What is the best resume builder for computer science students?

One that produces a single-column, one-page layout like Jake's resume and helps you write specific bullets about projects and internships. ResumeForDev is built only for technical roles and its first resume is free. Overleaf with Jake's template is the best free option if you write LaTeX.

Should a new grad use Jake's resume template?

It's a safe choice. It's single column, parses cleanly, and is familiar to engineering recruiters. You can use it in Overleaf with LaTeX, or get the same layout from ResumeForDev without writing any LaTeX.

Is it okay to use AI to write a new grad resume?

Yes, as long as every line is true and you can explain it in an interview. Avoid tools that add metrics or technologies you didn't give them; interviewers ask about exactly those details.

Should education go first on a new grad resume?

Usually yes, until you have a full-time engineering job. Put experience first if you've done several substantial internships.

The best resume builder for CS new grads and internship applicants

By Mubeen Jawed, founder of ResumeForDev · Updated October 31, 2026

Short answer

For a CS new grad or internship applicant, the best resume builder is one that helps you turn thin experience (class projects, internships, hackathons, TA work) into specific bullets, and outputs the single-column, one-page format engineering recruiters expect. ResumeForDev is built for exactly that: it asks follow-up questions about your projects, writes bullets only from your answers, and lays them out in Jake's resume format, with the first resume free. Overleaf with Jake's template is the best free option if you're comfortable writing LaTeX and already have strong bullets. General resume builders and Google Docs templates work, but their designs are often two-column and their writing help isn't aimed at technical roles.

Key points

New grads need help with the writing more than the design.
Jake's resume format is the de facto standard for CS students; pick a tool that produces it.
Avoid tools that pad thin experience with numbers or skills you don't have. It comes out in interviews.
Check the free tier: you may only need one good resume plus light tailoring.

What a new grad actually needs from a builder

A student resume isn't hard to format. It's hard to fill. Most new grads have one or two internships, a few class or personal projects and a list of courses, and they don't know how to make that read like engineering work. The tool that helps most is the one that pulls the specifics out of you: what you built, with what, for whom, and what happened. Templates don't do that. Neither do generic AI rewrites, which tend to inflate thin experience with vague claims.

The options compared

Resume tools for CS students and new grads
Tool	Best for	Writing help	Layout	Watch out for
ResumeForDev	Students who know what they built but not how to write it up	Follow-up interview about your projects, then bullets written only from your answers	Jake-style, auto-fit to one page	One fixed template; unlimited resumes and job-post targeting are Pro ($8.99/month)
Overleaf + Jake's template	Students comfortable with LaTeX who already have good bullets	None	The original Jake's LaTeX	Fitting one page by hand; LaTeX errors close to a deadline
General AI resume builders	Non-technical roles, or many template choices	General-purpose suggestions	Many designs, often two-column	Advice not aimed at engineering roles; check what export costs
Google Docs or Word	Quick edits, career-center reviews	None	Depends on the template	Many templates use columns or tables that parse less reliably
ChatGPT	Rewording a bullet you already wrote	Yes, from your prompt	None; plain text only	Can invent numbers and skills; you still need a layout

Why the layout matters less than you think

CS recruiters have seen thousands of Jake's resume clones, and that's fine. A familiar layout means they find your education, internships and projects instantly. Spending hours on design is time not spent on bullets. Pick a clean single-column format, then put your effort into the content.

Turning student experience into bullets

Before and after

Before:Made a web app for a class project using React and Firebase.

After:Built a course-planning web app in React and Firebase with a 4-person team; 300+ students used it during registration week.

A class project becomes a real project once it has a team size, a stack and a user count.

Internships: what you shipped, not what you shadowed. One merged feature beats a list of meetings.
Projects: users, stars, a live URL or a hard technical problem make a project worth listing. See how to put GitHub projects on a resume.
Hackathons: list the project, the stack and the placing, if any.
TA and research: count the students, the labs, the papers or the tooling you built.

How ResumeForDev helps a new grad

You answer one question per screen: contact details, target role, stack, experience, projects, education and achievements. You can also import an old resume or your LinkedIn export to start. Before writing, it reads your notes and asks 4–7 follow-up questions, like how many people used your project or what you built it with. It writes bullets from those answers, removes any number or skill you didn't give it, and lays the resume out in Jake's format on one page. You get an ATS score with every rule explained. The first resume is free and needs no card.

For the full checklist of what to include, see the new grad and intern resume guide.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best resume builder for computer science students?: One that produces a single-column, one-page layout like Jake's resume and helps you write specific bullets about projects and internships. ResumeForDev is built only for technical roles and its first resume is free. Overleaf with Jake's template is the best free option if you write LaTeX.
Should a new grad use Jake's resume template?: It's a safe choice. It's single column, parses cleanly, and is familiar to engineering recruiters. You can use it in Overleaf with LaTeX, or get the same layout from ResumeForDev without writing any LaTeX.
Is it okay to use AI to write a new grad resume?: Yes, as long as every line is true and you can explain it in an interview. Avoid tools that add metrics or technologies you didn't give them; interviewers ask about exactly those details.
Should education go first on a new grad resume?: Usually yes, until you have a full-time engineering job. Put experience first if you've done several substantial internships.