With the current pandemic situation, job hunt has become a nightmare. This is particularly true for those who are new to the workforce i.e. Freshers. Therefore, today we are going to provide resume tips for freshers to help them create a compelling resume.
Why is resume important?
In one of our previous posts, we have talked about the importance of resume. To reiterate, a resume is the most important document in your job search. It is the first point of contact between you and the employer. Hence, having a good resume is vital for getting a good job.
Recruiters are known to have a soft-corner for resumes that speaks their language. So, if you want your employer’s attention, there are a few things that you would need to learn, especially if you are a fresher.
Common fresher resume issues
The resume format for freshers must be transparent and smooth to browse. It must feature your strengths, skills, and academic achievements in a way that resonates with the employer’s requirements.
You need to make sure that when an employer reviews your resume, it screams that you’re fit for the job.
While it might sound overwhelming, it is not that difficult to write a resume that stands out. All you have to do is to avoid the below mistakes and use a relevant resume template to get the job done.
- Always draft your resume keeping in mind that any anticipated recruiter has their own peculiar criteria of selection. You must look into those criteria and address them. This is one of the biggest mistakes that freshers make and is a major cause for rejection.
- Another common mistake by freshers is to have an all-purpose resume with a generic theme. While this is the easier way, it is not the recommended one. Always make sure to modify your resume according to the job profile and industry.
- Discard all unnecessary information from the resume. You must only include appropriate and to the point facts.
- The amount of text should not exceed more than two pages. Stick to the solid and apt facts, unless further facts give you a clear leverage. None of the recruiters are going to read a multi-page resume, so write accordingly.
By avoiding the above mistakes, you can build a robust resume. However, the question you would have is – How do I do it?
Resume tips for freshers to get “THAT” job
The average time spent by an employer looking at a resume is about 6 seconds. Hence, you need to have an amazing elevators pitch to ensure visibility.
Let us understand this further by digging into the various aspects of the job hunting lifecycle. By following these resume tips for freshers, you can increase your job prospects by manifold.
The 7 tips for writing an effective resume –
- Understand the employer and position applied for.
- Clarity regarding career objective.
- Systematic way of presentation.
- Focus light on achievements and academic credentials.
- Modify to professional expectations and error-free grammar.
- Resume Keywords.
- The correct fonts and proper margins.
Let’s go over them one-by-one to assist you land your dream job interview.
Create a plan; Blueprint:
Everything needs planning before execution. Same goes for resume. Don’t just rush to whatever comes to your mind. Drafting a cut-and-dried plan will carry out your objective in the best possible manner.
Following are the few things to keep in mind while creating a plan:
1. Understand the employer and position applied for: Research on your employer’s business, the company’s mission and vision, state of the industry, and it’s requirement. This will give you the better understanding of the company and will let you customize your resume.
Include precise and apt information about yourself. The main objective about writing a resume is to give recruiter an understanding about your accomplishments and education and how it fits into their requirements.
2. Clarity regarding career objective: Your career objective must be enough clear to highlight not just your own goals, but also their alignment with the company. Take time to look into how the position will benefit you achieving your career goals. Your clarity will showcase to your recruiter that you are a clear-headed and systematic person.
Be your own creator; Structure:
Now that plan has been made, the next step is to execute and presenting the details in the form of structure.
3. Systematic way of presentation: Instead of writing in an elongated way, present your work using headings, sub-headings and bullet points. This will make your resume look precise and systematic.
All information from a similar category should be clubbed together. For example, all your skills or internship should be covered under the same section irrespective of their nature.
4. Focus light on achievements and academic credentials: Being a freshman, your academic credentials play an important role in your selection process. To highlight your academic credentials you can organize it in the form of table instead of bullet points. Also, highlight your achievements if you do hold any.
Internships and projects are very important to highlight as a fresher. However, do not overemphasize on them if they are not relevant to the job profile.
Market yourself; The Content:
Content is the king of your resume. This is one of the most important resume tips for freshers.
An impressive and magnificent resume can not be accomplished without quality content since it market you and your worth to the company.
Hence, focus on the quality of content that you create for your resume. Take professional help if required.
5. Modify to professional expectations and error-free grammar: Discard an all-purpose resume. You should customize the content of your resume according to job and requirements you are applying for. Along with accomplishments that highlights your knowledge and vision.
There are numerous of online free-tools available to assist you with grammatical errors. Always use error-free grammar in your resume to leave a good impression on your recruiter.
6. Resume Keywords: You must include keywords in the content of while writing a resume. You can find the keywords in the company’s website or the job description you are applying to. However, be mindful about keyword stuffing and don’t just write because you have to. The keywords must flow naturally into the content of the resume for best results.
Format & Design:
Everything is incomplete without suitable format and design, so as resume. You can also opt for resume templates to make your resume more professional. There are various of free online resources that provides radiant customizable templates. Following are the few directions to achieve a professional-visual resume.
7. The correct fonts and proper margins: The size and font used can completely mold the overall look of your resume. The professional fonts used are Arial, Times New Roman, Calibiri, etc. Choose a font size between 10-12, playing a very safe side.
Last but not the least, make your resume professional and neat. Use the same formatting style all over the resume. There is no defined margins width but a width of 0.5-1.0 inches (2.54 cm) looks optimal.
Conclusion
Resumes are, and will always be, important. If you’re a fresher looking for a job during these tough times, a strong resume is your biggest savior.
We hope these resume tips for freshers are able to solve some problems for you. Do leave us your suggestions in the comments section if you have any other tips that might help freshers.
Additionally, you should also check out the various tools that we have reviewed here. These writing and SEO tools, though primarily meant for content marketing, can also help in writing error free resumes.