Month: January 2025

A student resume is a practical tool for anyone applying to university or looking for a job alongside their studies. Writing such a resume is not difficult, but it differs from the classic resume in many ways. Find out what it should contain and how to write it to avoid unnecessary mistakes.

What is a resume needed for when applying to university?

You may ask why a resume is important for a high school or a college student? There are several reasons for this:

The first is an interest in studying at university. Most schools require a resume with your application to find out more about you and your experience. Colleges are not only interested in your grades in individual subjects, but also your extracurricular activities and work experience. If you’ve worked in a field related to your dream college, your chances of getting in increase.

The second reason why an undergraduate needs a resume is a job alongside your studies. Many high school and college students are looking for summer jobs, first part-time jobs or internships, and to get them they need to provide an employer with a clear document that includes all important information – work experience, education, skills, etc.

Why choose a structured resume? This format is ideal because, as an undergraduate, you probably don’t have extensive work experience to describe in detail. Plus, temporary jobs or internships usually don’t require a complex resume with a highly customized layout, like those seen in modern designs.

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It is perfectly fine for a student CV to be short and concise. Do not try to make it longer than necessary with irrelevant information. Not only will no one read it, but you may also come across as unprofessional.

How to write a college student resume?

Are you wondering how to write a resume for a temporary job or college that is formal and contains all the important information? We have prepared for you some practical tips and tools to help you.

Canva resume example

Today, you can create your resume in a variety of handy tools that make the whole process fast and the result looks original, modern and professional. These tools include Canva, which offers countless interesting templates — some minimalist, others more elaborate. Choose a style that fits the field you want to work in.

In the case of administration, public administration or the economic field, it is ideal to choose rather simple and austere design. On the other hand, if you’re into writing, web design or photography, don’t be afraid to experiment with bolder and more creative templates.

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If you’re using Canva to create your CV, keep in mind that most of the templates are tailored for the US job market. American CVs are slightly different from Slovak ones, so make sure your document contains everything that Slovak recruiters or potential employers require.

Internet job portals for resume template

The Profesia.sk portal provides a simple resume template, where you fill in the necessary information in the relevant sections, save the document in PDF format and send it to the potential employer.

You can also find many other portals on the Internet that offer quick resume creation, such as Kickresume.com or Kariera.sk.

College resume in Word doc

You can also write your resume in Word, but this option is the hardest. You will have to create the whole document from scratch yourself. If you want your resume to look its best, you’ll need to get the formatting right – spacing, font size and color, as well as sectioning.

Graphic editors, patterns and college student resume examples

You can also use various graphic editors or Google templates available on the Internet. These templates can be downloaded, filled in, saved and submitted. There are more than enough options nowadays, so you don’t have to worry about making your resume lengthy or difficult.

What format should I choose for my undergraduate resume?

Resume creation tools are important, but the correct structure of the document is equally important. In general, there are three basic structures.

Chronological structure – When work experience comes first

This format is most commonly used by candidates applying for full-time positions. It focuses primarily on work experience and career success, which are presented in detail. Sections like education or interests are typically secondary.

A chronological resume begins with personal information, followed by work experience, education, skills, and optional sections.

Functional structure – The best format for your resume template

This structure is the opposite of the chronological format — it emphasizes skills and strengths, while work experience takes a back seat. It’s ideal for high school and college students who don’t yet have extensive professional experience.

A functional (or skills-based) resume starts with personal information, followed by key skills with detailed examples — for instance, from internships or competitions — then education (don’t forget to include academic achievements, thesis titles, or project summaries), work experience, and optional sections.

Combined structure – a hybrid compromise

As the name suggests, this format combines elements of both previous types. It gives equal weight to skills and work experience, making it a good option for students who already have some professional background.

A combination resume starts with personal information, followed by skills, work experience, education, and optional sections. This format is more demanding to structure well, as it requires balancing all the key sections evenly.

