a college resume template can help you decide on the formatting, language, and length that works best for you. 

Hunter College has a web page with college resume examples and college resume templates. Use it as a resource as you build your high school resume. 

If possible, you should avoid using form templates as you construct your college resume. Instead, think of the college resume template as a guide. You should aim to format your resume for college in the way that works best for you. 

It’s best to be a bit unique as you create your high school resume. Looking at a college resume template can help you find your own distinct style. You can also incorporate different aspects from a college resume template into your own college resume. 

However, be sure to avoid any hard-to-read fonts or unnecessary details in your formatting as you learn how to write a college resume. While your resume shouldn’t look like it was made using a stock college resume template, it also should not be overly crowded.

College resume builder

There are also college resume builder resources, like this one from Wheaton College , that will help students build their college resumes. You can use a college resume builder to format your own resume for college. 

At CollegeAdvisor.com, we host webinars on topics that help you apply to college. We have a webinar on how to write a resume for college, with plenty of college resume examples. We also have a webinar with advice from former Admissions Officers on how to build your college resume. 

Once again, you should generally avoid a pre-formatted college resume builder or college resume template. Instead, use these college resume examples as a jumping off point as you begin the college admissions process. 

Formatting your high school resume yourself makes it easier to make any quick edits or fix any formatting quirks. If you were to use a college resume builder or college resume template, these adjustments may be a challenge. 

Build your College Resume in 5 Simple Steps

Having examined some college resume examples, let’s review 5 simple steps for how to write a resume for college. 

Five Steps to Build your College Resume

Make an accurate list of your experiences, awards, education, and qualifications. You will use this list as the outline for your resume for college. 

Choose the best college resume format for the job. Before you finalize your choice of college resume format , review a college resume template or college resume examples for guidance. Then, create a resume header for your college resume. 

Add your accurate information by section on your resume for college. Reference the college resume examples you reviewed previously to choose the sections you will use on your high school resume. Organize each list by year, placing the most recent item at the top of your resume for college. Be sure to separate your extracurricular experiences from your awards/honors, creating two lists (or more if necessary). 

Format your lists to be clear and readable , and add your name and contact information as the header of your college resume. 

Ask a friend, family member, or mentor to copy edit your resume for college! Having another set of eyes on your high school resume will help you create the strongest resume for college possible. 

How to write a college resume – Final Thoughts

In this article, we reviewed how to write a college resume. As we discussed the purpose of a college application resume, we examined college resume examples and described key features that work in a college resume. We hope the college resume examples we featured in our article on how to write a resume for college help you craft your high school resume as you apply to college.

Need help crafting the perfect college application resume? CollegeAdvisor.com can teach you how to write a resume for college. Register for a free CollegeAdvisor.com account and receive access to hundreds of articles and webinars. These resources will help you craft your college resume as you begin applying to college.

This article was written by  Claire Babbs . If you want to get help with your college applications from Claire or other  CollegeAdvisor.com  Admissions Experts , click here to schedule a free meeting with one of our Admissions Specialists. During your meeting, our team will discuss your profile and help you find targeted ways to increase your admissions odds at top schools. We’ll also answer any questions and discuss how CollegeAdvisor.com can support you in the college application process.

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College Application Resume for 2024 [With Examples, Tips & Template]

They say college is the most exciting time in a student’s life and we couldn’t agree more! 

The only thing standing between you and your dream university, though, is a college application resume.

You open the resume document, get ready to start writing…

And nothing comes out! After all, how can you even make a resume when you haven’t worked a day in your life?

Worry not - you don’t need any work experience to write a compelling college application resume. In this article, we’re going to teach you just how you can do that!

What Should a Resume for College Application Contain?

• 5+ College Application Resume Formatting Tips
• How to Write a Resume for College Applications?
• 3+ College Application Resume Tips

College Application Resume Template

So let’s dive in! 

Before we get into the knits and grits of writing a resume for college application, let’s first do a quick review of what your resume should contain: 

• Contact information , including your full name, address, phone number, and professional email.
• A resume objective , where you state the goal of your college application resume.
• Education section , where you list the history of your grades and exam scores.
• Relevant activities , including any work experience you might have.
• Skills relevant to a resume for a college application, e.g. soft skills such as active listening, interpersonal skills, communication skills, or hard skills such as public speaking, MS Office, or computer skills.
• Additional sections , such as awards and honors.

6 College Application Resume Formatting Tips 

Before we dive into the nits and grits of CV making, let’s talk about formatting. Here are our top tips on how to format your college application resume: 

• Choose the functional/skills-based resume format. This format is perfect for those who lack work experience , as it focuses more on your skill-set. If you DO have some work experience, though, then you can opt for the chronological format.
• Keep your college application resume one page long . As a rule of thumb, this is the optimal length for a resume—professionals with 10 years worth of work experience stick to the 1-page limit, so there’s no excuse for someone with little to no work experience to go overboard.
• Add plenty of white space , especially around your resume’s margins. It will make your resume look less cluttered and more reader-friendly.
• Include clear section headings and use the same heading for each section.
• Use an easy-to-read font. Some resume fonts (such as Ubuntu or Overpass) are resume friendly—professional-looking, easy-to-read, and yet modern. Others, like Comic Sans, are just one big NO.
• Save your college resume as a PDF. You might be used to Microsoft Word, or even think it’s the safest alternative, but MS Word has a good choice of messing up your resume format if opened in different computers or operating systems. PDF files, on the other hand, remain the same no matter what computer opens them.

How to Write a Resume for College Applications? (With Examples)

Once you’ve got the formatting done right, it’s time to get to writing your college application resume.

In this section, we’ll walk you through that process, starting with:  

#1. Order Your Contact Information the Right Way 

As we already mentioned, your college application resume should start with your contact information. 

These are your contact information section must-haves :

• Full name and address
• Functional phone number where you can be reached.
• Professional email address, preferably consisting of your first and last name.

And here’s what this looks like in practice: 

Sharon White

123 Main Street

New York, NY

Phone Number: 553-123-1234

Email: [email protected]

#2. Write an Attention-Grabbing College Resume Objective

A resume objective is a 2-3 sentence long paragraph that should communicate your motivation for getting into college or for studying a specific major.

As such, a well-crafted resume objective can instantly attract admission officers to read the rest of your college application resume. 

There is, however, a right and wrong way to write a resume objective.

A convincing resume objective is:

• Tailored to the university/major you’re applying to, instead of looking like a one-fits-all kind of statement that you can use to apply to several colleges.
• Highlights the achievements that give you an edge over the competition.  

