You may be wondering why you need a resume, especially if you are not looking for a job at the moment. But, a resume can also be used when applying for a scholarship, a leadership position or fellowship. Your resume sets the stage in telling someone who you are. NSCS is proud to provide you with this helpful guide to writing your resume or CV with one of our amazing partners, Absolute Internship 

Your resume or CV is the first impression your potential employer will get of you. CV stands for curriculum vitae, meaning “course of life,” and gives a reflection of your achievements and qualifications for an application opportunity onto a single page. Here is how you can make your CV stand out and get you one step closer to your dream job.  

Design  

Sure, having a fancy and fun design may be personalizing the paper, but it also has to be easy to read. Keep a clean layout, instead. Your audience is only going to quickly skim your CV. Therefore, be sure to keep it short, recent, and relevant.  

Format 

There are various ways you can arrange the sections of your CV. Be sure to use reverse chronological order to list your most recent experience first. Here is an example of the order of your sections:  

  • Name and Contact details  

Your name, professional email address, and phone number should be prominent. You can also include any professional social media profiles such as LinkedIn and NSCS member exclusive GiftedHire. 

  • Work Experience

Be specific about the title of the suitable positions you’ve held. Include the company name along with the start and end dates of your work experiences. Quantify your results, responsibilities and accomplishments. Additionally, highlight any computer programs or social media platforms you have used professionally.  

  • Education / Languages

The header should include your university, recent or relevant studies, and expected graduation date. If applicable, you can also include bullet points of special awards and study abroad courses.  

  • Awards / Achievements

Listing your awards and achievements can make you stand out as a memorable candidate and connect skills, demonstrating why you would be perfect for the opportunity even if you don’t have much work experience.   

  • Memberships / Associations / Extracurricular Activities

This section will help in highlighting applicable knowledge or general soft skills such as leadership and teamwork skills.   

Stay on one page 

You may find it difficult to explain all of this information from the past several years onto one page. But, you must stay concise. Don’t include too much information or experiences that don’t truly relate to the application. Use six bullet points or less for each experience and emphasize significant keywords.  

Proofread again, again and again 

It gets old, but a grammatical error can completely distract your reader from your overall message. After creating your CV edit and revise your work for any spelling and grammatical errors. You can have a parent, professor, adviser or friend review your CV to provide you with feedback. There are also online tools you can use to check your work.  

Before you send it 

Save your CV as a PDF instead of a .doc or varying other downloads. This will help to ensure that your format does not get messed up when your reader opens it. Additionally, help your reader by creating a clear file name by including your name such as “Joe Smith Resume.”  

Update 

Be sure to keep your CV up to date. You may even change your CV for different positions that you apply for. Therefore, keep a master list of various experiences that you have had. Additionally, you may find that there are some experiences you want on your CV to lead you closer to your dream career.  

Apply this info: You can use your amazing CV in applying to Absolute Internship, an exclusive academic partner of NSCS that helps college students experience award-winning global internship programs in exciting places including Madrid, London, Hong Kong & Singapore. If you have not yet applied to our partner’s summer program apply today with our promo code NSCS100.