Sample resumes for undergraduate students

A resume for high schools students differs from one written by college students. This is mainly because high school students have less experience and are usually mainly interested in summer jobs rather than internships or jobs they could continue after graduation.

If you study, you should create strong bullet points in which you include the following information:

• short introduction/bio – summarize the most important information about yourself
• personal and contact details
• skills and strengths
• education – please indicate the school you are currently attending, together with the year you expect to graduate
• work experience – if you have any
• optional sections – as required

In order to make your resume interesting, it is important to highlight different types of skills and strengths. Mention some of your soft skills such as:

• communication skills
• organizational skills
• teamwork
• creativity
• empathy
• responsibility
• critical thinking
• ability to work under stress

Don’t forget to include hard skills which may include:

• basic IT skills (e.g. working with word processors, knowledge of Photoshop)
• language skills
• basic accounting
• data handling
• sports abilities

Types of resumes for a high school student

The information you put on your resume varies according to what type of writing you do. For example:

• College application resume – highlight your grades in relevant subjects, extracurricular activities, and work experience
• Part-time job resume – make it clear you’re still a student, and focus on your work experience and skills (both hard and soft)
• Internship resume – this depends on the internship, but it’s a good idea to emphasize academic achievements, extracurriculars, courses, and relevant skills.

Structured resume – sample for college students

Most college students already have some work experience, so their resume doesn’t feel too empty. Still, it’s a good idea to choose a skills-based structure that focuses on strengths. A well-structured resume includes:

• A short summary about you
• Personal and contact details
• Hard and soft skills
• Education
• Work experience
• Other optional sections

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The reason why a professional structure is the best choice is that even if you have work experience, it’s usually just temporary jobs or internships. That’s why the most important part of your CV is your hard and soft skills.

Resume types for a university student

The resume you send should reflect the type of opportunity you’re applying for:

• Internship resume – include hard and soft skills, academic achievements, extracurricular activities, volunteering, and relevant courses
• Job resume – if the job aligns with your major, focus on your education, relevant courses, academic performance, extracurriculars, and skills.

Tips for writing a student resume

If you want your resume to be the best it can be, follow these recommendations:

• Clearly state that you’re still a student so employers understand you have other responsibilities.
• Only include relevant information that might interest a hiring manager.
• Make the most of your skills – briefly explain them and how they apply to the job.
• Don’t make things up – if you don’t have certain skills, leave them out. You can always say in the interview that you plan to learn them.
• Don’t overdo the design – clean, simple, and readable resumes work best.
• Proofread your resume several times, and ask someone else to review it for errors or details you might have missed.

How to build hard skills through training and learning

To catch an employer’s eye, your resume should highlight hard skills — the technical abilities you can apply to get the job done. These are not innate but learned through training and education. You can build hard skills through:

• courses
• online tutorials
• internships
• trainings
• language schools
• mentoring

Common IT hard skills include, for example, proficiency in programming languages, knowledge of algorithms and data structures, computational and mathematical skills, and many others. Remember that you should only include hard skills in the job description section on your resume.

How to build soft skills through habits and class engagement

Soft skills are abilities that are often acquired naturally, but can be developed over a lifetime – they can be both innate and learned. They are qualities and traits that characterise you. While they may not seem as essential as technical skills, many jobs require strong soft skills.

As a student, you have many opportunities to grow them:
Teamwork, presenting projects, receiving feedback, and engaging in class discussions all help. Sometimes, you’ll need to build soft skills through habit — for example, to improve time management, create a weekly schedule and stick to it.

Classic soft skills include, for example, team leadership, teamwork, ability to work under pressure, creativity, critical thinking, and more.

In the article you will learn:

• What is a structured CV and what makes it distinctive.
• What types of structured CV do we know.
• What to watch out for when writing it.

