Crafting the Ideal Grad School Resume

One of the most debated elements of your application is undeniably your resume. It wields considerable influence in the decision-making process, offering a snapshot of who you are as a candidate. So, why not craft a resume that captures attention from the get-go?

The very first thing someone will notice about your resume is how it looks at a glance. A strong resume always has neat and consistent formatting, with no extra spaces anywhere. Choose a font that feels simple and easy to read, such as Times New Roman, Arial, or Calibri, using a size between ten and twelve. It can be helpful to highlight important words or phrases so the key points really stand out. Just be careful not to highlight too many things at once, because too much emphasis can actually make it harder for the reader to spot what is most important.

You have probably seen many different resume styles recommended online for different situations. When you are applying to graduate school, it is best to use a standard one page resume. Make sure it covers your academic background, any work experience you have, important projects, skills, and extracurricular activities. The only time you should use a different style is if you are going into art or design. In those fields, you can get creative and use a unique format to show off your artistic side.

Let us begin with the header, which is a key part of your resume. The best approach is to make the header stand out with a clean line that separates it from the rest of your document. Your name should be the main focus, and it is a good idea to use a font size that is about twice as big as the rest of your text. You should also think about adding links to your LinkedIn, GitHub, or personal portfolio website if you have one. These links offer helpful details to anyone reading your resume and make it easy for them to learn more about you.

Avoid including your photograph. Putting a photo on your resume takes away from the professional appearance and uses up valuable space that could be used for more important information. Let your skills and accomplishments speak for themselves.

Let us take a look at the Education section. Start with your most recent education and then list your earlier experiences after that. For each entry, include your major or field of study, the name of the university, your CGPA or percentage, and any special achievements or activities that help you stand out. You can put everything in order by date, and feel free to add any societies you were a part of or awards you received.

If you want to keep things simple and tidy, you could also use a table to summarize your degrees, majors, universities, and CGPAs. This makes your information easy to read and understand.

Then, create a separate section to highlight your achievements. This approach offers a clear snapshot of your academic journey and showcases your accomplishments in one concise section. Consider this approach if you have a wealth of achievements/co-curriculars beyond your educational background.

For Full-time or Internship Experience:
Just like you do for your education section, you should list your work experience beginning with the most recent position. Start each entry by mentioning your job title, the organization where you worked, and the dates you were there. Keep these details together in the first few lines for each job.

When you describe your responsibilities and achievements, try to use two or three strong bullet points for each role. If you made a big impact and have more to share, it is completely fine to include more than three bullet points.

Now, here’s the key: instead of simply listing tasks you performed, focus on articulating the impact you’ve made. Numbers are your best friends here , whether it’s the percentage increase in the accuracy of your model or the number of users who benefited from your product. Metrics speak volumes.

Moreover, be specific about your actions. Rather than vaguely stating that you worked with certain frameworks to develop a new feature, provide explicit details. For example, you can say you leveraged X and Y technologies to enhance a specific aspect of the Q product.

Projects:
List your projects according to how important and meaningful they are. To add credibility, include a clickable link for each project so reviewers can easily look at your work. There is no need to display the full website address; a simple link will do.

If you led your project team, make sure to mention your leadership role. You can also add the name of your project advisor or guide for more context.

For each project, write two or three bullet points that include when you worked on the project, which technology or tools you used, and your role. Most importantly, describe how your project created value, whether you solved a problem or made life better for others.

Skills:
The skills section of your resume can be placed either right after your education or just after your project descriptions, depending on which arrangement looks and reads best.

To keep your skills organized, try dividing them into categories. You might create sections such as Programming Languages, Libraries and Tools, or Technical and Business Skills. Feel free to adjust these categories to fit what your program is looking for. Inside each group, list your skills from the ones you know best to those you are less experienced with.

This way, your resume will look clean and it will help reviewers quickly understand what you can do.

Leadership and Outreach:
This is the part of your resume where you really get to stand out and show what makes you unique. Use this section as a chance to shine.

For each entry, keep it to a single bullet point. Make sure to bold the most important words and include numbers whenever you can to show the difference you made.

You do not have to write full sentences for every entry. Short, clear phrases can work just as well. For example, something as simple as Volunteer with the National Service Scheme can be a strong bullet point.

The number of bullet points you include will depend on your experiences. Most people have two to five entries. I have five, and each one was picked to best highlight my personal contributions and achievements.

Extracurriculars:
Let us be clear right from the start, this section is much more than just a filler. It is very important, especially when you are applying to top schools like the Ivy League universities. These institutions place a lot of value on your activities outside of the classroom and pay close attention to your involvement in extracurriculars.

Think of this section as your chance to showcase who you are beyond your professional life. It’s not just about filling space; it’s about sharing a glimpse of your passions and interests, and it can play a pivotal role during interviews.

So, what really counts? Almost anything that shows your broad interests and experiences. Whether you have represented your school on a sports team, spent time on music, dance, or art, joined the photography or drama club, or volunteered in your community, all of these activities are considered extracurriculars. It is a space where you can show the many ways you get involved and what you are passionate about.

Include at least 1–2 bullet points here to paint a fuller picture of who you are. These experiences not only enrich your application but also serve as valuable conversation starters during interviews.

Pro Tip: When you have a lot to convey about your profile but are constrained by a one-page limit, here’s a savvy move. Place the most critical information on your resume and create a web page or portfolio to complement it. This can be as elaborate as crafting your portfolio from scratch using web programming languages or as straightforward as setting up a page on Notion, neatly categorizing all the work you want to highlight. Include the link to this supplementary page in the header next to your email address. This way, you provide a comprehensive view of your achievements without exceeding the one-page limit.

It’s essential to adhere to the one-page guideline as exceeding it is a red flag that could result in your resume not being considered.

Now, for specific programs, you can customize the order and allocation of sections to suit your goals. For instance, if you’re pursuing a Ph.D., you might want to prioritize your research interests, academics, publications, peer-reviewed papers, and research experiences.

Lately, we’ve observed a trend where individuals are creatively crafting their resumes as Google web pages or LinkedIn posts, and these unconventional approaches have gained significant attention. The reason behind their viral success is often their strategic targeting of a specific organization, typically for design roles or other specialized positions. If you believe such alternative formats align with your goals and have the potential to make you stand out amidst a sea of applicants, don’t hesitate to give them a try.

A shoutout to Aditya Ravi, an exceptional resume reviewer with a keen eye for every minute detail. I had my resume reviewed by him multiple times, each for a different purpose. Some of his advice still guides my resume tailoring for specific purposes.

Your resume is a living document that you can update whenever you need to. It does not have to be perfect, and that is completely okay. Try not to worry too much about every detail. If you have followed the advice above, you are already moving in the right direction. People may have different opinions about what makes the best resume, but in the end, you should do what feels right for you. Everything I have shared comes from what I have learned and the feedback I have received along the way.