Master’s student resume samples

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• Master of Environmental Studies
• Candidate interested in sustainability consulting
• Dates placed on the right-hand side to keep the reader’s focus on the position title and experience – not when it was done
• Clear descriptions within the bullets, including quantifiable elements that help to make the experiences more tangible
• One page with good, consistent formatting

Advice we might give for this resume:

• Add a “graduate student” entry to the professional experience section to highlight key coursework or student projects, and the specific skills used to do them
• Make the descriptions under each of the professional experience positions into a bullet point, as they describe similar skills. It is not clear how these descriptions differ from the bullet points

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• Master of Environmental Studies
• Candidate interested in environmental consulting
• Two page format with an objective
• A broad range of active doing verbs are used to describe the candidate’s skills

Advice we might give for this resume:

• Add a “graduate student” entry to the professional experience section to highlight key coursework or student projects, and the specific skills used to do them
• Tailor the coursework listed within the education section so that it is more focused on relevant courses (from the reader’s perspective). Decrease emphasis on undergraduate courses
• Be clearer what the “additional experience” represents, and what the reader should take away from this (e.g., is this leadership experience, community service, or something else?)

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• Architecture student resume
• Two column format with some key information highlighted in left-hand column – including an objective
• Specific projects listed from past internship work experience
• Two pages of design work added as second and third page of resume

Advice we might give for this resume:

• Add a “graduate student” entry to the professional experience section to highlight key coursework or student projects, and the specific skills used to do them
• Provide more details about the types of projects from internship experience if the reader may be unaware of what they represent (e.g., size, scale)

• Architecture student resume
• Clear layout
• Good descriptions explaining why honors and awards were received
• Names of employers are prominent, emphasizing work was done at well known firms

Advice we might give for this resume:

• Format is highly stylized; may be somewhat distracting
• Shift dates to the right-hand side of the page to de-emphasize when events occurred and focus more on the work done and the different roles played

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• City Planning student resume
• This resume features a clear professional experience section with some clear active doing verbs to illustrate key skills relevant in the planning field.
• There is a Leadership Experience section that also demonstrates an engagement in the planning and real estate field, as well as additional transferable skills.

Advice we might give for this resume:

• Formatting of two columns at top is unconventional
• Provide some additional details about the “organizations” section in terms of showcasing any relevant experiences; move section to bottom of resume. Reconsider renaming this section to “Professional Memberships.”
• Check for small typos and inconsistencies in formatting (i.e., right margin differs from the left margin)

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• City Planning student resume
• Relevant coursework is clearly visible
• List of technical skills is complete and the list seems to be prioritized based on what might be most helpful

Advice we might give for this resume:

• Make sure the “other” skills are illustrated in action within the experience section
• Try to avoid very short bullets – be more descriptive and make better use of horizontal space
• Quantify where possible – i.e., include grant amounts when referencing grant writing

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• City Planning student resume
• Clear list of relevant coursework
• Experience section focuses on relevant experiences, and uses good active doing verbs to describe skills in action

Advice we might give for this resume:

• Add an “Academic Projects” section before the professional experience section to highlight key coursework or student projects and the skills used to do them
• Make LEED certification more obvious

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• City Planning student resume
• Experience section is placed first, to emphasize the application of knowledge and skills gained from academic experiences – most resumes start with experience section post-graduation
• Good, illustrative descriptions of experience that allow the reader to understand how experiences might be relevant

Advice we might give for this resume:

• Make degrees more obvious by integrating them into the heading rather than listing them as bullets

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• City Planning student resume
• Clear layout, and nicely spaced so that the reader can navigate through the document easily
• Locations of work are emphasized by formatting
• Good descriptions of experience that allow the reader to understand how these experiences might be relevant

Advice we might give for this resume:

• Prioritize list of skills to highlight most relevant ones first

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• City Planning student resume
• Clear layout, with a focus on courses complete easily seen within the education section
• A short activities section that highlights interests and characteristics of the candidate that might be of general interest to the reader

Advice we might give for this resume:

• Add a “graduate student” section to the professional experience section to highlight key coursework or student projects and the skills used to do them

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• Historic Preservation student resume
• Provides details about additional studies conducted on restoration and preservation topics within the education section

Advice we might give for this resume:

• Make better use of horizontal space to de-emphasize the dates
• List relevant coursework within the education section
• Add a “graduate student” section to the professional experience section to highlight key coursework or student projects
• Add a “Skills” section

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• Historic Preservation student resume
• 2 pages
• Clear list of coursework within education section

Advice we might give for this resume:

• Use more active statements within the experience section (e.g., “prepared” rather than “preparation of”)
• Include research and project work under the “graduate student” part of the experience section, not just teaching experience
• Ensure that “Professional Qualities” listed are clearly illustrated within the experience section

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• Urban spatial analytics student resume
• Detailed description of project work in a separate section from the other internship/work experience
• Clear focus on programming skills within the skills section

Advice we might give for this resume:

• Use more active statements within the experience section (e.g., “wrote” rather than something “is written”)
• Consider using bullet points within the project section to highlight specific skills and experiences connected with the projects
• Take care with the use of “we” if the reader does not have information on who this represents, or what role the candidate played in the project
• Keep formatting of dates consistent in terms of positioning on the page

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• Fine Arts student resume
• A broad range of skills and experiences are highlighted within this resume, which might make it appropriate for different types of positions

Advice we might give for this resume:

• Identify key takeaways the reader should have once they have read the resume, and ensure that these skills and experiences are consistently illustrated throughout the resume

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• Fine Arts student resume/CV
• This 3-page document is an example of a more traditional academic CV. There is less focus on skills, and more on what was done, where, and when

Advice we might give for this resume:

• The overall design of CVs is still important, and can help the reader navigate through the document. Some design approaches could be used to make it more reader-friendly
• The long lists of experiences can make it harder for the reader to easily process the information being presented.