Structured CV – a phrase that everyone who has looked for a job at least once in their life has come across. It is required by many employers, and a template for it is provided by several programs that will make it easier for you to create. But how does a structured CV differ from other types and what to look out for when writing one? We’ve got all the key information to help you get to the interview.

What is a structured CV?

A structured CV is a simple document that contains all the information found in any type of CV. This means that you should include:

• your personal data and personal profile,
• work experience,
• level of education,
• technical or language skills,
• additional information about your strengths.

So what makes a structured CV different from others? The most striking feature is that it is clear and concise. You write the information concisely and in words – usually describing it in just a few words or shorter sentences.

Most of the information is presented in bullet points, with each section of the CV separated by a distinctive subheading or horizontal line. This makes the document easy to read and the recruiter can find all the necessary information in a fraction of a second.

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The structured CV is brief. It should not contain long paragraphs of text. If you wish to provide more information, you may attach a cover letter. Alternatively, include a few important details in application letter.

What makes a structured CV distinctive?

Creating a structured CV is much easier when you have a clear picture about it. The following characteristics will help you do this:

• Clear and logical structure – as we have already mentioned, this type of CV is written in bullet points and short sentences. You only include the essentials, such as the title of the jobs you worked at, the period of time you worked there, the name of your high school or university, your language skills, etc.
• Relevance – by writing only briefly about each job or educational background in a structured CV, you avoid the risk of providing unnecessary and irrelevant information that could come across as unprofessional.
• Data organisation – you can organise the data in the structured CV in several ways. Whichever you choose, they are all clear and ensure that the document is not messy and reads well.
• Presenting achievements and skills – by presenting information only in bullet points and not in long sentences, you allow your achievements and skills to stand out. The recruiter will immediately notice your work experience, education, etc.

• Formal appearance – when you look at a structured CV template, you’ll notice that it’s simple. As a rule, it has a white background with a black font in a uniform size. This makes it look professional and suitable for almost every industry and job.
• Customisation – A structured CV may not offer the creative possibilities of a modern CV, but that doesn’t mean you can’t customise it. Feel free to add optional sections such as personal interests or references. However, always make sure that the information you provide to a potential employer is relevant.
• Attachments – A structured CV is usually accompanied by attachments that reveal more about your work experience or personal qualities. These include, for example, a motiovational letter. In it, you should mention why you are interested in the job offer and what you can offer to the employer. Other attachments can be references and a cover letter, which you write either as a separate document or in the body of the email.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of a structured CV?

When you decide on this type of CV, you should know what are its biggest advantages and disadvantages.

Benefits include:

• It is clear and simple– it gives all the information about you directly and without unnecessary “cotton wool”.
• It is suitable for almost all job roles – most industries now prefer a minimalist and simple CV, such as this structured one. This is because recruiters don’t have time to read long paragraphs, such as in a fictionalized CV.
• It’s very easy to write – listing work experience or skills in bullet points can be done by absolutely anyone. What’s more, today there are a number of programs that can help you create a document.
• It has a professional design that you’ll never go wrong with – as long as you don’t combine different sizes, colours and font types, you don’t have to worry about your CV looking messy or unprofessional.

On the other hand, a structured CV also has its disadvantages, which are:

• Sometimes it’s too brief – recruiters may miss important information about you that could help them decide whether to hire you for the job. It’s therefore ideal to supplement it with additional attachments such as references or a cover letter.
• It is not original – although a structured CV is very practical and recruiters will get a lot of important information from it, it is not original at all. Your document will be no different from those sent by other candidates. Therefore, it can be difficult to impress and stand out from the crowd.

Structured CV – template and basic structure

According to the type of structure, we divide the structured CV into three basic categories:

• chronological biography,
• professional CV,
• Combined CV.

We’ll talk more about each.

Chronological biography

The chronological structured curriculum vitae is one of the most widely used. It is characterised by its focus on your work experience, which it prioritises above all others. That’s why this information is more comprehensive and is at the top, usually just below personal details such as phone number or address.

