How to write a resume for a work-study program?

Marianne Roussel

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23 March 2023

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You are a student and you need to build a resume to get a work-study program? The resume allows you to attract the attention of a recruiter on your profile. In this article, we give you some advice to sit down and think about its construction, taking into account your career path and your professional desires. The mission is rather nice to realize and you can take this time as an introspection to identify what you know how to do, what you like and what you want. To help you build it, we will simply go step by step !

Before building your resume

1# Define your project

Before you start looking at resume templates for work-study programs on the Internet, take a moment to take stock of yourself, your needs in the context of this work-study program and your professional project. Here are some questions you can ask yourself:

What am I looking to get out of my work-study job? Simply to validate my year? A challenging professional experience? A pleasant work environment, with a nice team? Specific skills? A network in a sector of activity that attracts me?

Then, select jobs and organizations that match your desires. If you are attracted to the field of impact and ecological and social transition for example, you will find inspiration on our job offer page, both in terms of business and existing organizations !

2# Select organizations

Once your project is clearer, you can begin your search for a work-study program by identifying the organizations you would like to join. Public sector companies, private sector companies, associations, local authorities... Nothing prevents you from being interested in a variety of structures and sectors! You can apply for a job in an association or in the private sector, for example. The important thing is to remain coherent with your project in order to have a common thread in your selection of organizations. Then, if you select organizations that have work-study offers to fill, you will have a better chance of getting one. Unsolicited applications are also a possibility and can open doors for you !

3# What do you have in common with the selected organizations ?

Sports, community, school, professional experiences... When you take stock of your achievements, what experiences have given you skills that are related to the work-study program you have chosen? Recruiters will ask themselves, when reading your resume: "What do we have in common?" This 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.

Building a resume for a work-study program

4# Key elements of a resume to apply for a work-study program

Writing a professional resume requires a little organization! Here are the key sections of a resume:

Presentation

A short presentation at the top of the resume will allow the recruiter to know what you are looking for. This is where you should mention that you want to apply for a work-study contract. You can also specify the duration of the work-study program, the pace and the nature of the contract (apprenticeship or professionalization).

For example: "I am looking for a 1-year apprenticeship contract, with 3 days at school and 2 days in the company, starting in September 2023".

Academic background

Here are some of the skills you have acquired during your training.

Professional experience

Also detail here your acquired skills. They can be academic, associative or professional if you have already done student jobs or internships.

Your soft skills and other competencies

Mentioning a few soft skills and competencies will also allow the recruiter to know the assets that you recognize yourself in. Talking about your interests and extra-professional activities will also allow them to know more about you! In the field of impact, personality and soft skills are often a selection criterion for candidates. We talk about it in this article !

Your contact

Mail, your phone number, your LinkedIn profile.

And optional sections that can be useful :

The languages you speak, especially for a work-study program that involves talking with international clients or collaborators.
References from former internship masters, your teachers...

💡 Present your academic background as well as your experiences in a chronological manner!

5# Keywords

To create your resume, you can also look at the keywords used on the websites of the organizations for which you are applying. Of course, only use those that echo your own experiences! You can then put them in your resume, which will appeal to recruiters. Recruiters, especially those from the SSE (social and solidarity-based enterprises), are interested in shared values and the coherence of candidates' career paths with their organization's mission.

6# To highlight your experiences

In point 3, we talked about identifying your common points with the organizations you have chosen. Now is the time to highlight them! Depending on the organization you are applying to and the position to be filled, adapt the way you talk about your skills so that they meet the needs expressed in each work-study offer. The personalization of each application will be felt and will make the difference!

Here is an example

You have worked in a business and you have managed several situations independently, here are 2 ways to talk about your skills according to the work-study offer:

If you are applying for a work-study program in the animation of zero waste workshops and the skills sought in the offer are the ability to speak in public, to organize yourself independently and to manage unexpected situations, you could talk about it like this:

management of customer requests and some conflict resolution in after sales service
animation of a stand to present our organic products to a hundred people during the XXX trade show
autonomous management of the store during the manager's absence

If you're applying for a work-study position in partnership building for an artisanal soap factory and the skills you're looking for are the ability to contact partners, negotiate and identify opportunities, you could talk about it like this:

contacting new partners to introduce new products in stores
negotiating certain rates and store locations with existing partners
managing and following up on relationships with partners who come to present their products in store

6# Create a resume for a work-study student

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

To make a good resume, it also passes by the visual and the page-setting! So be careful with the out of focus photo! There are many resume templates on the internet that you can use as inspiration. Depending on the job or sector that attracts you for your internship, you can be more or less creative with your 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 the resume can be more classic.

To give you some ideas, here are 2 sample resumes to download :

There are also sites where you can find many resume templates to download for free: free resumes, original resumes, resumes in English, resumes to fill in, there is something for everyone!

Proofreading and sending your resume

9# Attention to details

When we talk about details, we mean for example, spelling mistakes, line shifts, extra spaces, missing commas. All these little things can sting the recruiter's eyes, especially if you are applying for jobs that require rigor, such as accounting, auditing, administration.

10# Sending your resume

Once finalized, the best thing to do is to change your resume from word or open office format to pdf format to send your applications. If you are applying for a position in the creative field as a writer, graphic designer, photographer or illustrator for example, don't hesitate to attach a portfolio of your work to your resume!

Here is a template for a work-study CV

Here is a CV template, with the different headings and key information based on the experience of a student in his 2nd year of a Bachelor's degree, looking to do his 3rd year of work experience in the circular economy sector.

Thomas Ponsard

+33 7 00 55 51 56

thomas.ponsard@gmail.com

69 000 Lille

About me

I am a student in my 2nd year of the CSR and Sustainable Development Bachelor's program. I would like to join [COMPANY NAME] for a 1-year work-study program starting in September 2023, to participate in the operations management of a company in the circular economy.

Training

2021-2024 (in progress)

Bachelor in CSR and Sustainable Development

Ecopia, Paris.

Subjects taught in 1st and 2nd years: change management, CSR, macro-economic issues of sustainability, transition issues, social and solidarity economy, governance, positive and negative externalities of the company.

2018-2021

Bac ES

Lycée XXX, Toulouse

Expériences professionnelles

May to August 2022

Management of a circular economy platform

Name of the company

Manage the customer experience: soap, taking into account customer feedbacks.
Sourcing new partners to sell their refurbished products on the platform.
Work with the teams to set up a new service for the platform, in line with the circular economy issues.

June to August 2021

Participation in the creation of a third place

Name of the company

Participate in the life of the eco-place: weekly participatory workcamps, cooking, crafts, food gardens.
Welcoming the public and participating in the organization of events: training courses, craft workshops, discovery weekends.
Building awareness tools: writing articles, taking short videos, publishing on social networks.