The Perfect Format of Resume For Freshers - Experts POV
Landing a dream job is a common issue faced in the post-pandemic era. For most of us, ensuring a successful and fulfilling career is a dream come true. Every year, thousands of freshers (graduates) apply for the same position.
Before you begin working on your resume, it will be helpful to know about yourself. You will need to assess your strengths and talents to figure out the right career path for you. To get started, list your interests, skills and accomplishments. This piece of information will help you get brownie points for being creative and confident in your resume.
Writing a good resume is not a walk in the park. But, don’t stress it out. We are here to help you create a top-notch resume to land you that dream job.
Here are the steps to be followed by the freshers while building a resume:
- Start filling out all your personal information
- Add a powerful summary or objective
- Provide your education, skills and certification
- Select the hobbies, languages and projects you wish to highlight
Start filling out all your personal information
A resume is the first interaction between the HR/employer and the candidate. As a fresher, you can begin by filling out your details. Keep in mind, don’t add your details at the end. Make sure you add your details correctly.
Here are some personal details to add to your resume:
- Full name
- Professional Title – The Designation offered by the company
- Date of Birth (DOB)
- Address
- Phone Number
- Email ID
- Professional and social links – LinkedIn, WordPress, Blogger.
Some of the details that you can try avoiding to include in your resume are:
- Nationality
- Date of birth, Place of birth
- Gender
- Marital status
- Number of children
- Photograph
- Religion
- Driving license details
- Health status
*Some personal details vary from company to company. Please read the job description carefully*
Add a powerful summary or objective
A powerful summary is equivalent to an elevator pitch. Make sure it’s crisp and short. It must highlight your strengths, skills and qualifications in 2 or 3 sentences. Make sure it follows the personal details. Never push it at the end.
Your objective should be an overview of
- Specify the position you are interested in.
- The purpose for seeking the job.
- Relevant skills (read the job description).
- Why are you interested in the position?
- How can you be valuable to the company?
For your resume summary to stand out, it should be tailored to match the work description.
Provide your education, skills and certifications
The next section of your resume should highlight the most relevant education, training and certifications you have. It could include your graduation certificates, professional course completion certificates and additional training certificates if any. Since you are a fresher, make sure you highlight your educational qualification. It is vital as you lack work experience.
Here is a sample to write your educational and training in reverse chronological order:
- PhD
- Post-Graduation
- Under Graduation
- Pre University
- High School
When applying for a job, the skills must be relevant to the job description. Note down both technical skills and soft skills. When you list your skills, it is best to use a one or two-column format. It indicates your skills and your level of experience. The level of experience can vary between beginner, intermediate or expert.
Select the hobbies, languages and projects you wish to highlight
It is best to include your interests and hobbies relevant to the position you are applying for. This information will help you create a good first impression of the recruiter. This showcases your level of dedication, work ethic and passion. Participating in college events is a great way to highlight your teamwork and leadership qualities.
As a fresher, specifying more mini projects and high-level projects will give you more leverage. Internships are a great way to convey your practical skills.
Listing out languages will show your ability to grasp information.
*If the first three sections of your resume are strong, this section is optional.*
There are three types of resume formats. They are;
Reverse Chronological Format:
Reverse Chronological Format is the most popular and useful resume format. Recruiters tend to favour this format over other formats.
This format must include the following things:
- Contact information
- Resume summary or objectives
- A professional title
- Work experience
- Skills Section
- Education qualifications
- Hobbies (optional)
- Projects (optional)
- Training (optional)
Functional Format:
The functional format is the least common resume format for freshers. This format is different from the other two because it focuses on your talents or skills rather than your work experience.
The functional resume format will include the following key things:
- Contact Information
- Resume Summary or Objective
- Professional Title
- List of skills you possess
- Skills Summary
- Additional Skills
- Work Experience
- Education qualifications
Combination or hybrid format:
The combination or hybrid format is a combination of the previous two forms. Here both skills and experience are highlighted in the resume.
Here is a list of important things to include in the hybrid resume format for freshers:
- Contact Information
- Skill Summary
- Additional Skills
- Work Experience
- Education qualifications
Things to consider while building your resume
- Choose a clean and simple resume format with fewer graphical parts.
- Maintain appropriate spacing and margins.
- Select professional fonts, avoid using fancy fonts.
- A clear and straight objective statement is effective.
- Always consider providing main information (ex. skills, education) in bullets so that recruiter can easily notice.
- Use job keywords/skills in your resume, so it can pass the ATS scan.
- A single-page resume is considered best for freshers.
- Never lie on your resume regarding skill, certification or hobbies.
- Special emphasis must be given to any kind of work experience such as internships, industrial training, academic projects and volunteering.
- Do not use the same resume to apply for every position. Always be sure to adapt it according to the job description.
- You can add references. It will show your strong networking skills.
- Remember to re-read your resume to avoid grammatical mistakes and typos.
- After writing the resume, name your resume in a professional way (including your name, position title) and save it as a PDF or MS Word file.
Conclusion
Epitome.ai believes in making life easier for job seekers. If you need any help regarding setting up your resume, we are here to make your task easier. For a hassle-free resume-building experience, you can sign up on our platform as we allow user to build their profiles from scratch. We have a variety of templates, designs and professional ideas to choose from. In the end, we want the recruiter to accept your resume with the big YES!