How to Create a Basic Resume Format for Freshers

 A basic resume format for freshers is similar to the resume someone with more work experience might use. You'll fill in as much as possible in each section and add any other miscellaneous information that might help promote you as a good candidate for a job.  

• Header with your contact information 

• Personal statement 

• Education 

• Work experience (such as part-time jobs, internships, or volunteer work)

• Skills

• Languages 

• Additional miscellaneous sections that might showcase what you have to offer

Header with contact information 

Start by adding your contact information to the top of the page. This will be the easiest part, but ensuring you get it right is essential so interviewers can contact you. Keep it simple with your full name, address, phone number, and email address. 

Suppose you have professional social media accounts such as LinkedIn or Twitter; you can add the links to those below your contact information. Make sure that any social media you add is clean enough for your employers to view, and only add it if it enhances your career somehow. Also, if you need a professional email address, you'll want to create one, preferably with some version of your full name.  

Personal statement 

Next, you'll want to write a concise yet accurate personal statement summarising who you are and what you want in two to three sentences. Get straight to the point. As a fresher with little or no work experience, you'll want to highlight other aspects of who you are, though you will want to incorporate your current job goal. Remember that studies have shown recruiters spend less than eight seconds looking at a single resume. So, this is your place to grab their attention [1]. 

Here, you can talk briefly about your education, including your major. You can mention any internships, part-time jobs, awards, or certifications you've earned. You can also highlight your top skills. Highlighting your skills is an excellent idea if they match up with the wording used in the job advertisement.  

This can be the most challenging part of filling out a resume format for freshers because it takes some thought and creativity to begin. A good sample personal statement might read something like this: 

Recent university graduate with a degree in business administration and a passion for customer service, seeking an entry-level role in retail. Highly organised, excellent communicator, and great problem-solver, as demonstrated through a part-time job in sales and a three-month internship at XX store. 

Education 

If you have little or no work experience, focus on your educational background instead. List any postsecondary schools you've attended, dates of attendance, dates of graduation, and degrees you've earned. You can also add additional information if it's favourable, like your GPA, relevant coursework, significant projects, any clubs or societies you participated in, scholarships, honours, and any awards or accolades you earned. 

Start the entry with the degree or school name if you attended a highly respected university. Choose the one you think will get the most attention. Follow with the dates attended, and then add any remaining information in order of importance. 

Work experience 

Being a fresher doesn't always mean you don't have any work experience. Many people work their way through university or take on part-time jobs. You might have cared for your neighbour's child on weekends in secondary school. If you have work experience, you'll want to add it to your resume so that the interviewer knows you have successfully held a job, even if it is unrelated to the job you're applying for. 

Start the listing with the role or title you had, like "cashier", "customer service representative", or "barista". Place the dates of the job below the job title. There's no need to use exact dates—you can add the months and years. You'll also want to list the name of your employer. Next, list your key responsibilities and any skills you gained.  

What to do if you don’t have work experience? 

You have few options if you have yet to gain work experience. If you participated in any internships, you could list them here instead. You can also list any volunteer work you have been a part of. You can even list extracurricular activities here, like if you were a university sports team member or a student body president. Major projects you've completed, like research or website building, can also be added to your work experience section. 

Skills 

As said earlier, when you list your skills, you want to match them to the job you are applying for and use similar language. For example, if the job requires someone who is a good communicator, highlight your communication skills. 

To list your technical skills and your workplace skills, consider making two separate lists. Under workplace or human skills, you can list general skills like communication, time management, critical thinking, and problem-solving. Under technical skills or technical skills, you can list skills like data analysis, Microsoft Office, technical writing, or social media marketing. 

Languages 

If you speak multiple languages, highlight this under your skills section. If an employer seeks someone bilingual, this can be a significant advantage. As you list your languages, be sure to add whether it's your native language or you're fluent in it and if you can speak, read, write, or understand it or all four. 

Additional customised sections 

Whether you're a fresher with little to no work experience or you've been working for decades, there's a standard rule that your resume should only be one page long per each 10 years of experience. Meanwhile, you may need help filling in the page. If you've focused on your experience, list your skills and work or similar experiences. If you still have space, add a section that tells the recruiter more about you. Some acceptable ideas include the following:  

• Certifications 

• Awards you've earned

• Hobbies and interests

• Volunteer experience (if you didn't use this in the work experience section)

• Links to a personal blog, website, or portfolio that showcases your skills

• Additional courses that didn't fit into the education section 

• What you're most proud of accomplishing in life 

• A personal philosophy 

• Personal and professional references

• Any other miscellaneous skills that you couldn't fit into your skills section 

Next steps 

To prepare even further for entering the world of work, consider taking an online course on Coursera. You'll find options that can prepare you for everything from resume writing to job interviews, offered by the biggest names in business and education worldwide. Consider courses like:  

• Writing Winning Resumes and Cover Letters by the University of Maryland 

• How to Write a Resume (Project-Centred Course) by the State University of New York 

• Interviewing and Resume Writing by the University of Maryland 

• Land Your Next Role by Aptly 

• The Art of the Job Interview by Big Interview