How to Create a Great Resume and Cover Letter

Quick Highlights:

• A resume and cover letter introduce you to potential employers and help you stand out in job applications.
• Tailor your resume to each job by including relevant experience and keywords; always check for spelling and grammar errors.
• Use a single-column format and keep your resume to one page with a standard font for clarity and professionalism.
• Take advantage of your college’s career services, writing centers, and networking opportunities to improve your resume and job prospects.

As you gear up for the exciting final months of college, it’s the perfect time to start crafting your college graduate resume. With a polished resume, you’re setting the stage to snag interviews and connect with potential employers. You’ll need to complement your resume with a compelling college graduate cover letter. A standout cover letter not only highlights your interest in the position but also helps you stand out from other candidates. This article is packed with practical tips to help you create an impressive cover letter and resume that will be sure to have the hiring manager’s attention.

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Understanding the Importance of a Resume and Cover Letter

Your graduate resume is important because it demonstrates who you are as a job candidate. An employer has never met any of the job applicants before. The only way they can get to know you as a candidate is by going over your resume. 

This means anything you include on your college graduate resume can make or break your chances of getting hired. If an employer sees sloppy writing, large employment gaps, and grammar errors, they are going to assume that these problems are reflective of who you are as a person. 

Additionally, there are now software programs that scan college graduate cover letters and resumes for keywords. You need to match your resume to the position, or you won’t make it out of the applicant tracking system (ATS). In fact, 75% of applicants may be disqualified by an ATS before a human has even had a chance to see them.

Tips for Creating an Effective Resume

Because you’re making a college graduate resume with little to no work experience, you need to be especially cautious about customizing, formatting, and writing your resume. Employers judge applicants based on spelling mistakes and grammar errors, so run your resume through a spell checker and proofread it carefully. 

Structure and Content 

To create a recent college graduate resume, you should start by making an outline of how you want it to look. Typically, this outline will include your contact information, education, experience, and skills. You may also want to include sections for your certifications or volunteer work.

Customization

Next, you need to tailor your resume to who you are, your abilities, and the job you’re applying for. If the job application calls for someone with finance experience, you might want to emphasize jobs where you have handled money. You should also highlight your major or an internship if these are related to the job’s duties. 

If you aren’t sure how to customize your resume, look at the job description. Typically, the job description will use the skills and keywords that an ATS scans for. By incorporating these keywords into your college graduate resume, you make it a little more likely that you’ll make it to the next stage of the interview. 

Formatting 

Because most resumes go through a digital system, you don’t want to use a two-column resume. This type of resume is hard for digital systems to read, so it will appear garbled and badly formatted by the time it reaches the hiring manager. 

Instead, use a single-column format. Keep the resume to just one page because hiring managers only spend 6 to 7 seconds looking at a resume. You should also use a standard font so that nothing distracts from the resume itself. 

Writing a Compelling Cover Letter

If you are creating a college graduate resume with no experience, take some time to make a cover letter as well. A good college graduate cover letter can help your resume stand out from the crowd. 

Introduction: Create a hook and an engaging opening that gets the employer’s interest. 

Body: This section should explain why you are the best person for the role. Incorporate details from your job description. 

Closing: Don’t just end the cover letter. Add a call to action that invites the reader to reach out for an interview or to email you to schedule a chat. 

Leveraging College Resources

Another one of the best resume tips is to get help from your college’s career resources center. You can also get help through writing centers and networking opportunities. 

Career Services: The career services center is an excellent source for college resume tips. They can connect you to resume reviews, career counseling, and cover letter workshops. 

Writing Centers: If you need help editing and refining your resume, the university’s writing center is worth a visit. 

Networking Opportunities: Many positions are filled before they are even posted online. By networking through job fairs and alumni networks, you can gain references, hear about potential jobs, and get advice on crafting your resume. 

Additional Tools and Resources

If you don’t know how to make a resume as a recent college graduate, you aren’t alone. Fortunately, there are many online resources and professional software programs you can use to create visually appealing resumes, find templates, and research examples. The following list includes some of the best options. 

Canva: This company has free resume templates you can customize. 

Microsoft: You can use Microsoft to craft a college graduate resume through the company’s free templates. 

ResumeMaker: This software program helps you create a customized resume. 

Grammarly: Grammarly is a great site for editing and proofreading. 

Common Mistakes to Avoid 

As you incorporate these tips into your graduate resume, there are a few common mistakes you should watch out for. 

• Edit carefully to avoid any typos
• Don’t use a one-size-fits-all approach and tailor your resume and cover letter to each position
• Avoid irrelevant information-if it doesn’t make you look like a better candidate, it probably isn’t useful information
• Keep your resume just one page in length because hiring managers don’t want to see multi-page resumes.
• Avoid unprofessional email addresses-hiring managers will review this section to form an opinion of you.

Get Ready for a Post-Graduation Job 

With these resume tips and a solid college graduate cover letter, you’re all set to begin your job hunt after college. Your college graduate resume is your chance to shine—so don’t rush it. Take your time to make it perfect. Even if your resume is light on experience, your sharp attention to detail and your education can definitely catch the eye of your next potential boss.