You are a student and you need to build your first resume to find a student job, an internship, a work-study program or a first job? We've all been there. The resume is often the first step in attracting a recruiter's attention. That's why it's important to spend time on it and to do it well so that it correctly reflects your career path and your professional desires, all with a certain coherence. The mission is far from insurmountable and you can even enjoy it. Yes, it's true. To help you build it, we'll simply go step by step!
Before building your resume
1# Define your project
Before you start looking at resume templates on the internet, take a moment to reflect on yourself. Every time you start a project, you should ask yourself some questions. You can also ask someone else to ask them.
Why do I need to make my resume? For an internship? To get a student job? What am I looking to get out of this job or internship? Money? Specific skills? A network in a sector of activity that attracts me?
Then identify jobs and sectors that can help you meet your goals. If you are attracted to the field of impact and ecological and social transition, you will find inspiration on our job offer page, both in terms of business and existing organizations!
2# Select organizations
Once you have put your project on paper, you can start your job search and identify the organizations that appeal to you. Public or private sector companies, associations, communities... No matter which ones attract you, always ask yourself why, it will help you build your resume! Don't put barriers in your way, you can apply to both an association and a private company for example. You can select organizations that have job or internship offers to fill and organizations that do not, because spontaneous application is possible and can open doors for you!
3# What do you have in common with these organizations?
What are the sports, community or school experiences that have marked you, given you skills and that are related to the sectors or professions of the organizations you have chosen? This is above all what recruiters will ask themselves when they read your resume: "what do we have in common?" This is what will make them want to read your cover letter to learn more about your personality. You can also identify keywords on the organizations' websites that you can use in your resume.
The construction of a resume
4# The key elements of a resume
Once you have passed the first step, you can already congratulate yourself because you have done a good part of the work! To write a professional resume, you must then create sections:
- Academic background
with details of some of the skills acquired
- Professional experiences
with a detail of the acquired skills. If you have not yet completed your first internship or job, they can be academic and associative.
- Your soft skills and other competences
here you can talk about your extra-professional interests and activities. In the field of impact, personality and soft skills are often a selection criterion for candidates.
- Your contact
e-mail, your phone number, your LinkedIn profile.
And some optional but useful sections :
- The languages you practice
- References from former teachers, from your professors...
💡 Present your educational background as well as your experiences in a chronological manner!
5# Keywords
While researching the organizations you are attracted to, identify relevant keywords on their website that echo your own experiences. You can then put them in your resume, which will appeal to recruiters. For example, recruiters in the SSE sector (social and solidarity enterprises) are interested in shared values and the coherence of candidates' backgrounds with the company's mission.
6# The way to highlight your experiences
In point 3, we talked about identifying your common points with the organizations you have chosen. Now it's time to put them forward! You will have to adapt the way you talk about the skills you have acquired through your experiences to the organization you are applying to. Don't copy and paste, it could do you a great disservice! Professional experience should be highlighted differently depending on the organization you are applying to.
Here is an example
You managed the organization of a sports event and you want to highlight this experience.
If you are applying for an internship in event management, you could present your skills like this
- logistical preparation before the project: contacting partners to obtain equipment
- management of a fast pace to serve the people : about 100 people
- setting up and taking down the booth
The skills needed in the event industry are versatility, organizational skills and stress management.
If you are applying for a seasonal job with an ice cream vendor, you could present your skills like this:
- taking orders from customers and preparing sandwiches for about 100 people
- collecting money from customers
- management of the stand, tidying and cleaning
The skills sought in retail are customer reception, the ability to manage a cash register and to operationally manage less fun, but equally important tasks such as tidying and cleaning.
6# Create your resume
To create a resume, you can use a word processor like Open Office or Microsoft Word. It is also possible to make one in Photoshop, Canva and Powerpoint. You can use existing templates on the internet to create your visual.
7# The visual
Making a good resume is also about visuals and layout! There are many resume templates on the internet that you can use as inspiration. Depending on the job or the sector that attracts you, you can have a more or less creative resume. If you are applying for an internship in graphic design or art, colors, fonts and an original layout can be appreciated. If you are applying for a job in the banking or business sector, for example, although originality can help you stand out, the form of your resume can be more traditional.
To give you some ideas, here are 2 sample resumes to download:
There are also sites, you can also find many resume templates to download for free: free resumes, original resumes, English resumes, resumes to fill in, there is something for everyone!
Proofreading and sending the resume
9# The devil is in the details
Watch out for spelling mistakes! Line breaks, extra spaces, missing commas can also bother recruiters, especially if you are applying for jobs that require a lot of rigor, such as accounting, auditing or administration.
10# Sending the pdf resume
Once finalized, if your resume is in word format or in another format, it is ideal to download it in pdf format to send applications. If you are applying for a position in the creative field as a writer, graphic designer or draftsman for example, don't hesitate to attach a portfolio of your work to your resume!
Student CV template
Here is a CV template, with the different headings and key information based on the experience of a 1st year Master student looking for a 6 month internship in the integration of climate issues in a company's strategy.
Thomas Ponsard
+33 7 00 55 51 56
thomas.ponsard@gmail.com
69 000 Lille
Looking for a 6-month internship in energy-climate strategy or CSR strategy.
About me
I am a 1st year Master student in Management of the Ecological and Solidarity Transition. I would like to join the team of [COMPANY NAME] to help the CSR team to implement the first steps of its energy-climate strategy for 2025.
Training
2022–2024 (in progress)
Master's degree in management of the ecological and solidarity transition
Green Management School, Rennes
First-year subjects: acquisition and exploitation of information for strategic studies, management of marketing and communication strategies, management of digital strategy.
2019–2022
IUT GEA, Morlaix
Subjects taught: accounting, finance, taxation, logistics, human resources, analysis of an organization's processes, use of management data, management of internal and external company relations.
Specialized course in entrepreneurship and business management in the 2nd year.
3rd year in alternation.
2016–2019
Technological Bac STMG
XXX High School, Morlaix
Professional experience
2021-2022
Internship in CSR project management
Name of the company
Set up indicators to evaluate the existing CSR approach
- Improve the current CSR approach in conjunction with the management team and the HR department
- Accompany the CSR referents in the implementation of a roadmap for the 2022 climate strategy
- Communicate on the CSR project and update the supports
2019
2 month internship in communication
Name of the company
- Communicate on the CSR project
- Take charge of the updates on the different media
- Participate in the creation of a communication campaign to promote CSR training
Skills
- Prioritization of tasks
- Great rigor
- Very good interpersonal skills
- Ability to speak in public
Languages
Spanish
Fluent (C1 level)
English
Intermediate (level B2)
Computer
Microsoft Word and Excel and PPT
Interests
Club tennis, Hiking
Mangas
Reading magazines on ecology and transition
To go further
👉 10 steps to prepare for a job interview
👉 Change the way you look at your job search period
👉 2030 glorious, find your meaningful job !
👉 What skills are SSE recruiters looking for ?
To take action
👉 Find all our offers of work-study, internships and first jobsin CDI or in CDD !