Recent College Graduate Resume: Examples & How to Write

Employers know that a college education teaches a variety of marketable skills and expertise. Your resume is an opportunity to demonstrate those skills, and show employers what you have to offer.

If you’re like most recent grads, you don’t have much work experience to put on your resume.

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Our Expert:

Chloe Chioy

Learn how to write a resume that emphasizes your value to employers – even if you don’t have work experience – with our writing tips, examples, and sample below.

1. Learn from other recent graduate resume examples

Below are two different recent college graduate resume examples to take inspiration from:

Resume for recent college graduate (without experience)

Here’s an example of a recent graduate’s resume with no work experience:

Resume for recent college graduate (with internship)

If written about clearly and effectively, internship experience can be a huge boost to any recent college graduate’s resume.

To help you write about your internship experience, here’s a recent college graduate resume with an internship section to help you model your own resume:

2. Use an eye-catching resume header

Your contact information and name should be the very first thing hiring managers see when they glance at your resume. To help your information stand out, put it in your resume header at the top of the page, and type your first and last name in a large font to make it memorable.

Your header should include your:

• First and last name
• Current job title (if you have one)
• Professional email
• Phone number
• City and state (optional)

Additionally, consider adding your LinkedIn to your resume header if you have a strong profile.

Before sending out your application, double-check that all your contact information is correct.

Here’s an example of a simple header:

3. Write a convincing resume objective

Your resume’s introduction is your opportunity to catch the attention of employers and convince them to give you a chance. We recommend recent graduates use a resume objective because it allows you to highlight your career goals as well as your key skills and experience without relying heavily on formal work experience.

If you already have relevant work experience, you can consider another introduction style such as a resume profile or summary of qualifications.

4. Write a detailed educational background

Having a thorough education section is essential for any recent college graduate’s resume.

To make your education stand out, here’s what you should include in your education section:

• The name of your university or community college
• Location of the school (city, state)
• Graduation date (month and year)
• Degree(s) (including any minors)
• GPA (only include your GPA if it’s above 3.5, and use this format: GPA: 3.7/4.0)
• Awards or honors (such as summa cum laude)
• Put the Dean’s list on your resume if you made the cut more than twice
• Include any study abroad programs you completed (as a separate entry in your education section)

If you have little or no professional experience (like many recent graduates), include as much detail about your education as possible. Choose a format like the Harvard resume template that allows you to showcase your educational achievements.

In particular, you should list relevant coursework on your resume to show employers that you have an interest in and experience with the industry you’re interested in working in.

However, if you already have a lot of professional experience, it’s best to keep your education section short and omit any academic awards, as well as your GPA.

5. Write an experience section that highlights your relevant skills

The experience section is the core of every resume. As a college graduate, this is where you elaborate on any experience that’s prepared you for the position you want to fill. Since you are new to the workplace use this section to highlight important accomplishments.

If you plan to include anything other than work experience in this section, you can make the section header “Relevant Experience” to make it more general.

Then, include any of the following experiences you might have (but make sure they’re connected to the role you want in some way):

• Projects
• Full time or part-time jobs
• Internships
• Volunteer work
• Coursework (should be highly relevant)
• Extracurriculars

Ultimately, even if you’re writing a general resume, your experience section should show employers that you have specific valuable skills relevant to the position.

If you’re pursuing a career in sustainability here’s how you might list relevant experience:

If you don’t have relevant experience like in this example, you can use the same format with relevant coursework.

For instance, you could list an honors thesis you wrote, and use 2-4 bullet points to describe the challenges you overcame, your research and writing process, and any awards or positive feedback you received for the thesis.

6. Demonstrate a diverse mix of technical and soft skills

As a recent graduate, you don’t need formal work experience to have a strong resume skills section.

Just through your coursework and extracurricular activities, you’ve likely accumulated an array of marketable skills to put on your resume like:

Start by listing any technical skills and any hard or soft skills you possess that are relevant to the position. Soft skills, such as communication, team management, analytical skills, and interpersonal skills, are always in high demand from employers because soft skills are notoriously difficult to teach.

Showcase soft skills in your experience section by describing instances of how they helped you achieve success as a student. For example, if you have outstanding leadership skills, include an example of how you took the lead on an important class project.

Meanwhile, use your skills section to include your other relevant skills that don’t naturally fit into your relevant experience section:

7. Use a template made for a recent college graduate resume

Here’s a recent college graduate resume template that you can paste into Microsoft Word or Google Docs and fill out. For each resume section you’ll see what information you should include to best emphasize your strengths.

If you want to finish writing your resume faster, use one of these templates made for entry-level candidates:

Use this template

Timeless

Use this template

Supreme

Use this template

Classic

Additional resources for college graduates

Here are our top 4 job search tips for recent graduates:

@resumegenius If you’re a recent graduate currently looking for a job, here are some job search tips that can help. 💪 The job market is tough right now, so if your job search is taking longer than you imagined, remember it’s not your fault and it is not a reflection of your potential. #graduate #graduate2024 #freshgraduate #jobsearchtips #careeradvice ♬ original sound – Resume Genius | Career Tips

And, to help you build a competitive application, we provide a variety of writing guides, resume samples, and general templates for new college graduates:

Frequently asked questions about writing a resume as a recent grad

We’ve answered some common questions about how to best write a recent graduate resume:

What type of resume should a recent graduate have?

If you’re a recent graduate and you’re wondering how to best format your resume, we recommend using a format like the Harvard resume template because it highlights your education section and makes your qualifications stand out.

What should a college graduate put on a resume?

A recent college graduate should focus on presenting relevant academic achievements, internships, volunteer experiences, skills, and other extracurricular activities that demonstrate employability.

Here’s what to include:

1. Contact information
2. Resume objective
3. Education
4. Experience (include internships, part-time jobs, volunteer work, or campus leadership roles)
5. Skills
6. Certifications/professional development
7. Projects (optional)
8. Extracurricular activities (when applicable)

How long should a recent college graduate resume be?

A recent college graduate’s resume should generally be one page long. Keep it concise, and tailor each resume to the specific job you’re applying for.

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