Welcome to the Career Ready Podcast. Learn about résumés, cover letters, LinkedIn, interviewing, and all things to be career ready with the Career Services Center at College of DuPage. I'm one of your hosts, Pierre Michiels. In today's episode, I'm going to lead the conversation on incorporating classroom experience on the résumé.
And I'm your other host, Jordan Rembrandt. I'm going to start our episode today with some information about the career-ready competency of leadership. NACE, the National Association of Colleges and Employers, surveys employers every year who hire entry‑level talent to identify the top competencies they look for. Leadership is consistently among the top‑ranked. NACE defines leadership as recognizing and capitalizing on personal and team strengths to achieve organizational goals.
Recognizing strengths boosts productivity and satisfaction, and combining individual and team strengths improves teamwork and innovation. Behaviors related to leadership include motivating and inspiring others through encouragement and building trust. From the perspective of a new employee, you want someone who acts as a cheerleader—someone who supports you and recognizes your strengths. You can demonstrate leadership before entering the workplace through group projects by organizing meetings, checking in with teammates, showing empathy, and actively listening to others' ideas and concerns. Building trust and strong relationships with classmates can serve you long after the classroom.
Students demonstrate many of the NACE competencies through academics, school involvement, and prior work. Some competencies may be stronger than others, and that’s okay—it’s about reflecting them on the résumé.
Thanks, Jordan. Just as you were saying, there’s great value in the academic process, and students often underestimate how much they’re developing in the classroom. These experiences prepare them for employment. Today we’re focusing on how classroom experience translates into résumé‑ready content that employers care about.
When students come to us for résumé help, we often hear things like “I haven’t had any employment” or “I haven’t worked in the field yet.” Employment is not the only type of experience. Experience is anytime you’ve applied yourself and demonstrated skills in the academic setting. This might include labs, research papers, case studies, group projects, presentations, simulations, or using specialized software. These are experiences where you're applying knowledge—exactly what employers want to see.
Jordan, when you’ve met with students and classroom experience comes up, what has their reaction been?
They're often very surprised. Work or internship experience is usually all they consider. When you list all that falls under academic experience—labs, papers, case studies—it can be eye‑opening.
Yes, I see that as well. So let’s talk about what classroom experience might look like. STEM students run experiments, analyze data, write lab reports, and use specialized equipment—mirroring what they’ll do in internships or jobs. Business students may review financial statements, create budgets, conduct market research, or use software like Excel or QuickBooks. Humanities and social science students conduct interviews, write research papers, lead discussions, and analyze trends. Creative and technical students build portfolios demonstrating their professional development.
These are all résumé-worthy experiences. And involvement doesn’t just come from the classroom—students participate in clubs, student government, campus events, volunteering, and more. These activities demonstrate competencies such as problem-solving, communication, teamwork, professionalism, and leadership—skills employers consistently seek.
Jordan, do you have a recent example of a student whose classroom experience translated well to a résumé?
Yes. I met with a STEM student whose résumé focused mainly on part‑time work with a few technical skills. After discussing their courses, we identified classroom projects and technical skills they had learned but hadn’t included. From a STEM recruiter’s perspective, the student walked away with a stronger, more relevant résumé.
I'm glad you worked with that student. Now let's discuss how to represent this academic information on the résumé. You can list related coursework or activities under the education section, but I prefer labeling it as Academic Experience, Leadership Experience, or Related Experience.
You want the experiences to look similar to job entries: organization (College of DuPage), class name, location (Glen Ellyn, IL), date range (semester or multiple semesters), and a descriptive title such as Student Researcher or Engineering Student. After that, include 3–5 bullet points describing your involvement.
Use action‑driven language. Instead of “learned” or “developed knowledge,” describe your actions. Start with an action verb, explain what you did, and end with a result or outcome.
Examples include:
• Accounting: “Analyzed financial statements to identify trends and assess financial health of a simulated client.”
• Legal studies: “Conducted research on Supreme Court cases to evaluate their impact on modern legal arguments.”
• Biology: “Performed enzyme activity experiments and documented findings in a formal lab report.”
• Marketing: “Developed a marketing plan with competitor analysis and budget projections for a hypothetical product launch.”
Career Coach is a great resource to help brainstorm professional terminology that aligns with your field.
Jordan, anything to add?
Not necessarily add, but emphasize that including course names and supporting details helps incorporate keywords and showcase experience.
As we wrap up, know that these experiences extend beyond the résumé—they can be included on LinkedIn, in cover letters, and in interviews. Classroom development is experience—don’t sell yourself short. Reflect on how you’ve grown and confidently present yourself to employers.
Jordan, any final thoughts?
Adding details like dates will boost your relevant experience, especially when applying for your first internship or job. Reflecting on your academic experience helps you recognize your achievements and builds confidence.
Thanks to all our listeners for joining us. We hope you feel more prepared to include your academic experiences on your résumé. There was no listener question today, but if you have one, submit it to CareerPodcast@cod.edu. Join us next time for more information to help you be career ready.
