An illustrious internship story is the hallmark of a great resume for people who are beginning their career. But not every professional has a great story to tell. Not every professional has done an internship.
For professionals who fall in this category, talking about your academic projects is a great way to make the most of your resume.
Including an Academic Projects section can add value to your otherwise dull resume which can neither boast of past internships or work achievements. It also has an added benefit of helping you show that despite the absence of an internship, you’ve cultivated skill sets that will help you thrive in any organization.
So in this article, we’ll show you how to create an impressive resume outline through your academic projects by focusing on the 5 key areas namely:
- Domain
- Tech Stack
- Objective
- Solution
- Key Achievements
Domain
In the Domain subsection, you need to write the industry domain to which the project belongs. For example, if your project is for the retail industry, present it in your resume in the following manner:
- Domain: Retail
As we all know, you have 6 seconds to make your resume count. Writing the domain name will make the recruiter’s job a lot easier as they won’t have to spend too much time trying to decipher the essence of your academic project. It helps them identify what your project is all about in one go.
This way, if that particular project is of zero relevance to the position, the recruiter can simply move on to scanning the other projects in your resume which seem relevant to the target job.
Tech Stack
In this second subsection, which is Tech Stack, you need to list the tools that you have used to complete that particular project. For example, if you used languages like R and Python to complete your project, write it in your resume in the manner stated below:
- Tech Stack: R and Python
Through this subsection, you’re simply communicating your tech skills to a potential employer. Doing this helps you highlight your proficiency in using softwares and online tools to achieve a desired outcome.
In this context, it helps you showcase how you used a particular tool or tools to successfully get the results for a particular project you have worked on. Just one look at this subsection will help the recruiter identify your technical proficiency and suitability for the said job.
Objective
Next up is the Objective subsection. In this subsection, you have to write a one line point explaining the objective of the project. It helps you show the relevance of that particular project and explain its importance.
For example, if the objective of your project is to find locations for a company to open its store at, then your objective should look something like this:
- Objective: To identify store locations for a retail company
Written above is a one line sentence explaining the objective of the project.
The simplicity of the sentence helps you communicate what the project is about within a one line sentence. This helps you articulate the essence of the project easily.
Solution
In this subsection, you have to explain the steps you took to solve the problem. Just like the objective, this has to be presented in a simple one line paragraph.
For example, if you designed algorithms to find the solution for a particular problem, you can write in the manner we have outlined below:
- Solution: Designed Random Forest algorithm via R to predict if a store should be opened or not in a particular location
Key Achievements
After explaining all the components of your past projects as illustrated in this article, you have to present the achievements of your project. What they were and what makes it an achievement is something that you need to touch base with within the ‘Key Achievements’ subsection.
Without exaggeration, this subsection is an emblem of the final results of your academic project.
It represents the results of your research, the things you have discovered, and the final outcome of your academic project.
Here’s an example of what the key achievements of your academic project should look like:
- Key Achievements: Identified 25 locations for opening new stores, with the model achieving an accuracy of 85%
Like the objective and solution subsection, this section should also be written in one line. Quantifying your achievements is important as it helps in increasing the impact of your achievements. Be sure to look at the top 10 resume builders for extra help.
Conclusion
To sum up:
- Write all the subsections using bullets as shown in the examples above.
- Bold the names of all the subsections to increase the readability of your resume.
- Only write one-line bullet points as it helps in weeding out all the fluff and keeps the sentence to the point.
- Bold important words, phrases and numbers throughout your Academic Projects section to make it impactful.
- Start the objective with ‘To…’ and begin the solution and key achievements subsections with a power verb.