The following example does that right: 

Aspiring journalist with a knack for creative writing looking to deepen their knowledge through NYU’s renowned Journalism track. Founder of my high school’s first online newspaper, the ‘Daily Prophet,’ which now has over 2,000 subscribers. Hardworking, with a grade A average in social sciences and commitment to improving. 

Now compare it to the following resume objective, which although articulated looks like a one-fits-all kind of statement that you can just insert into several college applications. 

Very committed high-schooler with a calling for social sciences. With an SAT score of 1400, a passion for psychology, and experience as a peer counselor, I am confident that my hard work and motivation will shine through as a college student. 

See, the resume objective is your chance to show exactly why you want to attend that college, right from the start. 

So, even if you don’t have many achievements to highlight, make sure to personalize your statement by expressing a genuine interest in your application.  

#3. Put Weight on Your Education

Taking into consideration that, as a student, you most likely lack significant work experience, your education is the first thing admission officers will look at. 

As such, you should give your education its due importance in your college application resume. 

For starters, make sure to include this must-have information:

• Your high school’s name and location
• The date of your graduation

In addition, though, combine that with some relevant achievements that can make your education pop out. 

Let’s take a look at two examples. The second student has simply listed out the essential education information, whereas the first has taken their education section to the next level. 

Dunnellon High School FL

2017 - 2021

• 3rd place at the International Mathematical Olympiad 
• Vice-President of the Science Club
• SAT Scores: 1350 (650 Verbal, 700 Math)
• SAT Scores: 1400

#4. Showcase Relevant Activities

Extracurricular activities have a great number of benefits when it comes to your college application resume. Most importantly, they:

• Demonstrate you who are outside of the classroom
• Provide an opportunity to showcase your skills

Any activity and/or interest related to the college you’re applying to has a place on your college application resume,  but you don’t have to necessarily stop there. 

Any kind of interest, field, or activity where you’re good at can be of benefit to your application. 

That’s because it can prove that your interests are not focused solely on your favorite subject or desired career path and that you are engaged and well-rounded . 

So, don’t just list your college resume activities dryly (e.g. “reading” or “swimming”). Instead, be specific and creative about your interests, and rest assured that you will get extra points for diversity and commitment. 

Don’t believe us? Compare for yourself how the activities sections of two different students look like: the first has put minimal effort into it, whereas the second has put his A-game into writing it.

• Passionate about science
• Co-founder of the Astrophysics Club

Activities 

• Two-times winner of my high school’s Science Fair
• Co-founder of the Astrophysics Club, finalists of the MIT-founded THINK challenge
• Swimmer from an early age and member of my high school’s swim team during junior and senior year 
• Traveling; I have so far visited 10 countries and 15 states in the USA. 
• Photography, with a focus on architectural photography. 

#5. Highlight Your Work Experience

Now, if you’ve spent your summer holidays working any type of job for teens , that means that you also have some work experience under your belt. 

Although work experience is not necessary when you’re applying for college (meaning that you won’t get left out of college if you don’t have any), it does help to include it if you have it. 

Here’s how to list work experience in your college application resume:

• Start with the company name (e.g. if you worked at Starbucks), your job title, and the period you worked there. 
• Put your job title first if you worked, say, as a high-school tutor or camp counselor. 
• Include 1-2 of your main responsibilities in bullets. If you have achievements to show for, however, make sure to put them first.  

Let’s see how that works in a practical example.

Starbucks Coffee 

• Awarded employee of the month for 3 months straight
• Fielding customer complaints and questions
• Maintaining good customer service and speedy delivery

Even if the above position isn’t related to the student’s desired field of study, the work experience still highlights some of their skills such as commitment, time management, effective communication, and motivation.  

#6. Include Your Skills 

Skills—we all got them, but not everyone knows how to demonstrate them effectively in a college application resume. 

There are two things to consider when you include skills in your college resume:

• Know the kind of skills that are relevant to your major/field.
• Prove your skills, instead of just listing them 

Let’s show you how that works through practical examples:

• Time management
• Critical thinking

Are these great skills for a college applicant? Sure! 

But anyone can claim to have those skills (and frankly, most people do).

Rather than just listing these skills, you want to also back them up with achievements and experiences like so: 

• Attention to deadline: managed to update the high school’s online newspaper daily
• Leadership: successfully led a team of 6 reporters.
• Creativity: won the 2021 Young Writers competition 
• Self-motivation: founded the high school’s first online newspaper

Now, this is a skills section on a college application resume that proves you deserve a spot in your favorite university.

College application resume skills 

Wondering which skills to include in your college application resume? Here’s a list to draw some inspiration: 

Soft Skills

• Good judgment 
• Open-mindedness
• Communication  
• Self-motivation
• Interpersonal skills
• Active listening
• Problem-solving

Hard Skills

• Computer Skills
• Programming
• Public Speaking

#7. Use These Additional Sections

If you’ve followed all our tips till now, congrats - you’re around 90% into creating a top-notch college application resume.

Now, let’s talk about how you can take that to 100%!

In addition to the conventional resume sections we’ve covered till now, you can include the following to help you stand out in a sea of other applicants:

• Awards. Here, you can list any awards won in competitions (spelling, art, storytelling, math, etc). 
• Volunteer experience . Did you clean up your town, or maybe you volunteered at an animal rescue center as a high school student? Any kind of volunteering can help your college application resume because it shows you’re a responsible community member. If it’s somehow related to your field or future major, that’s a big plus. 
• Projects. Be them individual (e.g. you built a website from scratch, or started an informational podcast), or school-related (e.g. an art portfolio for a class, or a history documentary), projects can show that you’re passionate and creative. 
• Sports. Poet Juvenal said “ a healthy mind in a healthy body. ” This means that physical exercise is an important part of mental and psychological well-being (which is why sports in a college application resume make all applicants look good). Do you excel at specific sports? Include them in your resume!. 
• Languages. Being fluent (or even just a beginner) in a foreign language is another plus for a prospective college student. Make sure to show it in your college application resume. 

