9 Awesome Tips To Write The Perfect Recent College Grad Resume

Writing a resume isn’t easy when you’re fresh out of college and have no idea what makes a perfect resume. All you know is that you want the hiring manager to look at your resume and be impressed enough to give you a chance for an interview.

We help a number of college graduates create their first job resume every year and have an understanding of what hiring managers expect from an entry-level resume.

Read on to find out what would make your resume an excellent college grad resume and revise your existing resume to succeed at job applications.

1. Use a professional email address for your resume

We cannot stress how important it is to have a professional email address when you start applying for jobs. Trust us on this, not a single hiring manager in the world would ever be impressed by [email protected] Instead you can create a new email with your name and surname to sound professional to use for your job search. [email protected] sounds way more professional for a resume.

2. Include a clear link to take the recruiter to your LinkedIn profile in the resume

Hiring managers today will check the LinkedIn profile of candidates to get an idea about their professional qualifications. You may not have space on your resume to talk about all the extracurricular activities you did in uni, but you can use your LinkedIn profile to mention those. Leave your link as it is instead of creating a customized hyperlink. This helps the hiring manager search for you when the resume is in print.

3. Use the summary statement to make an impactful start to your resume

Your resume summary is more than just a dumping ground for keywords. It should reflect your level of talent and talk about your skills. Instead of just saying that you are “an excellent problem solver” in your summary, use a real-life example to show how you took control during an issue and resolved it to achieve a good result for your team.

4. Keyword optimization of your resume is the key to success

Don’t let your resume fall under the 70% of resumes that get rejected by the ATS because they don’t have the right keywords. Review the job application and the company website to understand the qualities they admire in a perfect candidate. Include the key terms that tailor the employer’s expectations into your resume to stand a chance of winning an interview.

5. Don’t go adding information about your high school to your resume

You probably gathered tons of new experiences in your college years. Don’t waste valuable resume space trying to mention your high school achievements several years back. Instead, reserve that resume space to emphasize your college days or experience.

6. Include your GPA in your resume when it’s mention-worthy

If you scored a GPA higher than 3.0, flaunt it in the education section of your resume. This is a good opportunity for you to show the employer how you worked hard for your college degree.

7. Mention coursework when you don’t have relevant work experience

Hiring managers are impressed by any subjects you studied relevant to the job when you haven’t had an internship before. However, if you’ve had an internship after your college days it is better to emphasize the work experience rather than adding a list of coursework you took.

8. Write your resume to highlight your selling points

Your resume is unique to you. It should be tailored to fit your best qualities and sell your skills to the right recruiter. When writing your resume, you should give priority to the relevant skills and experience and play them up. Any jobs you’ve taken that are not directly related to the job can be mentioned towards to second half of your resume. The first half of your resume should contain all the right keywords so that a human reader scans them first when reading your resume.

9. Use formatting tricks to highlight the important stuff

Bullet points, bold text, italics, and underlines can all help you draw the recruiter’s eye to the right information. No one wants to read through lengthy paragraphs these days. So, make sure your resume uses bullet points to summarize the vital details.