How to Create a Resume for Freshers?

A right resume format for freshers is very essential for creating a good impression on hiring managers. There are 2 types of resumes: functional and chronological. Both of these formats are used as per need. Functional format of resume emphasises skills and education over experience. So, this resume format is suitable for freshers not having internships or project works to show. Alternatively, a chronological format of a resume can be used by freshers having consistent internships or part-time work expired. Let's understand the difficult section of a resume:

Here is a guide on resume sections for freshers: 

1). Contact Information: Placed at the top of the resume, this is the most important data in a resume. Contact information of an applicant is essential for connecting in the future regarding results or feedback. Also, ATS checker scans contact information and presents it to the recruiter. There are many cases of freshers missing contact information and then getting selected. But there was no point because the recruiter was unable to reach them, and this cost them a job offer. 

2). Educational Qualification: A resume should have all the relevant educational qualifications according to the job description. Always remember that you have to only mention the previous three years qualifications because a recruiter only looks for the latest educational qualifications. Also carefully examine the job description to know which educational qualifications are required for the targeted job, and include those only. A fresher should have this section in their resume as they don't have that much relevant experience yet. So their educational qualifications play a crucial role in selection for the job. 

3). Skills and Competencies: As a fresher, you should have a section highlighting your key skills and abilities because this section shows your potential to the hiring managers. Here are a few things that are involved in the skills and competencies section:   

• Technical Skills: Skills such as software understanding, AI tools, or programming languages are included as core skills for various jobs.   
• Soft Skills: Current job market has made it very important to learn soft skills. By learning adaptability skills, cross-communication, emotional intelligence, and AI understanding, You can increase your chances of making it to the interviews.

4). Internships and Projects: As a fresher, you should have relevant internship certificates to back your skills with corporate work experience. These internships show your practical experience in the field and readiness to work for the employer. Projects such as short-term commission works, freelancing, or affiliates can boost your CV. 

• Internship Details: Clearly mention every detail about the internship, such as the company name, role, duration of internship, and your contribution.
• Academic Projects: Under projects, you have the choice of involving academic projects, freelance works, or short-term commission-based projects. 
• Quantifiable Achievements: One thing to keep in mind while listing your contribution is to always write your contributions in action oriented language like “Improved customer satisfaction by 6%”. Using this type of approach helps the recruiter evaluate your contribution along with the results. 

5). Certifications and Training: If you do not have any internship or project work experience, but still, here's how you can write a resume without any experience. Certifications and training helps you understand corporate work life. While listing certifications and training, mention these things clearly: 

• Course Name: Mention the name of the course or certification at the top of the section.
• Issuing Organization: Specify the name of the company or organisation where you gained the certificate or training. 
• Date: Mention the dates clearly, including the starting date and the date of completion of certificate skill or course.
• Relevance: Before listing the certificates or training, you must go through the job description to identify the relevancy of your certificate with the job. Like certificates in MS Office, language known, management skills, or projects. 

6). Extracurricular Activities and Achievements: As you are a fresher, who is not having that many things to fill in the resume. Extracurricular activities and achievements help them make their resume stronger. Here are a few points to remember while writing extracurricular activities or achievements: 

• Competitions: Mention all the competitions where you have taken part or received recognition in academic, cultural, or maybe a sports event. 
• Leadership Roles: Highlight any kind of position of responsibility held by you, such as student council or club leader. 
• Community Work: Social work shows your commitment to services along with other works. You should be involved in community or charity activities and write them briefly to present your section as an impactful person.

Some tips for preparing an ATS-Friendly Resume are given below: 

• Use a Simple Format: Choose a simple, professional, and ATS-friendly CV format with clear headings and points. So do not use unusual fonts or designs. 

• Use Keywords from the Job Description: Analyse the job description and make a list of all relevant keywords because the importance of keywords in resumes has increased due to resume shortlisting softwares. 

• Avoid Unnecessary Graphics: Unnecessary graphics or images are not ready by ATS resume checkers and decreases your chances of getting shortlisted. 

• Save in the Right Format: The best format for saving a resume is PDF or .docx. These two formats are the most recommended due to their ATS friendliness. 

• Proofread for Errors: Before finalizing anything, must go through your resume and check for mistakes. You can also use mployee.me’s ResuScan for this. Our software scans your resume and recommends all the possible improvements.

Here are the most common resume mistakes freshers make: 

• No contact details.
• Fancy, unreadable formats.
• Irrelevant skills listed.
• Overloaded with details.
• Grammar/spelling errors.
• Missing LinkedIn Profile or Portfolio Links
• Inconsistent Font and Formatting
• Incorrect or Misleading Information
• No Customization for the Job Role
• Missing Keywords from Job Description