Computer Science Students: What Should I Add To My Resume?
When I was about to graduate from my bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, I spent time a lot of time crafting my resume. During this experience, I started to have a lot of questions on what to add to my resume. Now that I am a professional software developer, I look back on my journey on things I did as a student when developing my resume.
Back then when I was a Computer Science undergraduate student in college, many times I felt that I did not have a lot of industry or work experience, which I see many of the students I have work with feel as well. No worries, I understand, and I am here to help with the information you are going to read in this article to assist you in your journey as a Computer Science student.
So, today I want to share some tips that I think might help you to decide what to add to your resumé as a Computer Science student.
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Without further ado, let’s get started.
Internships or summer research programs (REU’s)
If up to this point in your journey as a Computer Science student you have participated in an internship, I would recommend adding this experience to your resume. By doing this, when applying to jobs and going on interviews, you will be able to talk about the experience with the interviewer. You will be able to talk about the skills you gain on that experience, as well as what you learned as an intern. Don’t worry if the internship was non-paid at this point; I recommend adding it to your resume anyway. Remember, you are a student on your way to your first professional opportunity; don’t be too hard on yourself.
Internships great experiences to develop your skills as a future professional
On the other hand, if you have attended a summer research program (REU), then I would also recommend adding this opportunity to your resume. If you have participated in both, I would suggest adding both of these experiences to your resume.
Your current skills
Through the course of your degree, you have gained knowledge about different topics thanks to the courses you have taken. You may have taken already courses like “Introduction to Programming” and”Data Structures” which you have learned a programming language or other computer science related tools. My advice is to add them to your resume, for instance, if you know how to write code in Java, C++ or even Python, then add it to your resume.
If on your spare time you have invested the time in taking an online course on topics like web or mobile development, add these skills as well. Also, if possible, add the information about the online certificate obtained, it can also serve as a topic of conversation when going on interviews.
Side Projects
Have you participated in a hackathon recently? Then I would suggest adding the project you worked on as a side project. Even if you didn’t win, I would still recommend adding this project to your resume. It can serve as an opportunity to showcase the skills you have learned outside of the classroom. Also, if you ask me, going to hackathons and working on side projects outside of your academic duties as a student demonstrates passion and dedication to your craft, in this case, as a future Computer Science professional. That’s my opinion of course.
Hackathon or side projects are great to add to your resume
Alongside hackathon projects, I would suggest adding some of the side projects you have worked on during the summer or winter break. These could be web or mobile applications you have done for fun or other types of projects; these are just ideas. On the projects you choose to add to your resume, I would recommend adding the list of skills, programming languages, technologies and frameworks you have used to build this application.
GitHub and LinkedIn profile
Other things I recommend all Computer Science out there to add to their resumes is the links to the GitHub and LinkedIn profiles. In my opinion, GitHub is a great tool where you can showcase the current skills you have as a Computer Science student, also, the code to the different projects you have worked on during your time as a student. By adding the URL to your GitHub profile, potential employers can see examples of your work and can assess the value you can add to their company or institution.
Add the links to your GitHub and LinkedIn profiles
On the other hand, I recommend adding the link to your LinkedIn profile because by doing this, recruiters can take a look at your profile and get in touch with you via the LinkedIn platform. Also, in my experience, I have seen LinkedIn has become a platform where recruiters search for potential candidates. By having your profile listed on the platform recruiters can find you, thus, opening potential job opportunities to start your professional career.
So, if you don’t have a LinkedIn or a GitHub profile, I would recommend to go ahead to create an account on both of these platforms and adding the links to your resume.
Student Associations or other extracurricular activities
Another experience you can add to your resume is different student organizations or extracurricular activities you have been involved in. If you have been a member, or even a leadership role on the organization such as president, secretary, treasurer or any other of the organization’s positions I would recommend adding it to your resume. In my experience, participating in student associations are a great way to showcase your interest, passion for helping your university in some way.
Student associations are great experiences to showcase your leadership, teamwork and communication skills
I believe that participating in student associations; it’s an excellent opportunity for Computer Science students to develop their communication skills and learn to work in teams. Also, if it comes up as a topic of conversation during a job interview, it’s an excellent opportunity to talk about the experience and the positive impact you might have made thanks to your contribution during the time you participated in the student organization.
There you have it, things and experiences you can add to your resume as a Computer Science student.
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Disclaimer: Results may vary. These tips and advice are based on my experience and opinion as a former undergraduate Computer Science student, tutor, teacher, and professional software developer. Everyone is different, so, the advice shared in this article may or not work for you. Also, I am not sponsored by GitHub or LinkedIn, they are platforms I have used and I want to share and help others with what I have learned through the years.
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Originally published at yadielcabrera.com on March 3, 2019.