elite career prep platforms

FOR HARVARD STUDENTS

2025

Take a look through our top picks for career preparation sites. Each of these can help undergraduates and recent graduates navigate the job and internship search process to have a successful and fulfilling professional experience.

Let's go over 5 resume tips curated for students and young professionals.

5 Resume tips for college students & young professionals

1 / Use a resume objective instead of a resume summary

Although these terms are often used interchangeably, a resume objective is not the same as a resume summary!

● Resume summary highlights your past experience, skills, and achievements to show why you're a great fit for the job. It’s ideal for seasoned professionals.

● Resume objective highlights your future career goals and your enthusiasm for the job in question. It’s a great choice for students and first-time job seekers.

Naturally, then, our advice is to go with a resume objective and show the employer why this internship is the perfect next step for you.

2 / Tailor the resume to each job you apply for

Applying to 5 different jobs? You'll need 5 different resumes.

But it's not actually as bad as it sounds. The key lies with keywords.

Here's what you need to do:

1. Review each individual job description and scan it for keywords that pop up often. These can really be anything–computer skills (Adobe, Figma), a certification (CPE), or education level (Master's degree).

2. Sprinkle these keywords throughout the resume. Sections like Work experience, Skills, or even the Objective provide plenty of opportunities to include keywords.

Doing so will make you appear as the perfect candidate and give you a head start before candidates who don't invest that time and energy into tailoring their CVs.

3 / Make use of your education section

Don't just include your school, degree, and graduation date. Go a step further and consider including also:

● Relevant coursework

● GPA (3.5 or higher)

● Awards (Dean’s list, subject-based awards)

● Thesis (if relevant for the role)

● Scholarships

● Relevant student societies (especially if you were in the committee and played an active role)

● Studying abroad

● Internships

Also, if you're still a student (or a recent graduate), place your education section above your work experience. Especially if you have a degree from a prestigious university like Harvard.

4 / Use action verbs & quantify your achievements

Let's have a look at an example of action-oriented vs. non-action-oriented phrases:

● Non-action phrase: I have been a part of the employee performance evaluation process.

● Action-oriented phrase: Evaluated employee performance using available data.

Action verbs are shorter, clearer, and bring a level of confidence to your resume. These are verbs like: designed, engineered, generated, implemented, launched, led, reduced, wrote, etc.

Also, quantify your achievements. The recruiters adore seeing numbers in your resume!

It allows them to better assess your abilities; and it adds more credibility to your words at the same time.

For example, you could say something like this:

● Reduced project turnaround time by 30%.

● Led a team of 12 sales professionals.

5 / Get feedback on your resume with Resume Checker

Finally, you shouldn't underestimate getting your resume reviewed. This could be as simple as forcing your friends to proofread your CV, to catch any typos or other imperfections.

Alternatively, you can use Kickresume's Resume Checker which scans your resume for issues and compares it against other resumes in our database.

You'll also get a detailed resume review report and personalized tips on how to improve your CV.

Kickresume has already helped more than 6 million people create their resumes and land their dream jobs.You can try Kickresume yourself with a 60-day premium subscription for free.

Simply create your account using the link above. Valid until 31/12/2024.

Teal

With graduation right around the corner, you’re about to enter the job market—possibly for the first time in your life.

And while it can be a little overwhelming, there are tools out there to help you organize and optimize your job search, setting you up for success from day one.

Check out Teal, a career growth platform with the features and expert guidance you need to present the best version of yourself for every position you apply to.

How does it work?

With the Teal Resume Builder, you can save time and effort by building a base resume that stores your entire career history for free—including internship details, coursework, projects, and volunteer experience.

Not sure where to begin or what to say? That’s okay. Teal has built-in, customizable AI that can help you write resume bullet points and cover letters so you aren’t stuck staring at a blank page.

Teal helps job seekers quickly customize resumes and manage applications. Key features include:

Tailored Resumes: Quickly adjust your resume to highlight relevant experience using Matching Mode.
Streamlined Tracking: Use the Job Application Tracker and Chrome extension to save, rate, and organize job opportunities from over 40 job boards.
Efficient Transition: Focus less on formatting and more on preparing for interviews and networking as you move from school to your career.

In a competitive academic and professional environment like Harvard, elite career prep platforms do more than polish a résumé — they shape a trajectory. Whether it's through AI-powered mock interviews, hyper-curated internship databases, or one-on-one coaching from industry insiders, these platforms are redefining how students bridge the gap between campus and career. For those aiming to translate their potential into lasting impact, the right tools aren't just helpful — they're essential. As the lines blur between education and employment, investing in these platforms may be one of the smartest career moves a student can make.

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