Being a fresher in the job market can be a hurdle while searching for a job. When every opening requires a said work experience, which the fresher lacks, and hence it can be difficult not to be discouraged. We need to work with what is at hand and mould our projection that is of value and worth. Certain things can be added, as well as curated, in a resume that can support this cause. Here are a few things you should keep in mind while creating a fresher resume:
1. Effective personal statement
Since a personal statement is at the beginning of your resume, it must give you the best impression. Describe your professional capabilities in a sentence or two, and it should sound aspirational and inspirational. Since you are a fresher and lack solid work experience, include subject qualifications and what you hope to learn and do on the job.
2. Familiarize yourself with the job requirement
This is extremely important as it will help you understand what is needed, from you. It can help in selecting industry-specific keywords that can be used in your resume. It can also give you an impression of what to expect from the job and, hence, you can do your adequate level of research on it.
3. Add contact details
Might sound silly, but then a lot of people fail to mention contact information. Add your phone number and if your WhatsApp number is different from that, include that as well. Make sure to include your email. Add your home address too. Include your LinkedIn profile.
4. Education
Go reverse chronological here. Start with the recent educational qualifications and talk about your achievements: ranks, awards received, or scholarships. Unless your CGPA is exceptional, do not include that. You can also include the societies and clubs you were a part of. If you had any leadership roles, talk about how many people you led, for what purposes, and what you achieved at the end of it.
5. Experiences
You can include your internships and volunteering experiences. Be clear and concise about what you undertook and learned with each of these experiences. Mention the time frame as well.
6. Highlight Relevant Skills
Here include your skill set that is expected from the job opening. Try not to flood your skill set and instead try to streamline your thoughts into what might be more effective and impactful on your resume. Add skills that you are excellent at because this section should speak highly of you.
7. Additional Information
In this section, you can include the certificate courses you had taken, and the languages you know. Include the proficiency levels for the latter. For the former, make sure it is certified by a legitimate institution and has no expiry date.
Make sure your entire resume is in a single font type, preferably Arial or Calibri. Make sure the entire document is justified and aligned properly. Let the line spacing be 1.5. Try not to overcrowd the document with a lot of statements and paragraphs, and instead stick to points. Using icons can break the monotone, but make sure it is not out of place.
9. Concise and Crisp
The golden rule of drafting a resume is to keep it short. Make sure it does not exceed 2 pages. Add things that you think are relevant for the job you are vying for. Camouflage your Resume with the demand, resumes for no two job openings should be the same.
As a fresher, it can be extremely taxing to send out resumes to companies and getting rejected on the grounds of experience. Though disheartening, try not to lose hope, but alas, it is easier said than done. Try writing back to companies on what can be done to improve your profile. Maybe a lot of them might not reply, but even if it is a handful of them that gets back, make sure to utilize that opportunity and work on your Resume.
References
- https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/resumes-cover-letters/fresher-resume
- https://resume.shine.com/cms/resume-format/freshers-2/2/
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