Resumé tips and strategies for students: How to stand out and get noticed by employers

There’s a wide range of resumé advice available online for students preparing to take the next step in their careers. While some of this guidance is valuable, other suggestions can be misleading or even counterproductive.

Your resumé and cover letter serve as your first impression with potential employers. These documents are essential tools that you’ll continue to refine throughout your career, so it’s important to ensure they’re free of grammatical, spelling and typographical errors, and that all information is current.

Equally important is tailoring your resumé and cover letter for each job application. This involves customizing your content to clearly demonstrate how your skills and experience align with the specific requirements of the position. Although this process requires additional effort, it significantly increases your chances of success.

When seeking online support, it’s important to rely on credible and trustworthy sources. Georgian’s Career Success team provides expert guidance to help students and job seekers develop strong resumés and cover letters, along with effective strategies to help your application stand out.

Student with short brown hair on the left side of the photo is smiling and engaging with another student and instructor in a library.

Get an employer’s attention with these resumé tips

Your resumé is an advertisement that’s all about you. It should pique the interest of the employer enough to invite you for an interview. The Career Success team recommends you:

  1. Highlight your qualifications and skills specific to the job posting.
  2. Include a personal branding statement.
  3. Add headlines and subheads.
  4. Use keywords and phrases.

1. Highlight your qualifications and skills specific to the job posting

With the first section of your resumé, your goal is to capture the reader’s attention immediately.

Examine the job posting, focus on the key skills and qualifications you have that match the position you’re applying for, and consider how you meet the employer’s needs:

  • Talk about your skillset and unique value you can contribute to the employer.
  • Clearly summarize your qualifications, experiences and education in terms of the company’s needs and values.
  • Write in short paragraphs or use a bullet point list for ease-of-read consisting of four to six points.
  • Identify the key skills you have that are most relevant to the position you’re applying for (keep each point focused on one skill).
  • Use adjectives to describe how well you use the skills – make it unique to you!

EXAMPLE

  • Dedicated customer service focus with the ability to work in stressful situations while maintaining a calm composure.
  • Demonstrated excellence in patient care and communication skills that have been recognized by other health-care professionals and professors.
  • Personable individual with outstanding communication, listening and interpersonal skills.
  • Strong attention to detail required to record information correctly and always maintain confidentiality.
  • Effective documentation, data entry and reporting abilities, with proficiency in a host of Microsoft Office software.

You can also do this in a paragraph format with supporting statements, which is a suitable approach for a candidate with more experience:

  • Self-motivated international business graduate capable of increasing company revenue by demonstrating the value in setting and achieving targets and goals. Applies strong research and analytical skills to develop new business prospects. Can also assess and eliminate risks to optimize business opportunities and present results.
  • Outstanding customer service support necessary to increase and retain customer base.
  • Can establish excellent working relationships and easily communicate with people from other cultures, with written and verbal fluency in English, Punjabi, Hindi and French.
  • Can adapt to changes quickly and easily, and navigate challenging situations with confidence, including high pressure and fast-paced environments.

2. Include a personal branding statement

A personal branding statement is not required on a resumé. In fact, it might only be appropriate in a few specific situations. The personal branding statement:

  • May be seen by employers as self-serving (employers want to know what you can do for their company).
  • Some employers view the objective as appropriate, for example, a brief objective statement may be effective for an entry-level client or one seeking a career change.
  • Should be used with caution; if you have experience you should be marketing your experiences, and an objective statement is not likely going to be helpful.

If you use a personal branding statement, make it count:

  • Keep it short – use two sentences maximum.
  • Don’t be generic – tailor it to each position you apply to.
  • Don’t make it all about you – it needs to meet the needs of the employer.

SAMPLE PERSONAL BRANDING STATEMENTS

  • To pursue an entry-level administrative support role in an accounting office.
  • To pursue a full-time position that will use my outstanding communication skills and years of experience in sales and computers.
  • To pursue a business co-op work term where I can expand on my current skills and abilities and contribute to the company’s mission of worldwide environmental sustainability.

3. Add headlines and subheads (objective, education and skills)

A simple headline-style introduction can quickly catch an employer’s eye. Think about how the headline of an article on Reddit or Buzzfeed draws you in. The headline on your resumé allows an employer to quickly and concisely see what makes you the right person for the job. The headline:

  • is a brief phrase that highlights your value as a candidate, and
  • is a preferred style to the objective statement.

TIP: Remember to choose words that showcase your strongest skills and attributes, then customize it for each job to show a “fit” between what you offer and what the employer needs.

If you use a headline, make it count:

  • Keep it concise. It should be one brief phrase, not a complete sentence.
  • Bold your headline so it looks like a title in your resumé; this will help it stand out and make it easier for those who scan and read documents.
  • Use keywords that demonstrate your skills and/or experiences as it relates to the job posting; pick important words out of the job ad and use them here.
  • Avoid cliches. Common phrases like “strong communication skills” may not set you apart from the competition.

SAMPLE HEADLINES

  • Social media specialist: Expert in heightening organizational recognition and reach across social media channels.
  • Sales associate: Building customer relationships with professional skills and a respectful attitude.
  • Customer service professional: Tactful. Organized. Resourceful.

4. Use keywords and phrases

Keywords and phrases show you read the job ad closely and are tailoring your resumé to the needs of the employer. Including them shows the employer your attention to detail and the level of care you put into important tasks.

TIP: Keywords and key phrases are nouns and adjectives that employers use to describe the job posting. Read through the job posting to select keywords and determine what words and phrases the recruiter is focusing on. If you use keywords, make them count:

  • Keep it tailored to the job posting: Use keywords and phrases the employer uses in the job posting.
  • Find keywords and phrases in the job posting to highlight in your job application.
  • Mix it up: Use different types of keywords or synonyms, including soft skills and hard skills.

SAMPLE KEYWORDS AND PHRASES

Key skills include:

  • Assisting customers with their needs and training sales clerks.
  • Handling returns and exchanges and stocking and facing shelves.
  • Initiating private shopping appointments and building floor displays.

Core competencies include:

  • Medical expertise and relationship building.
  • Team building and presentations and negotiations skills.
  • Solving problems.

Get help with your resumé and land the job you want!

Female student wearing long braids and eyeglasses smiles at the camera in front of the offices of the Co-operative Education and Career Success office at the Barrie Campus.

Georgian’s Co-operative Education and Career Success team are here to help you in a number of ways:

  • Through the career/co-op resources on the MyGCLife.ca.
  • With a direct career consultant or co-op consultant meeting on your campus.
  • By being available at the Career Hub in room M204 at the Barrie Campus.
  • Through virtual appointments with Career Consultants or the Career Hub via Navigate360

Hours:

  • Monday to Friday
  • 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Get your resumé started with some of the tips in this article, then drop in for help refining your resumé, cover letter, interview skills, or any number of important career building skills.

Originally posted June 21, 2019, and updated June 2, 2026.

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