Project Section
How to write project descriptions for your resume.
Projects are a MUST. Simply having a CS degree will not guarantee you a job, let alone an internship. One crucial way to set yourself apart from other students and candidates, whether it is looking for a job or an internship, is the quality and quantity of your projects.
"You cannot rely on class projects alone to get a job; you need to have other projects to add to your Resume and GitHub. Your GitHub should have a minimum of 3 full-stack web apps, and you should be able to demo these apps live on job interviews. These projects should be on both your Github and your personal site."
Modified from https://handbook-for-cuny-hunter-cs-students.webnode.com/individual-projects/ (Elise Harris)
Here is a good start:
Articulate Hands-on Experience 👍
Recruiters are especially interested in your hands-on experience from an internship, co-op, enterprise, senior design, course project, on-campus research, or your own independent project. They want to know how you’ve already thought and acted like an engineer, accountant, writer, chemist, natural resources manager, computer scientist, mathematician, etc. They want to see that you can apply what you’re learning to solving real-world problems.
Use this format ⬇️
Company/Organization/University/Corporate Sponsor Project
Objective: describe your goal(s) – what were you supposed to do (accomplish or improve) and why (how did your work bring value?). This may be a 2-line sentence, but that’s ok, because it will help your reader “see” a picture of your work in their mind – it’ll really help them understand the problem you were trying to solve, the innovation you were trying to implement, etc.
Action (then give the steps you took to accomplish your objective)
Action
Action
Results:
Sample
Conduct this exercise to develop your action bullets 📌
Action = I did/am doing __ (action verb), using __ (tool, method, technique, software), to accomplish _ (small step/task)
Then remove the words: “I did/am doing” and “accomplish” and you’ll have a strong, action-oriented bullet describing the work you did to accomplish your objective/goal.
Review these prompts to help you think about what you’ve done ✅
Your work is usually focused on improving something and bringing value to others.
Did you work on a team
Did you identify/solve problems with a process, technique, method, or software?
Did you establish new or innovative systems or procedures?
Did you design, test, analyze, and/or implement a product or process?
Did you design, test, analyze, fabricate, repair, maintain a component/product/manufacturing process?
Did you develop a product or process to raise production?
Did you develop a product or process or procedure to lower costs?
Did you serve as project manager, coordinator, liaison, representative, or committee chair?
Did you supervise or train other team members or employees?
Did you inspect or supervise outside contractor work for quality and/or timeliness?
Did you collect and analyze data (financial or test)?
Did you design, create and implement a marketing campaign?
Did you study, survey, analyze, assess, and troubleshoot business operations?
Did you measure, identify, assess, map, or manage timber or forest lands?
Did you design, implement, maintain, repair, or troubleshoot computer/networking systems?
Did you write technical reports, project proposals, instructional manuals, or make oral presentations?
Did you encounter any special challenges, such as: distance, language, topography, timeline, budget, etc.
Use Career Services
Need help articulating and writing about your hands-on work? Career Services can help! Make a one-on-one appointment with a Career Advisor using Handshake (https://www.csi.cuny.edu/campus-life/student-services/center-career-and-professional-development)
Reprinted from muta.edu/careers
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