5 College Application Resume Tips

Finally, here are some of our college application tips that didn’t fit anywhere else in the article:

• Be direct and to the point. Your college application resume is not the right place to show how many SAT-level words you know. Keep your language simple, direct, and to the point. Let your achievements and results speak for themselves. 
• Don't lie about your academic background or accomplishments. Lying about the awards you’ve won or your achievements won’t get you into college. More often than not, admission officers will see through your lies by asking behavioral interview questions . 
• Proofread your college application resume.   Spelling and grammar mistakes can make you appear like a less serious applicant. Imagine telling recruiters that you have great SAT scores and GPA but having spelling mistakes in your resume. Kind of contradictory, isn’t it? To avoid these kinds of mistakes, use spelling and grammar apps such as Grammarly and Heminway . 
• Have one or more people look at your resume before you send it out. There are kinds of mistakes that Grammarly or Hemingway cannot catch. To avoid such mistakes, have one or more people that know you give your college application resume a look. 
• Emphasize specific achievements over general responsibilities. As mentioned before, emphasizing your achievements over your responsibilities is the best way to set yourself apart from other candidates. The reason is that your achievements effectively show how well you handle responsibilities and they are uniquely yours.

Making a resume from scratch can take what feels like ages—especially if it’s your first time doing it.

You’ve got to tweak the formatting. 

You make a change at MS Word and the layout falls apart in front of your eyes. Or you end up using a bland and outdated template. 

Well, you don’t have to worry about any of these things with Nóvóresume’s free resume templates . 

With 8 free templates to choose from - college application resume included - you don’t have to worry about anything other than inputting your information.

Let our resume builder do the rest! 

Key Takeaways

And that’s a wrap on college application resumes. We hope to have made the process of writing yours easier and even more enjoyable. 

For good measure, let’s go over the main points we covered: 

• Your college application resume should contain the following sections: contact information , personal profile , education section , relevant activities , your skills , and additional sections , such as awards and honors. 
• In terms of formatting, the functional resume template fits your college application best. Additionally, make sure to keep your resume one page long and save it as a PDF. 
• Write a resume objective that doesn’t surpass 3 sentences and that clearly communicates your motivation for getting into college and your most relevant skills. 
• Make sure to give your education section its due importance by being thorough about your grades, SAT scores, and achievements. 
• Don’t forget to list all your relevant activities and passions, as well as soft and hard skills.
• Instead of writing your college application resume from scratch, use one of Nóvóresume’s ready-made templates to save yourself time and effort!  

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• University Without Walls (UWW)
• Connect with UMass Alumni
• Using LinkedIn
• How to Network
• Field Experience Definitions
• Internships
• Civic Engagement and Service Learning
• Internships and Co-Ops at Mount Ida
• UMass Internship Partner Programs
• Scholarships for Field Experiences
• Searching for Jobs & Internships
• Can I Do an Internship?
• Negotiating Job Offers
• Using Handshake

Resume Writing Guide

A resume is typically an employer’s first introduction to you. First impressions are crucial to establish yourself as professional, capable, and motivated. A strong resume demonstrates your transferrable skills, communication abilities, and achievements. A consistent, detailed, and concise resume can help your resume get noticed by recruiters. By formatting your resume professionally, you increase your chances of earning the interview.

Resume Components

Contact information, phone number.

Use a phone number you can answer readily, such as your cell phone. If you have a voice mail set-up, make sure it sounds professional with your name and the best times to contact you.

Your e-mail address should be professional. While you are enrolled at UMass Amherst, your UMass e-mail will work well. After graduation, consider creating a new e-mail address that contains your name. 

Always include phone and email, but consider if listing your address is helpful or harmful. Employers may give preference to people who are closer geographically - if you are applying from far away, they may be unsure whether you are serious about moving.

Additionally, while your city and state are helpful to list, you do not necessarily need to include your street address. Employers will need it to hire you, but it is not required to provide during the job application process.

Objective/Summary

This section is most useful when you hand your paper resume out at a career or networking event - unless you have something specific to highlight, consider leaving it off your resume. A cover letter will do a better job conveying your why, as well as your key abilities. When you submit electronically, many Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) will often skip the summary section and look for those key words to be in the body of your document instead.

For currently enrolled students, you will list your current degree first, and then work backwards in reverse chronological order. During your first few years of college, consider including your high school until you run out of space.

In addition to your college education, you may also highlight   study abroad or domestic exchange programs . When discussing these programs, think about including the following experiences to highlight your transferable skills: 

Class projects

Volunteering/internships/research applicable to your field

Independent travel

Learning to work with a more diverse group of people than you had previously been exposed to

Resolving conflicts based on misunderstandings of cultural differences

Learn new activities, languages, hobbies, or skills

Education Section Example 

University of Massachusetts, Amherst (Fall 2024 - Present)

Bachelor of Arts, Major: English

GPA (if over 3.0 and you feel comfortable sharing)

Relevant Coursework: 3-5 courses max

Awards (when including awards, include the reason for receiving it. Example: "21st Century Leadership Award for high academic achievement in first year")

Senior Project: (optional)

Portfolio of work (optional)

There are many types of experiences: volunteer, paid, unpaid, work study. If the experience is relevant and taught you transferrable skills, find a way to include it.

• For each experience, include name of organization, your title or role, location, and dates
• Action verbs (samples below) to help you write accomplishment statements, which prove you have the skills you say by leaning into outcomes and successes
• Consider using multiple experience headings, such as: research experience, industry experience, or relevant experience. This can be a good way to move more relevant experiences up higher on your resume, even if they happened further in the past.
• Quantifying your work can demonstrate your aptitude. Answering questions such as "How many?",   "How much?", and "How often?" will help recruiters understand the extent of your skills.  
• Avoid “responsibilities included" and writing in a passive voice - using action verbs will make this easier.

Experience Example

Leverage, Incorporated: Boston, MA (September 2025 - Present)

Computer Science Intern

• Developed an algorithm that identified patterns in white collar crime in the financial industries across the United States. Implementation of this program reduced company losses by 17% compared to the previous quarter.
• Collaborated with supply chain division to design new packaging based on reduction of carbon footprint, leading to increased production distribution while reducing energy usage.
• Established a training program to help connect interns with mentors at the organization and was awarded the Innovative Intern of Quarter for these efforts

This section is typically for "hard" skills, which are skills that can easily be measured. Soft skills (such as interpersonal skills) are better described in bullet points of your experience section so they can have the context they require. For a skills section, depending on your targeted field, you may add computer, language, laboratory skills, or performances. For languages, put your level of fluency (e.g., proficient, advanced, fluent, native).

Skills Example

Computer: Microsoft Office (Word, Excel), Adobe Suite (Photoshop, InDesign), Data Analysis (R-Studio, SPSS)

Resume Formatting and Layout

The average reading only spends 20 seconds reading a resume. Before that, an applicant tracking system may be utilized to select which resumes get reviewed by a human being.  Make sure your resume is easy to read and stands out. 

