18 Undergraduate Resume Examples

When most people hear the word resume, they immediately think of experience. That is understandable, since a resume is one of the most direct ways to show potential employers your background and skills.

But what if you have no experience? What should undergraduate students who have focused mainly on studying include on their resumes?

The short answer is that even undergraduates with no experience still need a strong resume. Recruiters do not look only at the experience section. They also want to understand your skills, how you handle challenging situations, your approach to conflict, and your willingness to learn and grow.

These qualities can help you stand out from other applicants, whether you are applying for an internship or a full-time entry-level position.

If you want to learn how to write an undergraduate resume that helps you stand out, read on.

This undergraduate resume guide will help you:

• Find out which sections your resume should include.
• Write a compelling resume summary that gets attention.
• Highlight your strengths and education without overemphasizing your lack of experience.
• Present your college activities in a way that interests recruiters.
• Focus on what matters most and cut what does not.

Looking for related resumes?

• Freshers Resumes
• College Resume
• Law School Resume
• Data Science Intern Resume
• Entry-level Engineering Resume
• Entry-level Sales Resume
• Marketing Intern Resume
• PR Intern Resume
• Data Analyst Entry-level Resume

The perfect format for your undergraduate resume

Most online resume advice tells you to talk about your education, focus on relevant hard skills, and explain why you are the best applicant.

But if you are an undergraduate with no experience, that advice can feel vague or even unhelpful. You may not be sure which hard skills are relevant or how to describe your education in a meaningful way.

The good news is that you can still build a resume that gets recruiters’ attention. A strong format is the first place to start.

Some of the most popular resume formats are:

• The reverse-chronological format
• The functional format
• The hybrid format

For most undergraduates, the reverse-chronological format is usually not the best choice. It is better suited to professionals with many years of experience.

The functional format works well for inexperienced undergraduates because it emphasizes transferable skills, interests, and activities.

If you do have some experience to include, consider the hybrid resume format. It combines the first two formats so you can highlight both your experience and your personality.

Keep these general formatting tips in mind:

• Choose a 12p font.
• Use 10” resume margins.
• Stick to a one-page resume format. Two-page resumes usually make sense only if you have over 10 years of experience.
• Save your resume as PDF.

Once you have the format down, the next question is what your undergraduate resume should include.

One advantage of undergraduate resumes is that you can experiment with sections. There are several worth considering.

Remember that resume layouts can vary by country. For example, a Canadian resume format could look different.

When selecting the main sections for your undergraduate resume, include specific details that recruiters value. For example:

The ideal header for your undergraduate resume

The header section is often overlooked by many undergraduates, likely because it is the shortest part of a resume.

However, even a small mistake in your email address or phone number can prevent recruiters from contacting you.

Make sure your header is accurate and free of errors. Here are 2 undergraduate resume header examples:

2 undergraduate resume header examples

Common mistakes to spot

Can you spot any mistakes?

First, look at the title: it says Student. That’s acceptable, but not ideal. It would be better to mention the position being applied for or at least the major.

Next, the email address is too informal. It’s better to use formats such as name.surname@website.com, name_surname@website.com, or surname.name@website.com.

Then there’s the location. Lesley should have included the city where she currently lives, especially if she is applying for an on-site job.

Finally, the link leads to Lesley’s personal Facebook account, which is a major mistake, especially if it includes wild party photos.

Much better! This resume summary gives a clearer, more precise picture of the applicant.

It opens by stating that the person wants to become a journalist, which helps employers immediately understand which role matches the applicant’s goals. The link also fits well here, as it likely leads to the articles Lesley wrote for the university newspaper.

The email and location look neat, too. That makes for a strong header. Now it’s time to look at your undergraduate resume objective.

An inspiring objective to keep recruiters’ attention

Once you’ve decided which positions to apply for, it’s time to write a resume objective.

Whether you’re in your first year of studies or your last, a well-written resume objective can help you land an interview even if you have no work experience.

That’s why it’s essential to explain how you will add value to the team.

It’s also worth including relevant keywords. This can help you get through the applicant tracking systems many recruiters use, even when you have little to no experience.

In short, your resume objective is a quick way to highlight your skills and qualifications to employers.

Let’s look at some good and bad resume objective examples.

Focusing on what matters: 3 undergraduate resume objective examples

How does that resume objective make you feel?

