Resume Sample: Student Athlete

Format

An effective resume for student athletes should be a simple one-column format with no graphic elements (no textboxes, photos, icons, etc.). The page is balanced and full, but not crowded, and sections are labeled clearly and organized logically (from most important to less important).

Content

A strong college student-athlete résumé should highlight both athletic and professional experiences, demonstrating the transferable skills employers value. It should include:

  • Education and Academic Achievements – Your university, major, expected graduation date, GPA (if strong), relevant coursework, academic honors, scholarships, and certifications.
  • Transferable Skills (featured throughout resume) – Skills developed through athletics and other experiences, such as leadership, teamwork, communication, time management, problem-solving, adaptability, resilience, work ethic, and discipline, along with relevant technical or industry-specific skills.
  • Athletic Experience and Accomplishments – Your sport, position/event, years of participation, leadership roles (such as team captain), athletic awards, conference or national recognition, and notable team or individual achievements.
  • Work, Internship, and Leadership Experience – Paid jobs, internships, research, campus employment, student organizations, volunteer work, and leadership positions that demonstrate responsibility, initiative, and professional growth.

If you were just in high school 1-2 years ago, you may also include more high school experiences on your resume. Feature your more recent experience first within each section (reverse chronological order).

Each experience has 2-5 bullet points that describe the major accomplishments and contributions you made in that role (start bullet point statements with action verbs) – what were your main responsibilities, how did you positively impact the organization, and what skills did you develop as a result of this position? Make sure that you are emphasizing connections between this role and the position(s) you are now applying for.

How to Use This Resource

Access the Student Athlete Sample Resume by clicking the “View Resource” button at the bottom of this page.

The sample resume will open in a Google Doc. If you’d like to use this as a basis for your own document, click File > Make a Copy to save an editable version to your own Google Drive, or click File > Download > Microsoft Word (docx) if you’d prefer to work in Microsoft Word.

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