5 Easy Resume Updates for College Students

Job hunting, one of the most stressful experiences anyone ever has to go through. We all know the feeling; scouring multiple job sites, applying to listings, writing different cover letters for each job, entering all of your previous work experience into those tiny boxes, all just to get rejected or even worse: ghosted. Talk about exhausting!

Well, one of the steps you can take to make that painstaking process easier is to revamp your resume. You want your resume to stand out and be able to compete with everyone else’s. Even some of the most impactful differences are the easiest! Here are some helpful tips to make before clicking “submit” on your next application.

Style your resume

The easiest way to get a resume to stand out is to make it eye-catching. Using templates, colors and different fonts will take your resume to a whole new level. Canva.com is a great place to start for design beginners with loads of templates and colors to choose from. And if you’re really experienced, Adobe InDesign gives you the freedom to create your dream template from scratch.

Make your resume relevant

In college, it’s hard to have a lot of “real world” experience in any field. A way to get around that is by adding a relevant coursework section to a resume. This way an employer can see that even though there isn’t any internship or job experience as of yet, you still have crucial knowledge of the field!

Include metrics and results

When putting in the details of the role of your job, don’t just say “planned events”. Be specific. Say “planned events for over 200 people that included a 3-course meal.” Instead of “handled social media accounts”, say “handled 3 social media accounts that resulted in a 10% follower increase and 5% engagement increase.” This shows the results and the impact you made at the company while you were there.

Include a header

You don’t want your resume to be lost in a sea of resumes. A bold header utilizing an interesting color or font that makes your name and contact info stands out is an impactful and easy update. Even adding a subtitle like “Professional Storyteller.” or “Graphic Designer” will help push it that extra mile!

Use action verbs

This is one of the easiest tips that you can easily add to tweak your resume. Action verbs are stating that you did something, so instead of “was responsible for” you say “managed”; the difference between the two words can take your resume to the next level. This is a great list of action verbs that can give your resume that boost it needs.