Probably not very excited or impressed.

That is exactly why you should avoid short, uninspiring objectives. Otherwise, you risk having your resume tossed aside.

Let’s try again:

Although this resume objective is a bit stronger, it’s still far from ideal.

Mentioning your top skills is a good start. However, connecting those skills to the specific role or area of work is what will help you stand out.

Let’s give it one last try:

This computer science undergraduate does an excellent job of highlighting their education, interests, and top skills.

They also clearly mention the position and field they are interested in.

Treat the example above as a case of what not to do.

Let’s start at the beginning. The position and workplace fields are fine, but the description needs work. Instead of simply saying the workplace is a restaurant, the applicant could mention what type of food the restaurant serves.

The responsibilities also need attention. The main issue is inconsistency: some bullet points begin with verbs, while others start with nouns or adverbs.

Our advice is to list responsibilities with action verbs. This makes you sound proactive and dependable, which recruiters appreciate.

The wording of the responsibilities matters too. Serving food builds valuable skills such as attention to detail. Working shifts also shows adaptability and strong time management.

In this example, however, the applicant does not highlight any of these transferable skills in the experience section. Here is how it could have been done differently:

See the difference?

Using action verbs and describing your responsibilities in detail creates a much stronger first impression than simply listing what you had to do.

When you think about the results of your work and what you have actually achieved, you also prepare yourself for one of the most common interview questions: “Tell me about your experience”.

This advice also applies if your experience comes only from volunteering.

The volunteering section: a great way to showcase your transferable skills

As mentioned earlier, not all undergraduates have work experience.

Those who do are usually seen as lucky, but that is mostly because they can show they have the required skills.

The same is true for volunteering.

Although the volunteering section may be a bit easier to write, there are still a few things to keep in mind.

Inspiring change: 1 good and 1 bad volunteering section examples

Look at the example above. What do you learn from it? Not much, right?

That’s why you should aim to do better. Every section of your resume should add value, so when you describe your volunteer work, focus on exactly what you did.

Let’s try again:

The second example gives you a clearer understanding of the volunteer role and the skills it requires.

More specifically, it shows that this person has strong people, event, and time management skills.

With that in mind, let’s look at the two types of skills your undergraduate resume should include.

The top skills your undergraduate resume needs

As an undergraduate, you may not always have a clear perspective on the skills you already have and the ones you still need to develop.

It can help to remember that there are two main types of skills: hard and soft.

In general, hard skills depend on your major and your interests. Some of the most popular hard skills for undergraduates include:

If you’re pursuing a more technical degree, such as Computer Science or Engineering, you can also include a section outlining your technical skills.

How to describe soft skills on an undergraduate resume

Recently, both recruiters and applicants have placed increasing emphasis on the importance of soft skills.

These skills apply to almost any industry and role, which is why many of them are considered transferable skills.

For example, if you’re a strong problem-solver, you can apply that approach in roles such as software developer, accountant, or translator.

A great way to highlight your soft skills is by adding a talent section to your undergraduate resume.

Here’s a list of soft skills worth considering by undergraduates.

While it’s helpful to mention hard and soft skills in a ‘strengths’ or ‘talents’ section, your undergraduate resume should also include a separate skills section.

This can help you get through applicant tracking systems (ATS), which scan resumes for specific keywords.

The education section: your time to shine

Since you’re still a student, the education section deserves special attention.

Be sure to include relevant courses you’ve taken and the highest grades you’ve received.

You should also show how your majors, minors, and projects helped you build specific skills and personal qualities. This can impress recruiters and give them a clearer picture of your industry knowledge and the value you can bring to the company.

If you want to strengthen this part of your undergraduate resume even more, pair your education section with a strong certificates section.

Certificates - the key to every recruiter’s heart

Certificates show that you’re willing to learn beyond what’s expected and that you know how to put theory into practice.

They can also help you stand out from other applicants and improve your chances of landing an interview.

If you’re unsure which certificates to include, think about how relevant they are to your goals. For example, if you’re applying for a finance role, a Power BI certificate is much more relevant than a first aid certificate.

Only list certificates you actually have. If you haven’t taken any courses, don’t add a ‘courses’ or ‘certificates’ section. Hiring managers can tell when skills and certifications are made up.