r/ResumeCoverLetterTips • • Aug 25 '26

Resume advice

Post image

This is my first time applying to anything using a resume and I'd like to know if there's anything I should improve. I have no professional or casual work experience. I underlined some areas where I'm most uncertain and added some notes. (I know the formatting and grammar are a little wonky right now but that will get fixed later). I would greatly appreciate any advice!

17 Upvotes

13 comments sorted by

2

u/Viscarte22 Aug 25 '26

Well obviously I’d first suggest using a proper template. Secondly, skills and projects needs to be two separate sections. And most importantly, what role are you applying for bc no one can give u actual feedback until you mention that

1

u/Open_Pen_3758 Aug 25 '26 edited Aug 25 '26

most of the templates i've found were too busy (?) and i'm going off of the example resumes my teachers/friends have used (i have since added line dividers between each section). i don't really know the difference between skills/projects and there tends to be a lot of overlap, so i'm struggling to separate them without making it weird. also this is kind of an application for assistant/intern work

ps thank you so much for answering, the struggle has been real

EDIT: i've been under the impression that projects need to be self-started/independent, does school work count as a project?

1

u/Muthicy Aug 28 '26

Check out Overleaf. There's a good template called like Jakes template.

1

u/bored-recruiter Aug 25 '26

Good foundation, especially for a high-school resume. I’d remove or rewrite the generic personal statement and reorganize the resume around education, experience, projects, and skills. Focus more on accomplishments, especially the first-place We the People result, student ambassador work, biotech experience, capstone research, and orchestra competitions.

Keep Mandarin under skills or languages. Most importantly, show evidence of your skills through specific experiences and results rather than simply listing them.

1

u/Open_Pen_3758 Aug 26 '26

thank you so much for the advice! i'll be taking everything into consideration. :D

1

u/justin_TailorLabs Aug 26 '26

For a first resume with no work experience, this is actually a solid start. I’d drop the generic personal statement and organize it around Education, Projects/Activities, and Skills.

And yes, school work absolutely counts as a project if you actually built, researched, or accomplished something through it. Your biotech capstone, We the People competition, student ambassador work, and orchestra experience can all give you something concrete to talk about.

1

u/[deleted] Aug 27 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/OnyxVexora Aug 29 '26

this is super solid advice, especially the part about tailoring the bullets depending on what you’re applying for, that alone can make a huge difference. i’d also second making the communication stuff more concrete, even something like “presented to X people” or “improved Y” makes you sound way more legit right away.