GAPSA-UCS Spring 2022 Graduate Resume Competition

GAPSA-UCS Spring 2022 Graduate Resume Competition

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Spring 2022 Graduate Resume Competition. Congratulations to our winners:

First place: Best overall- Ashish Hingle

Second place: Most ATS friendly- Min Ji Kim

Honorable mentions: Jada Crocker & Harshal Saineni


Welcome to the official home page of the Spring 2022 Graduate Resume Competition! In preparation for the annual Spring Career Fair, GAPSA has partnered with University Career Services (UCS) to offer an exciting new opportunity for graduate students to practice applying for their dream job. Simply find a job posting that is relevant to your career goals, tailor your resume (or CV) to that specific position, and send in your submission for a chance to win fun prizes to use towards your future professional endeavors!

Important Dates:

Monday, January 24thResume Competition launches

Sunday, February 13th – Submission period ends

Monday, February 14th to Friday, February 18th – Applications reviewed

Friday, February 18th – Winners announced

Pre-registration is not required and there is no cost to participate. All entries must be submitted online through the event page in Handshake here.

Enter the competition now!

Submissions will be judged by standardized rubrics and grouped into different categories, such as:

  • Best Tailored – for the strongest match between a conformed resume and its corresponding job posting
  • Most ATS Friendly – for the resume that is optimally designed to be analyzed by Applicant Tracking Systems.
  • Career Switcher Award – for those students who are transitioning between career types and may have more experience in certain areas other than their current field of choice.
  • Best Overall – for an exceptional application across a number of scoring domains.
  • Judge’s Award – for a special recognition as determined by the committee of judges.

Winners will be announced prior to the Career Fair. Top prizes include a Career Fair Speed Pass, Mason Spirit Swag Pack, and up to $60 towards reimbursing the cost of membership fees for a professional/academic society or LinkedIn Premium!

Please bookmark this page to reference as needed. ­All of the information that you need to participate in the Competition will be provided here, in addition to helpful UCS resources that you can use while preparing your submission like:

  • Graduate Students – UCS provides customized career advice based on the unique needs and circumstances of graduate students, including free access to Jobscan Premium to tailor your resume to any position description!
  • Make An Appointment – Making an appointment with UCS is easy; simply log in to Handshake to request an appointment to discuss any career-related questions you have.
  • Career Readiness Activities and Guide – Follow these activities and use this resource guide (left side of page) for tips on resume writing and resume and CV samples
  • And much more!

If you have any questions, concerns, or other feedback that you would like to share with us, please feel free to reach us at gapsa@gmu.edu. We look forward to your participation!