How to Write An Effective Resume for MS Application?

It is very common for students to already know the importance of writing a Statement of Purpose (SOP) and receiving a Letter of Recommendation (LOR) while applying for admission to a Master of Science course (MS) abroad. However, the not-so-common known element of a good application among students is to know the importance of writing a good Resume. A resume is a great opportunity to define your experiences, your interests, your extra-curricular activities and your achievements both precisely and concisely. 

The acceptance of a prospective student depends entirely upon the SOP and the Resume along with the LOR. If the SOP or the Resume are not written properly, chances are that the candidate might get a rejection from the university. Therefore, to make sure that a student’s Resume stands out from the other Resumes sent to the University, here we have come up with some essential points to adhere to while writing a Resume to apply for the MS program abroad. 

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Ideal Resume Format for MS Applications

A resume includes the professional competencies of a candidate applying for a specific position. Ideally, a Resume should mention all of the essential details in a concise and precise manner. The candidate should not miss even a single detail to define his/her competency to the university. While writing a Resume for MS abroad, the universities abroad may expect you to write about your Bachelor’s degree, the subjects that you have studied, any extra-curricular activities you have participated in, and the work experience you have earned (if any). All these details must be written in a well-structured format and the content you include must be tailored to include only the most specific details. The best Resume format to be followed is given hereunder.

Candidate’s Name, Contact and Address 

Write here your name (the one that is in your passport), your one point of contact, i.e. Email ID and permanent address. A permanent address, however, is not necessary to write but it gives a sense of trust to the reader and the university may also use it to send any formal documents. 

Brief Summary of the Resume (Optional)

Write a brief summary of what you have done in your professional career. If you have not worked on a job, then you can mention your skills here or any software you have learned, even internships and training – just to give a hint to your interests and competencies. You can write this either in the form of a paragraph or you can keep it crisp by writing in bulleted points. 

Educational Details

Write about your Bachelor’s degree, your schooling and your grades in detail. You can also write about any training that you have taken to support your education or career. Follow chronological order in writing about your education too.

Professional Qualifications

Just after the summary, comes your professional qualifications. This can also be mentioned as “Experience”. If you have worked on a job, then mention that job here in the most concise and precise manner. Mention all certifications and/or training that you have received at this job. You can also write about the impact that your work made on this job/business. For example, if you have worked in sales, then mention if you have exceeded in achieving the targeted sales in a month. 

Note:- Write about your jobs in a Chronological manner. This means – begin writing your most recent experiences first and then write the past experiences in the same sequence.

Awards and Certificates

Write about all the academic and extracurricular awards and achievements here. Write about events in which you have volunteered, and any rank that you have won like the school’s head boy or head girl or outstanding performer in college.  

Other Skills/ Interests

Here you can write genuinely about your interests and skills under each heading. By knowing about your skills, the reader might have an idea whether your interests are in sync with the degree that you are applying to or gain an understanding that you can take up these tasks in future if required. Many student councils in the university may employ you on the basis of these tasks during the course of your study. 

Known Languages

Write all the Languages you know and mention how many commands you have on them. For example, If Hindi is your mother tongue, then mention the same or mention it as a “first language”. 

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The Do’s for Writing the Best Resume

We often know what to write in a Resume, but what we don’t know is how to write them. Here is a list of the things to do in a Resume to create the best impact on the reader. 

1. Create Sharp and Crisp Headings. Keep the content short and precise.
2. Write about your Education and Work experiences in chronological order. 
3. Give the reader a point of contact. Mention your email address, contact number with country code and address for future communications.
4. Write about the relevant coursework from your Bachelor’s degree. The coursework must be relevant to the MS degree you are applying to.
5. Mention all the volunteering, internships, and jobs you have worked for (if any).

The Don’ts for Writing the Best Resume 

Here is a list of the things to not do in a Resume to create the best impact on the reader. 

1. Do not write in too much detail.
2. Do not create fake experiences to stand out among other applicants. Make sure you enter only true details.
3. Do not be redundant about your skills and experiences. Details mentioned once in a Resume must not be repeated anywhere. 
4. Do not, at all, try to convince the reader here for any personal reason. Do not write statements like – “Please give an admission as I am a bright student” in a Resume. You can however write a Cover Letter where you can mention all your reasons why you deserve admission to the university. 
5. Do not exceed the number of pages. Try to keep all the details within one page.

10 Resume Best Practices 2022

Now, the following are the actual Resume best practices that you might have not heard from anyone yet. These points have been received from the feedback of some top universities on the candidates’ applications. 

1. Give a “Graduate Student” or “Academic Projects” entry under your professional qualifications if you have worked on any student projects, research projects or events. Mention all the skills that you utilised to do that task. 
2. Always write your Skills separately to give a clear understanding to the reader.
3. Do not write everything that you have studied during your undergraduate course. Write only the most relevant coursework. 
4. Do not include the headings like “Additional Experience” as they may confuse the reader.
5. If you have done more than one internship, then, provide a clear explanation of the type and nature of each internship. This is because the reader may not be familiar with that kind of internship. 
6. Do not use too bold format or too much-styled format; as this may distract the reader from the actual detail.
7. Write all the dates to the right of the document. This will segregate the dates and the reader will easily analyse the details in your Resume. 
8. Check for typos and inconsistent formatting and clear all the errors. 
9. Make each degree and job title obvious by keeping them bold if writing them as a bulleted point. 
10. Write your most relevant skills first. For example, if you are applying for a Master of Science with a specialisation in Chemistry, then mention your first skill as – “hands-on practice at experimenting” or “good analytical skills”. If you want, you can also mention the use of equipment like X-Ray and UV if you have experience using any of these. 

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Resume for Graduate Students With No Work Experience

If you do not have prior experience, then, do not worry. Universities understand that the student may not have wanted to do a job before pursuing his/her postgraduate studies. So, in such a case, start writing about your Education,  just skip the professional summary, and then everything else will remain the same. 

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FAQs

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