7 Easy Tips to Transform A Fresher’s Resume
You are a fresh graduate about to enter the job market. And, your resume is the document that will introduce you to prospective employers. However, you may not have enough information to fill the pages, and your resume could look empty. Therefore, presenting the resume in an organized manner can give it a professional look. So, here are simple steps to make your resume stand out by including relevant information about yourself.
Use a simple format
There are three generally accepted resume formats: chronological, functional, and hybrid. Chronological resume qualifications and experience should be either in regular or reverse order. A functional resume emphasizes a candidate’s skills and knowledge, while a hybrid resume combines both. A reverse-chronological resume would be ideal for candidates without relevant experience.
Begin with a header and a summary
The header of the resume will have your personal information and contact details. Include links to your website, blogs or professional media profiles in the contact details. Below the header, add a resume summary, which is a synopsis to spark curiosity in a recruiter. A summary’s purpose is to highlight what you can do for the organization. A resume summary is typically between one to three sentences. For example, ‘A passionate student of humanities with a specialization in Global Economy. I am looking for the role of an associate researcher. I am meticulous and organized in my research and enthusiastic about challenging roles.’
Add educational qualifications
Include your educational qualifications based on the type of resume you use. If you use a reverse-chronological resume, add the recent and highest degree first and your high school information at the end. Include the name of the degree, year of passing, and the institution’s name for every qualification. You can add your GPA scores if necessary. Make sure to also include recognized professional certifications and online courses to justify your proficiency.
Include technical knowledge and soft skills
Most students pick up considerable technical skills without work experience. Include all the technical and non-technical skills you have learned as part of your education, internships, apprenticeship or those you have learned yourself.
Examples of skills you can include are:
Accountancy
Coding
Computer application
Creative writing
Design skills
Mathematics
Office Suite
Photo and video editing
Digital Marketing
Analytics
Carpentry
Examples of soft skills include:
Adaptability
Communication skills
Customer service skills
Organizational skills
Self-motivated
Team player
Add details of internships
Most college students work as interns before graduating. You can add details of your internships to compensate for the lack of full-time work experience. Mention the organization’s name, work, and what you learned during the internship. You can also include any notable achievements from your internship experiences. Always use the field you worked in as an intern. For example, use phrases like ‘Marketing Intern,’ ‘Accounting Intern,’ or ‘Writing Intern’ for recruiters to grasp your area of work quickly.
Extracurricular activities
Extracurricular activities are activities that you pursued in your school and college life. Ensure that you include important events you participated in to represent your institution. If you have been part of a club in your college, include those details in this section. Recruiters value activities like debating, sports, band, model United Nations, business club, public speaking, social welfare, and volunteering. Recruiters identify your skills picked from extracurricular activities to check if it could benefit the organization. Employers also are generally biased towards candidates with volunteering experience as it shows that the candidate has a well-rounded personality.
Things you should not have in a resume without any experience
Proofread your resume repeatedly to check for grammatical, spelling, and punctuation mistakes. Use online grammar-checking tools or ask friends or family to identify any errors. Do not use too many colors and complex fonts. Use formal fonts like Times New Roman, Ariel, or Cambria. Do not use bold fonts unnecessarily. Also avoid using photographs unless a company asks for a resume with your picture.