Under work experience, education is listed, followed by skills and abilities, and then additional information you would like to use in a future job. However, all of this information is only given very briefly.

The advantage of a chronological structure is that it is established and highlights your work achievements. On the other hand, the disadvantage is that it is used by almost everyone and is therefore the least original of all.

A sample chronological biography looks something like this:

• personal and contact details,
• work experience,
• education,
• skills,
• additional optional sections – interests, driving licence, etc.

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Some people include a shorter introduction of four to five sentences in a structured CV. In it, they introduce themselves in a quick and interesting way and give a few details that can give the recruiter a better idea of their experience and knowledge. Such an introduction comes across as very human and can set you slightly apart from others. If you don’t want to write it directly in the document, process it in the form of a cover letter.

Professional CV

A professional CV, sometimes referred to as a functional CV, focuses mainly on your skills, such as knowledge of a foreign language or operating programs. It also focuses on your strengths, which may include meeting deadlines, ability to work under stress, flexibility, and so on.

You should choose two to four skills to describe in bullet points on your CV. You can mention how you used them in your last job, where you acquired them or how you would like to use them if you get the job.

A professional CV has several advantages. Among them is that it is more original than a chronological one. By highlighting your strengths right at the beginning, you slightly distract from the weaker job section. The downside, however, is that some recruiters may not be satisfied with brief information about your career.

This type of CV is particularly ideal for:

• high school and university graduates who have no hands-on experience in the field,
• people with significant gaps in their working lives (they have not worked for several months or years),
• people who have decided to change careers and this is their first job in a new field of work.

And what are the elements of a structured CV? The template generally looks like this:

• personal and contact details,
• a summary of the skills and a short description of them,
• education,
• work experience,
• optional sections.

Combined CV

The combined CV represents a happy medium between the chronological and the professional structured CV. It is characterised by giving equal space to work experience and skills. It’s a great choice for those who have a career path without major gaps, while possessing multiple practical and relevant skills.

The strength of the combined structure is that it provides comprehensive information from both areas, not just one. However, the disadvantage can be more complicated to prepare, as this type of CV is the most comprehensive of the three.

To maintain a balance between the two parts, it is good to stick to this structure:

• personal and contact details,
• relevant skills,
• work experience,
• education and study experience,
• optional sections.

At the same time, try to make the skills and work experience sections similar in length.

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Remember that information in a structured CV (regardless of the structure chosen) is always presented in reverse chronological order. This means that you mention the last job you held or the last school you attended first, and work your way up to the very first one.

Which structure to choose?

The choice of structure is up to you and your needs. Most people choose a chronological structure focused on work experience, as this is the form most often expected by recruiters in Slovakia.

However, if you’re a recent high school or college graduate, or if you haven’t worked in the field before, bet on the career structure. If you want to elevate both your personal skills and your professional achievements, choose a combined structure.

CV formatting

Formatting is key because it affects the look of your CV and the first impression you make. So stick to these rules:

• Choose one font to use throughout the document.
• The font size may be different in subheadings that separate different parts of the document.
• The subheadings can be a different colour, but don’t complicate it unnecessarily.
• A structured CV should be one, maximum two pages long.
• Save the finished document as a PDF that opens without problems on any device.
• Make sure you have equal alignment and consistent spacing throughout the document.

In what areas is a structured CV used?

Today, the structured CV is used in almost all fields, including administration, government, banking, management and services. It is particularly advantageous for recruiters who can go through it very quickly and find out what your strengths are and whether you are a suitable candidate.

The one exception where a resume with a clear minimalist structure might not be the ideal choice is in creative fields. In those, potential employers may expect a document that is more elaborate in design.

Try creating a structured CV

A structured CV is clear, logical and simple. It gives recruiters all the key information about you and helps you land your dream job. Use the tips we’ve given you to quickly and easily create a professional CV that’s eye-catching and free from unnecessary mistakes.