Launch Your Career with a Strong Entry-Level Resume

What to Emphasize on Entry-Level Resumes

• Education First: Place your degree, GPA (if 3.3+), relevant coursework, and honors at the top
• Internships & Co-ops: Treat these as full work experiences with quantifiable achievements
• Projects: Academic, personal, or team projects that demonstrate practical skills
• Leadership & Activities: Student organizations, volunteer work, clubs, sports
• Skills & Certifications: Technical skills, languages, tools, and relevant certifications

Making the Most of Limited Experience

• Focus on transferable skills from part-time jobs, volunteer work, and campus activities
• Quantify achievements wherever possible ("Led team of 5", "Managed $10K budget")
• Highlight relevant coursework and academic projects with real-world applications
• Include technical skills and tools you've learned in school or on your own
• Showcase initiative through personal projects, freelance work, or self-learning

Common Entry-Level Resume Mistakes

• Including irrelevant high school information (unless you're currently in college)
• Using generic objective statements instead of a compelling summary
• Listing job duties instead of accomplishments and impact
• Poor formatting that looks unprofessional or is hard to read
• Not tailoring your resume to each specific job application

What to Include When You Have Little Experience

• Education: Degree, major, minor, GPA, honors, relevant coursework
• Internships: Even short-term or unpaid experiences count
• Projects: Capstone projects, research, hackathons, personal builds
• Campus Involvement: Clubs, organizations, leadership roles
• Skills: Programming languages, software, languages, certifications
• Part-time Work: Retail, food service, tutoring—show reliability and soft skills

Examples of Strong Entry-Level Achievements

• "Completed 3-month internship analyzing customer data, identifying insights that improved retention by 12%"
• "Led team of 4 students in capstone project, delivering functional mobile app with 500+ downloads"
• "Maintained 3.8 GPA while working 20 hours/week and serving as VP of Computer Science Club"
• "Conducted independent research project presented at regional undergraduate research conference"
• "Volunteered 100+ hours teaching coding to underprivileged youth through nonprofit organization"