No single format works for everyone: the only rule is that you need to be honest, factual, and relevant

One page is ideal (especially for internships) and for students ages 18-25

Keep a longer master resume for future opportunities

List everything in reserve chronological order; start with your most recent experience work backwards

Use a legible sans serif  font size, keep it readable, 11 is a good place to start

1 column is better than 2; when you have two columns the reader may jump around and miss key information

No icons or images as they cannot be read by applicant tracking software

How Many Resume Versions Do I Need?

There is a big difference between customizing your resume for a specific position/industry versus creating different documents for each application.

• If you are applying to jobs in drastically different industries, you will want to customize resumes for each industry. For example, a psychology major applying to jobs in Human Services as well as Human Resources will want to highlight different experiences and skills for each, and potentially format their resumes different as a business setting holds different expectations for job criteria compared to a mental health setting.
• If you're pursuing a few different roles, but they're all related to one discipline or field, then you will not need multiple versions of your resume. However, you will still want to tweak each resume you send out based on the specific job description. 

Specialized Resumes/Sections

While resumes may follow the same general format, depending on your experience and industry, there may be other considerations to help your resume stand out.

Design Resumes

Design resumes can differ from traditional resumes in several tangible ways, reflecting the unique skills and creative nature of design professions.

Your document is an indication of your style aesthetic and may not need to conform to the same rules and standards as other professions.

Visual Layout

Design resumes often incorporate creative layouts that display the designer's skills in typography, layout, and visual communication.

• Infographics: Use of icons, graphs, and other visual elements can represent skills, experience, and achievements.
• Color and Typography: Thoughtful use of color and font choices creates an aesthetically pleasing document that aligns with your personal brand.

Content Presentation and Customization

Direct links to online portfolios or examples of work, are often included as part of the resume. Incorporation of personal logos, custom icons, and other branding elements that reflect a designer's style may be added here.

File Format and Compatibility

Designers create their resumes in online spaces varying from Latec to Adobe to Canva. While many resumes are shared as PDFs, design resumes especially should be shared in this format to preserve visual integrity across different devices.

Unique Layouts

Non-traditional formats such as infographics, timelines, or modular layouts may be acceptable.

Interactivity

For digital resumes, elements of interactivity can be incorporated, such as clickable links, hover effects, and embedded multimedia.

The most important rules still apply to ALL resumes; clean neat formatting, with consistency in where the reader will access key information continues to be your driving force.

Designers should contact their career centers to discuss what resume style might best suit their professional goals.

Digital Resumes

A digital resume is an electronic version of a traditional resume that highlights an individual's professional experience, skills, and achievements using digital formats.

Either shared as a PDF or hosted on a personal website, this format allows for enhanced interactivity and multimedia integration. Digital resumes often feature creative layouts, embedded links to portfolios, and interactive elements such as hover effects or animations.

They enable candidates to visually demonstrate their technical and design skills, making them particularly popular in creative and tech industries. The goal of a digital resume is to highlight qualifications, but also provide a dynamic and engaging avenue for potential employers to assess a candidate’s capabilities.

Student Athletes

As a UMass athlete, you learn incredible transferable skills in areas such as communication, leadership, and teamwork. You also spend more time at your activity than most, so make sure they see all your greatness in action.

“Effectively managed communications between 24 team members, served as liaison connecting team and coaching staff, and effectively resolved intra-group conflicts.”

“Excellent time management skills. Balanced a 30+ hour practice, training, competition, and travel schedule while balancing full academic course load.

5 Tips on How to Transition from High School to College

Congratulations on nearing the end of your high school journey! You're about to embark on an exciting new chapter in your life. If you’re planning to continue your education and earn your Bachelor’s degree right after high school, brace yourself for an exciting and transformative journey ahead. Going from high school to college is a significant life transition and it marks the beginning of a new adventure filled with opportunities for growth and discovery.

Entering college from high school can feel as though you have stepped into a completely different world, with more rigorous course loads, freedom to study any subject that piques your interest, and access to a diverse community of students and faculty. While this new chapter in life is full of excitement, it can be daunting and overwhelming. As you near the end of your highschool journey and prepare for life as a college student, there are a few important steps to consider to ensure a smooth transition to college life. In this blog, we’ll go over 5 tips that can help you effortlessly transition from high school to college. 

1. Get organized

It comes at no surprise that life as a college student is significantly different from life as a high school student. Heavier course loads, balancing work responsibilities, being involved on campus with clubs and organizations, and spending time with friends are all part of the college experience. It's a dynamic period in your life where you'll navigate newfound independence while juggling various commitments and aspirations. Embracing this transition means adapting to a more rigorous academic environment, honing time management skills, and nurturing social connections that enrich your personal and academic growth.

With all of these commitments to juggle, it's crucial to get organized before your first day of classes and maintain that organization throughout the school year . Coursework, studying, job responsibilities, and other obligations can quickly become overwhelming if not managed efficiently. Keeping a calendar, whether it's a physical planner or digital application, can help you keep track of deadlines, appointments, and important events. By regularly updating your calendar and prioritizing tasks, you can ensure that nothing falls through the cracks and maintain a balanced approach to your responsibilities.

2. Take advantage of resources

As a college student, you will have access to a plethora of resources to support you and your goals. Colleges offer a wide range of resources to support students, including academic advising, tutoring services, counseling centers, and health services. As you enter college, one of the first steps to ensuring a smooth transition from high school to college is to familiarize yourself with the resources that your college of choice provides. You can utilize most resources after you have officially made the decision to attend the university even prior to beginning your first day of classes, so don't hesitate to seek help when needed.

As an incoming first-year, speaking to an academic advisor will help you start your semester on the right track as your schools’ academic services provide guidance and support in course selection, academic planning, and navigating university policies and procedures. One helpful tip in starting your college journey off strong is to meet with an academic advisor and create a graduation plan that you can use as a roadmap throughout your time in college. This can help you take stress off your shoulders as you’ll be able to have a general idea of what classes you need to register for come time for course registration.

Another important resource that will prove to be helpful is the career center , which provides guidance and resources for career planning, internships, job searches, and professional development. Colleges and universities also offer a campus counseling center , which offers confidential support and guidance to students facing various challenges, ranging from academic stress to personal issues. As an NJIT student, you can be sure that your needs will be met. NJIT offers a variety of support services and resources to assist students in their academic, professional, and personal endeavors.

