Resumes are an important instrument for summarizing a person's educational background, professional skills and job experience. However, most high school or college students do not have relevant work experience. Consequently, students need to highlight their transferable skills and education. When composing a resume, students should demonstrate their most salient skills as well as list any key accomplishments that relate to their career objective.

Qualifications Summary
Since students usually lack relevant job experience, they should start their resume with a qualifications summary. According to the article "Five Resume Tips for College Students," a qualifications summary can be used in lieu of a job objective. Include all relevant job skills, summer jobs or volunteer work in your summary. Limit this section to two or three sentences.

Education
List your highest level of education first, followed by all other educational experiences. List the name of the institution, degree attained and your grade point average, especially if it is over 3.0 on a 4-point scale. Also, highlight any courses that you have taken that relate to the job for which you are applying.

Unrelated Jobs
All jobs require certain skills. Even if your former work experience is unrelated to your current job objective, think about the professional skills you acquired while working in these past positions. Did you perform any bookkeeping on past jobs, or work with certain computer software packages? Did any of your past jobs require time management skills? If so, include those skills on your resume.

Critique Your Resume
Critique your resume after it is written and typed. Pretend to be the hiring manager who is perusing your resume as well as dozens of others. Does your resume demonstrate the skills needed for the position? Did you use action verbs to describe your skills and experience? Is your resume easy to read and follow. If not, revise your resume to reflect those traits.

Proofreading
Spell check your resume and proofread it for grammatical errors. Spell checking is easily done on most word processing software. Read through your resume to make sure you used proper verb tenses. Check for any homonyms, such as "too" and "two," that are spelled correctly but have been inserted incorrectly. Have others proofread your resume as well to provide a more critical and objective review.

Resume Paper
Always print your resume on resume stationery if you are applying by mail. Use the same color and stationery for your envelope. Include a cover letter with your resume to better explain your current situation and why you want to work for a specific company. Make sure you sign the cover letter before sending it out with your resume.