Elizabeth Kemler CHEP

Missy,

Since the student has limited experience, it is important to include coursework, class projects, or extracurricular activities (any relevant hobbies like sports or playing a musical instrument) that are related to their target job. While these may not be paid experiences, they are still valid experiences that you can list in your resume. Here is an example I found that highlights skills for the Experience section of the resume.

Research Skills

Developed and conducted surveys to measure current attitudes towards personal financial planning.
Evaluated reliability of online and offline information sources for inclusion in research study.

Time Management Skills

Met weekly editorial deadlines as Sports Editor for university newspaper.
Managed detailed project plan to coordinate activities among team members for final group presentations.

It's best to have them focus on their skills. Refer to the job description or emphasize the same skills that they list in their Summary. Here's an example of a Summary I found for someone with limited experience:

Summary
Recent graduate with BA in economics. Excellent research, time management and problem solving skills. Highly organized with the ability to manage multiple projects and consistently meet deadlines.

Hope this helps!

Elizabeth Kemler

Deborah Hoffman

I help the students put resumes together that reflect all that they can do on the job in their fields of study. We do a "qualifications" section on the resume toward the top, to be noticed, and list all of the things they can do.We show their education, highlighting their programs and in the "experience" section we add their externship experience. That is actual experience in their fields of study. When completed there is very little on their resume that isn't directly related to the job for which they are applying.

Elizabeth Kemler CHEP

Deborah,

This sounds like a great approach; the qualifications section is a nice touch to grab the employers attention.

Elizabeth Kemler