3. Stay connected

One of the most significant parts of attending college is the ability to form strong relationships and academic and professional connections. Take advantage of the opportunities you’ll have entering college to network and begin forming long-lasting connections. You can start by exploring your schools’ student clubs and organizations, where you’ll be able to participate in activities with like minded individuals and discover your passions. Another great way to connect with others is to participate in campus events to connect. Keep an eye out for emails, flyers, and your college's student life office to stay up to date on what's happening on campus.

One helpful tip is to utilize your professors office hours , which can be a great way to network with faculty that share your academic interests. Building relationships with professors, classmates, and professionals in your field can lead to internship opportunities, job referrals, and career advice. Many job opportunities are found through networking, so establishing connections early can give you a competitive edge in the job market.

4. Be open-minded

College will present you with a multitude of opportunities for personal growth, exploration, new encounters with people from various backgrounds, and the chance to cultivate a network of connections that can shape your future endeavors. To make the most of these opportunities, it's crucial to cultivate an open-minded attitude. 

Embrace diversity by actively seeking out opportunities to engage with individuals from diverse backgrounds and perspectives, and be open to learning from their experiences and viewpoints. Challenge your assumptions by approaching new ideas with curiosity and humility, and be willing to revise your perspective based on new information or insights gained through conversation with others. Practice active listening when engaging with classmates, professors, and other members of the college community, and strive to understand their perspectives without immediately judging or dismissing them.

And most importantly, step out of your comfort zone and explore unfamiliar subjects, activities, and opportunities as it is through this openness that you'll grow academically, professionally, and personally. So remember, as you begin college, enter with an open mind and embrace these opportunities so that you can make the most of your college experience and expand your horizons.

5. Stay focused on your goals

Last but not least, as an incoming first-year college student, you’ll want to remember to stay focused on your goals. Even if you aren’t sure of what you want to do after college, or even during college, make self-discovery a priority so that you can finish your college years off strong. Do this by exploring various academic disciplines, participating in internships, joining clubs and organizations related to your interests, and seeking guidance from professors, advisors, and career services. Take advantage of the resources and opportunities available on campus to gain clarity about your passions, strengths, and career aspirations. 

Remember that it's okay to change your mind and adapt your goals as you learn and grow throughout your college journey. By staying focused and proactive in your pursuit of self-discovery and personal growth, you'll set yourself up for success both academically and professionally.

Apply to NJIT today

Congratulations on taking the next step in your academic journey and preparing for your first year in college. As you transition into college from high school, you’ll want to be sure to stay organized with your time, priorities, and goals, and take advantage of resources that can help you succeed. With plenty of programs to choose from and faculty that will have your back along the way, NJIT will help you reach your academic and professional goals. Apply today !

How To Apply For College: Forbes Advisor’s Application Checklist

Updated: Jan 2, 2024, 1:26pm

Applying for college can be a lengthy, stressful and complicated process, with lots of moving parts and deadlines. Filling out an undergraduate application typically involves gathering documentation, taking standardized tests, writing essays and asking for letters of recommendation, among other steps. It’s easy to get overwhelmed.

To help you stay organized, we’ve put together this college application checklist. Here, we round up all the materials you need and the dates by which you need them. We even provide a printable version of this checklist to guide you as you work through this process.

Why You Can Trust Forbes Advisor Education

Forbes Advisor’s education editors are committed to producing unbiased rankings and informative articles covering online colleges, tech bootcamps and career paths. Our ranking methodologies use data from the National Center for Education Statistics , education providers, and reputable educational and professional organizations. An advisory board of educators and other subject matter experts reviews and verifies our content to bring you trustworthy, up-to-date information. Advertisers do not influence our rankings or editorial content.

• 6,290 accredited, nonprofit colleges and universities analyzed nationwide
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Save This Checklist

Keep track of your most important application tasks and deadlines with the simplified PDF version of this checklist. Save it to your phone or print it out for easy reference. (If you print it, make sure to choose the “fit to paper” scale option!)

Forbes Advisor’s College Application Checklist 

Before you start.

You can’t begin the application process until you’ve made a plan. Start by narrowing down your prospective schools. Know where you’re applying, what each application entails and the due dates you need to meet.

Decide About Early Decision

It’s important to determine whether you plan to apply for early decision or early action at any school. As the name implies, early decision often involves an earlier due date for your application.

Early decision comes with perks—admission rates for early-decision applicants tend to be higher, for example, and you learn about your admission decision more quickly—but this method comes with strings attached, too. For example, if you are admitted on early decision, you may have to give your response before learning whether other colleges have also accepted your applications, and you may have to withdraw your applications to other schools.

Get a Jump Start on Standardized Tests

You should prepare for and take the SAT early on since many students take the SAT multiple times. If you plan to take the ACT more than once, consider taking the ACT early on as well. And make sure to sign up for the Common App , which allows you to use a single form to apply to multiple colleges.

Your Checklist

• Know which schools you’re interested in
• Take the SAT
• Know if you plan to apply for early decision
• Mark down all college application due dates
• Sign up for the Common App

Two Months Before College Applications Are Due

A couple of months before your deadlines, things are getting down to the wire. If you’re submitting standardized test scores, it’s time to make sure your results are up to snuff. If you plan to take the ACT , now is the time to do it. And if you weren’t satisfied with your earlier SAT scores , it’s time to retake that test as well.

• Take the ACT
• Retake the SAT (if applicable)

Four Weeks Before College Applications Are Due

Most undergraduate applications require letters of recommendation , at least one of which must come from an academic source. You could ask a teacher, a school counselor or another faculty member to write your recommendation letter.

Keep in mind that these individuals are busy professionals who may be writing multiple letters of recommendation for other students, so it’s important to give them at least a few weeks to complete this task.

• Ask for letters of recommendation

Several Weeks Before Applications Are Due

Not all universities ask applicants to submit essays, but this is a common requirement for many. If you’re applying to schools that require college essays , you’ve probably been working on yours for a while—potentially even as assignments in your English class.

In the weeks leading up to your application deadlines, it’s time to polish up those essays and get them ready for submission. Gather feedback from trusted peers, teachers and mentors, and make edits as necessary. Make sure your essays answer the prompts, comply with word count requirements and are free of grammatical errors.

• Complete college essays

The Week Before Applications Are Due

At this point in the application process, it’s time to gather all the materials required for your college application. These may include the application forms themselves, preliminary transcripts, test scores and essays. Make sure your letter-writers have finished your recommendation letters as well.

