How to make an Impressive Academic Resume/ Student CV

The most important part of developing an effective and impressive resume is to realize and understand the purpose of creating this document. You need to understand that it is not an autobiography; it is a summary of your professional and academic qualifications and achievements. An undergraduate aspirant must focus on their academic credentials and extracurricular activities; an MS applicant must emphasize their research interests and breakthroughs, and an MBA aspirant must endeavour to showcase their professional and leadership abilities.

Start by dividing your resume into separate relevant headings like Academic Qualification, Professional Experience, Projects, Internships, Seminars, Publications, Workshops, Presentations, Achievements, Technical Skills, Extracurricular Activities, and Community Service. You may even consider segregating your Work Experience into Professional and Entrepreneurial Ventures, if applicable.

In addition, focus on prioritization of content, based on your academic or professional profile, as this would further accentuate your resume and make it noteworthy. For example, any quantifiable achievement must be mentioned before a general contribution, or any significant contribution to your team/ organization must be listed in the first half of the resume.

Use of action verbs is suggested to describe your role in the project/internship/job, etc., but use varied verbs to break the monotony of the document.

Here are some key pointers to create a crisp resume:

• Use bullets to provide a clean/organized look. Avoid the use of multiple line statements under one bullet point as it leads to over-crowding and does not write in paragraph form  
• Mentioning your complete contact information in your resume is an important aspect of developing the document. Ensure to include your full name, complete postal address including the street number, city, pin code, state and country, with your contact number and email address.

• Format your resume neatly and carefully. Except for the name and contact details which are centred, the rest of the document should be justified in alignment in an easily readable font and font size like Times New Roman/Ariel with 11 point size.
• Restrict the document to a maximum of two A4 sized pages divided into clear subheadings with the more important information mentioned first.
• Mention dates/duration as much as possible. Arrange each section in reverse chronological order, mentioning the most recent thing first.
• Proof read your resume 2-3 times before submitting it.
• Last but not the least, know your resume. There should not be anything mentioned in your resume you have less or no idea about and never write fake or incorrect information.

Related Links

• How to Prepare Resume for MBA Application
• How to Prepare Resume for MS Application
• How to Prepare Resume for UG Application

Also Read

• Difference between MS and MBA Resume
• How to Present Professional Experience in Resume