Once all your documents are in order, there’s no need to keep waiting—submit those applications.

• Gather letters of recommendation and required materials
• Submit all applications

Before, During and After Applying to College

Applying for college and applying for financial aid are separate processes. Before, during and after your college application process, you should be researching scholarships and grants to help you pay for your education.

Unlike student loans, scholarships and grants do not require repayment. These forms of aid may be need-based, merit-based or use other identifying characteristics, like ethnicity or religion. If you qualify for a scholarship or grant, make sure to apply—these awards can add up to make a big difference.

• Apply for scholarships and grants

During October

We recommend submitting the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) regardless of whether you think you will qualify for financial aid. The factors determining aid eligibility are complex, so you may qualify for a federal student loan even if it seems unlikely to you. Many states use the FAFSA to determine eligibility for state-level student aid as well. Some aid is distributed on a first-come, first-served basis, so submitting the application in a timely manner is wise.

Also by October, you should know whether you will be registering to take any AP exams. The College Board usually requires all AP test-takers to register for their exams by November 15, but your high school may impose an earlier deadline for registration. Make sure you know and are on track to meet those deadlines.

• Gather materials and submit the FAFSA
• Know when to register for AP exams

By May, you should have received responses for all your college applications. Of the schools that granted you admission, you should have narrowed down your options and decided where you’d like to attend. Now, it’s time to make it official.

Note that if you were accepted to a school on early decision, you will have to complete this step of the process much earlier in the year—usually by February.

• Accept an offer of admission
• Decline offers of admission from schools you will not attend

During June and July

By this point, you’ve accepted admission to a college and you’ve graduated from high school—but we’re still going. Now that you’ve officially wrapped up your high school career, it’s time to tackle these last remaining tasks: submitting AP scores and official transcripts.

Send these materials in June if possible, and check with your prospective college for its specific deadlines—they are usually in early or mid-July.

• Submit AP scores (if applicable)
• Submit final transcripts
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2024 Travelers Championship scores, leaderboard: Scottie Scheffler trails Tom Kim by one after Round 3

Kim is 18 under heading into sunday's final round of the travelers championship.

For the second consecutive day, the 2024 Travelers Championship experienced a long suspension of play as players were pulled off the golf course due to severe weather at 3:30 p.m. ET only to return 2 hours and 50 minutes later. Leading as he stepped off the golf course for the delay, Tom Kim kept his wits about himself Saturday and stepped off the 18th green with the lead for the third straight day.

Carding a 5-under 65 in Round 3, the 22-year-old sits at 18 under and one clear of Scottie Scheffler and Akshay Bhatia heading into Sunday's deciding round. A win at TPC River Highlands would represent the fourth — and most certainly the biggest — of Kim's young career, but it will have to be earned with the number of stars that lurk.

After experiencing a somewhat sloppy restart with a couple of bogeys on the initial portion of his inward half, Scheffler surged late with five birdies in his last six holes to push his name back into contention at 17 under. Sharing a birthday, practice rounds and time off the golf course with Kim, the two will now share a final round tee time together as they wrestle for the last signature event title of the season.

Scheffler drafted off the momentum of his playing partner, Bhatia, who kept pace and will round out that final threesome on Sunday thanks to back-to-back birdies on Nos. 17-18. Meanwhile, Sungjae Im seeks his first win on the PGA Tour in over two years from two adrift at 16 under is alongside the 2022 champion Xander Schauffele at that number thanks to a closing 40-foot birdie effort.

In total, there are 10 players within five strokes of Kim's lead after 54 holes with heavy hitters like Collin Morikawa, Justin Thomas, Tony Finau, Shane Lowry, Patrick Cantlay and Mr. 59 himself, Cameron Young, all jostling for one of the biggest trophies on the PGA Tour playing calendar.

1. Tom Kim (-18)

It took him 40 holes, but Kim dropped his first (and only) shot of this tournament when he 3 putted from 11 feet on the par-4 4th. Things could have started to move quickly for the young gun as names like Scheffler, Schauffele and Morikawa made their moves and pushed Kim out of the lead for the first time since Thursday. He hung tough, however, and played his last 14 holes in 6 under to secure a one-stroke lead with one round to play.

"I'm going to go out tomorrow with the same game plan and try to do the things that I've been doing and if it's good enough, it's great, but if someone's better than that, I can't do anything about it. So just kind of go in with the expectation of there's just, it's a stacked leaderboard, out here a 5-, 6-shot lead is not safe at all. So I got to go out tomorrow and do the same game plan and execute."

Other contenders

T2. Scottie Scheffler, Akshay Bhatia  (-17) T4. Xander Schauffele, Sungjae Im (-16) 6. Collin Morikawa (-15) T7. Tony Finau, Shane Lowry, Justin Thomas (-14) T10. Cameron Young, Patrick Cantlay (-13)

For a part of the back nine, Scheffler looked a little out of sorts as he dropped a shot on a short par 3 and missed a tee shot wide leading to another. As far as three off the lead at one stage, the five-time winner this season put on his hard hat and got to work. Five birdies over the course of his final six holes including a laser into the tricky par-4 17th and another to tap-in distance on his finisher positioned the Texan beautifully for another sprint to the winner's circle.

"Sometimes when you're in pairs you can feed off each other the wrong or the right way," Scheffler said. "Today, especially at the end, we were feeding off each other what I would say in the right way. It's always a good thing."

Cameron Young cards the round of the season

The former PGA Tour Rookie of the Year became the 13th player in PGA Tour history to card a sub-60 round Saturday at TPC River Highlands. After playing his first four holes in a 5-under fashion, Cameron Young added a couple birdies on his front nine to turn in 28. A birdie on No. 13 was followed by his second eagle of the round on the short par-4 15th. One last circle was put on his scorecard on the par-4 17th meaning a par on the last was good enough for Young's 59. Coming into the week, Young had carded nine straight rounds at par-or-worse and coming into today, he didn't feel particularly great about his chances either. That's just golf.

"Woke up, would have preferred to go back to sleep," Young said. "Did exactly what I do every day coming to the golf course, get a coffee, ate, saw the physio, and went out there, warmed up. Didn't feel particularly awesome. I chunked a few less on the range than I did yesterday. Then, yeah, came out and just was very comfortable and things just started coming down close to the hole."

2024 Travelers Championship updated odds and picks

• Scottie Scheffler: 3/2
• Tom Kim: 7/2
• Xander Schauffele: 5-1
• Akshay Bhatia: 7-1
• Sungjae Im: 12-1
• Collin Morikawa: 12-1

Kim has been the best player this week in all the right areas. He's holing putts with consistency, splitting fairways, and striking his approach shots close. He shouldn't be phased by the pairing with Scheffler as the two are good friends and he has plenty of horsepower to get to a winning score that may touch 25 under.

Patrick McDonald recaps moving day at the 2024 Travelers Championship. Follow & listen to The First Cut on  Apple Podcasts  and  Spotify .

Scheffler surging

That's now three birdies in his last four holes and Scottie Scheffler is just two back. It's been an odd back nine so far with a couple of sloppy bogeys, but the world No. 1 is hanging tough and gets to 15 under thanks to his latest 2 on the par-3 16th.

Schauffele surging

That's now two birdies in a row for the 2022 champion and he has tied for the lead at 16 under. Xander Schauffele hasn't had the best week from tee-to-green so far, but he is making putts with confidence. He'll try to keep this train rolling into the clubhouse with four holes left.

Kim's lead returns to two

With a bogey from Akshay Bhatia on No. 12 and another birdie on another par 3 on No. 11 from Tom Kim, the South Korean's margin is now two at 16 under. After seeing his name drop off the pace early, Kim has handled himself beautifully with four birdies in his last seven holes. 

Final two make the turn

They're going to have to play a little faster on this second nine, but the final pair have made the turn with Tom Kim alone out in front at 15 under. A birdie conversion from just inside 9 feet out of the restart on the par-3 8th pushed Kim's name out in front of Scheffler, Schauffele, Bhatia and Collin Morikawa who just added a birdie on the par-4 9th.

Let's play ball!

Alrighty, the official delay is 2 hours and 50 minutes as players return to the golf course. Let's set the scene as Tom Kim and Akshay Bhatia lead the way at 14 under. That final pair of Kim and Collin Morikawa are currently through six holes and according to officials they only have 2 hours and 20 minutes to play.

Play scheduled to resume at 6:20 p.m. ET

The rain has stopped falling and the grounds crew is on the golf course trying to make it playable for the rest of the day. After a nearly three-hour delay, play should begin back up again at 6:20 p.m. which should give the final group enough time to finish their third rounds.

More golf to come

Sunset is around 8:30 p.m. ET and there is a chance that we get these guys back onto the golf course around 6 p.m. With the final group with 12 holes to play, this should mean that we should finish the third round today. More to come.

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Election latest: 'Kitchen sink moment' for Rishi Sunak in final head-to-head of campaign against Keir Starmer

Follow live updates from the final head-to-head between the prime minister and Labour leader ahead of polling day on 4 July.

Wednesday 26 June 2024 20:48, UK

• General Election 2024

Sunak and Starmer's final debate

• Follow live updates as leaders clash for last time
• Starmer says Sunak 'bullied into action' over betting
• Labour leader wins audience applause with jibe at PM
• Pro-Palestine protest echoes through venue as leaders speak
• Jon Craig: This is a bit like watching England
• Live reporting by Faith Ridler , Ollie Cooper and Katie Williams
• Protester climbs on top of Tory battle bus
• Man arrested in honeytrap scandal | Labour suspends suspect
• Lib Dem leader admits betting on 2010 election

Election essentials

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Next up is a question from Steve.

We're an island - why can't we easily close our borders?

Sir Keir Starmer answers first, explaining that the biggest threat to the UK's borders at the moment are small boat arrivals in the Channel.

"There are record numbers - since Rishi Sunak became prime minister 50,000 people have come across by small boats, and the government has effectively lost control of our borders."

Sir Keir adds this is now a "national security issues".

He says that "nobody" should be making this journey across the Channel, reiterating his plan to "smash the criminal gangs".

Over to the prime minister, who says it is "completely unfair what is happening" with small boats in the Channel.

He adds that progress has been made, claiming that there needs to be a "deterrent" - the Rwanda scheme.

"Do not surrender our borders to the Labour Party," Mr Sunak says, to applause. 

Sir Keir hits back, pointing to the "huge expense to the tax payer" of the Rwanda flights, which he claims would only deport a few hundred people.

"I notice you called the election by the way before any flights could get off," the Labour leader quips. "Interesting timing." 

But what would Sir Keir do?

"We've got to process the claims," he says. 

"At the moment 100% of them are effectively being granted asylum in this country, because they can't go anywhere."

Mr Sunak comes back, questioning how Sir Keir would make return deals for asylum seekers.

"Are you going to try and do a deal with the Taliban?" he asks. "It's completely nonsensical. You are taking people for fools."

Within minutes, this debate descended into a shouting match, with Rishi Sunak doing most of it - even drowning out the referee, Mishal Husain.

The PM wants to talk about tax, while Sir Keir wants to talk about politicians gambling. There'll be yellow cards at this rate.

Mr Sunak brings up a Telegraph report claiming Labour's shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, Darren Jones, said in a leaked recording that the party's net zero plans would cost billions. 

Oh dear, it's all very shouty.

So far, it's a bit like watching England in the Euros. Disjointed, negative and short on flair. Are we heading for a 0-0 draw?

Then Sir Keir has a Jude Bellingham moment amid the midfield stalemate. 

"If you listened to people in the audience more, you might not be so out of touch," he says - and is rewarded with a round of applause.

The next question comes from audience member Beverley, who asks how the next prime minister will ensure people with disabilities are not punished by benefit sanctions.

Rishi Sunak is first to answer - he says he believes in a "compassionate" welfare system that "supports everyone who needs it".

He points to his record during COVID, saying he got support "to the most vulnerable".

Mr Sunak said the Conservatives would make sure people who can work are supported into employment, including reform of the sick note process. He adds that people shouldn't be allowed to turn down jobs that they are able to do.

PM 'out of touch', says Starmer

Asked if he thinks Mr Sunak is wrong on this point, Sir Keir Starmer says he isn't.

The prime minister immediately chimes in that the Labour leader opposed the benefit reform plan when he announced it.

"If you listened to people in the audience across the country more often you might not be so out of touch," Sir Keir replies, to applause from the audience.

Sir Keir says Labour want to bring down the number of people who are economically inactive. 

He notes that hospital waiting lists are a symptom of the rising number of people out of work - garnering another round of applause.

Sunak: Starmer not being upfront with voters

Mr Sunak accuses Sir Keir of not being "upfront" with people about Labour's stance on the Tories' approach to welfare.

"You don't think my approach is the right one, you're going to have higher welfare under you, and that's why you can't deliver tax cuts the way that I can," he says, getting his own applause this time.

We've moved on to another question from an audience member, Mary.

She says she's worked two jobs her whole life, and asks the candidates what they'll do to get more people off benefits and back to work.

Sir Keir Starmer references his father's job in a factory as a toolmaker and underlines the importance of hard work. 

"If you can work, you should work," he says, adding Labour has several plans to help tackle the number of people on benefits in its manifesto. 

Rishi Sunak says he "strongly agrees" that people are better off in work. 

He says the number of people on benefits is too high and references what he describes as a "comprehensive plan" that he outlined months ago, making the criteria required for welfare stricter. 

The first question in today's leaders' debate comes from a member of the audience, Sue, who points to a lack of integrity and honesty in politics.

She asks how Sir Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak would restore trust in government, in light of a scandal over betting on the date and result of the election.

Mr Sunak says again that he was "furious" to hear the allegations of informed betting on the date of the election, with two Conservative members suspended.

As he speaks, protesters can be heard outside the hall (see previous post).

Sir Keir then picks up, saying he would like to "reset politics, so that politics returns to public service".

He also says there is a "question of leadership", pointing to "partygate" and the COVID contracts.

Sir Keir notes that when a member of his party was implicated in the betting scandal, they were suspended quickly.

Meanwhile, the Labour leader says Mr Sunak was "bullied into taking action".

Hitting back, the prime minister says it was important that these matters were "dealt with properly".

Starmer: I expect the highest standards

Sir Keir is then asked about a Labour candidate, who bet on himself to lose his seat on 4 July.

He says that the member was suspended as soon as an investigation was confirmed.

"My candidates know I expect the highest standards," the Labour leader says.

But does Sir Keir know other candidates haven't made similar bets?

He says he has made clear the consequences of doing so.

By Tim Baker , political reporter, in Nottingham

As the debate gets under way, a pro-Palestine demonstration can be heard echoing through Nottingham Trent University.

A group was seen gathering outside the venue several hours ago - but it was only a couple of people at that point.

These events have happened at many of the leaders events during the election.

But despite that, the Middle East has not come up much during the debates.

It's extremely audible here, though, as the leaders speak.

The crowd can be heard cheering after one of the speakers at the protest says they can be heard on the broadcast.

A night of consequence awaits

As Mishal Husain delivered her intro to tonight's events, a hush fell in the spin room.

You can tell tonight is going to be one of consequence.

The debate is being played to the waiting pack of journalists through TVs scattered around the room.

But as the horns of the introduction music plays, the hubbub returns as copy gets written and people discuss how they think the night will go.

The final round of head-to-head debates between Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer is now under way, held by the BBC in Nottingham.

The clash is due to last 75 minutes, held in front of a live audience, that has been chosen by pollster Savanta, rather than the BBC.

It will include Conservative and Labour supporters, in addition to undecided voters.

We'll bring you live updates throughout - stay tuned.

It's now or never for Rishi Sunak.

The final leaders' TV showdown in this general election campaign is the underdog PM's last chance to fight back against runaway frontrunner Sir Keir Starmer.

This is number seven in the series of clashes, five of which have involved Mr Sunak and the Labour leader.

The other two, with seven combatants, involved Penny Mordaunt for the Conservatives and Angela Rayner for Labour.

The first Sunak vs Starmer head-to-head, on ITV, was memorable for the PM hitting Sir Keir with a relentless onslaught on tax, claiming Labour is poised to mount a £2,000 tax grab, and for the Labour leader's sluggish response.

The venue was ITV's studios in Salford. The spin room was in Granada's Coronation Street experience and the showdown was the first episode in a six-week election soap opera that reaches its climax tonight.

Next came a BBC seven-way debate, coming in the week of Mr Sunak's astonishing D-Day blunder when he left the Normandy ceremony early, which Ms Mordaunt slammed as "completely wrong". Not exactly, helpful.

Then came Sky News' The Battle For No.10 in our target town of Grimsby, when Sir Keir struggled to answer questions from Beth Rigby on why he backed Jeremy Corbyn in the 2019 election and said: "I always knew we wouldn't win."

From Grimsby, it was back across the Pennines to Salford for an ITV seven-way debate which saw a jubilant Nigel Farage celebrating an opinion poll which suggested his Reform UK had overtaken the Conservatives for the first time. "We are now the opposition to the Labour Party," he declared.

At York University, a BBC Question Time saw Mr Sunak, Sir Keir, the SNP's John Swinney and the Liberal Democrats' Sir Ed Davey each given a half-hour grilling from a hostile audience.

It was here that Mr Sunak broke his silence on the gambling scandal, on the day it was revealed that Tory candidate Laura Saunders and her husband, party campaign chief Tony Lee were named.

He was "incredibly angry" he said - and anyone guilty would be "booted out" of the party.

Then on Monday, on the 17th floor of the News Building overlooking the Thames, at The Sun's Election Showdown, Mr Sunak came out fighting on "stop the boats", claiming migrants were "queueing up in Calais waiting for a Starmer government".

Why do these highlights from the six previous clashes matter?

Because these issues are bound to come up again in the final showdown, as Mr Sunak attempts to damage his Labour rival on tax, Jeremy Corbyn and illegal migration and Sir Keir hits back on D-Day, gambling and the Tory "chaos" of the past 14 years.

Many people will have already cast their vote by post.

But polls suggest many are still undecided.

So, with barely a week left before 4 July, it's Mr Sunak's last chance. Now or never, in fact.

By  Tim Baker , political reporter, in Nottingham  

One of the inherent dangers of the spin room is the hard work of organisation and logistics usually taking place behind the camera is there for all to see.

Crouching down and waving to get someone's attention for a microphone? That will go out on the broadcast.

Necking the dregs of a Diet Coke? Thousands of people can see you do it.

The messages are already coming in...

But the chaos is closely co-ordinated with perspiring advisers dragging politicians from one camera to the next on tight deadlines.

Producers and floor managers are doing the opposite as they convince the ministers and shadow cabinet members to do their show as well.

It's situations like these that demonstrate the hard work that goes into producing television shows like the Politics Hub.

Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer have arrived in Nottingham ahead of this evening's election debate.

They were greeted in Nottingham by BBC director-general Tim Davie, who shook both men's hands as they arrived. 

The debate gets under way at 8.15pm. 

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