Resume Writing Tips To Land Your Dream Job

After completing your undergraduate program, you’re looking forward to starting your career journey with enthusiasm. As usual, searching for a job begins with submitting a resume. With so many formats and resume samples for freshers out there, it’s easy to get confused about where to start. Some career paths or industries, such as investment banking and fashion trade, require specifically formatted resumes, while other formats simply narrow down to your personal preferences.

Statistics show that an average corporate job vacancy gets about 250 resumes. That shows how competitive the employment market is. Therefore, knowing the nitty-gritty in resume preparation can significantly increase your chances of landing your dream job.  

In this article, we’ll share some practical tips for writing a powerful resume for freshers looking for their first job and some tips for freshers to write resumes that will surely give you a competitive edge against other job applicants.  

What is a Resume? 

A resume is a formal document written by a job applicant detailing their qualifications for a job opening. Think of it as an overview, highlighting your academic achievements and professional and personal experience to give recruiters clear insights into who you are and your qualifications for an advertised job opening. A resume usually comes with a cover letter, wherein the candidate expresses interest in a specific job or company. It also captures the recruiter’s attention by briefly highlighting the most relevant items in the resume.  

Most people use the terms resume and Curriculum vitae (CV) interchangeably, but they differ. As a fresher, you’ll likely be applying for entry-level roles, which means your employer will likely request a resume – a short document to them more about yourself and your education. On the other hand, a CV is used by an experienced job candidate as it’s more focused on the applicant’s experience, achievements, and credentials than their skills.  

Types of Resume Formats 

Once you have all the critical information to include in your resume, it’s time to think about the format. For freshers, there are three formats for writing a job resume: chronological, functional, and combination (hybrid) formats.  

Chronological Resume

As the name suggests, this format lists the elements in your resume chronologically in reverse order, starting from your current job position and going backward. It’s the same format you’ll use when detailing other items, such as the academic background. 

Functional/Skills-based Resume

When using this format, job candidates must focus on the skills and strengths crucial to the prospective employer. Thus, it omits specific dates, names, and places, with little to no work history.  

Combination Resume

This format combines the flexibility and strengths of a chronological format and those of a skills-based resume.  

Whichever format you choose, ensure you have a summary of skills and experience followed by a bullet list of previous jobs in reverse chronological order. In addition, outline your academic achievements, such as certifications and degrees earned. You may also include a final section highlighting interpersonal skills, such as computer skills, fluency in a foreign language, hobbies, professional affiliations, and other honors. 

Send Your Resume in a PDF 

Whether you use Microsoft Word or Adobe Software to create a basic template, it’s always a good practice to send the resume as PDF if the application portal supports such file format.  

Being a fresher, you’re new to the job market. If you’re applying for an internship, consider using resume samples for freshers that place your education above professional experience. However, if you’re a grad student applying for a full-time job, it would be best to have your professional experience before education achievements since job experience is a critical and informative part of you.  

Tips for Writing a Winning Resume 

There are many ways you can prepare your resume and grab the attention of your potential first employer, from making it more personal to identifying ways to document and portray yourself as a professional. Below are six tips for sprucing up your resume.  

Add Your Recent Achievements 

Think about the things you’ve accomplished over the last year and ensure you include them in your resume. That requires a little brainstorming; therefore, ask yourself: what projects have I managed? What are some of the results that I can show for it?  

Having the answers to these questions can help you identify the elements of your life that position you as the best candidate for a job opening. Most importantly, browse the recent job listings in your industry to find out how to incorporate industry-specific jargon and keywords.  

Make It Personal and Professional  

Your word choice when drafting a professional resume for freshers matters; including industry jargon is an added advantage as it demonstrates your experience and professionalism in your field. Also, incorporate words that describe your personality, values, character, and passions. Most employers want to work with people they like, and making your resume personal sparks a sense of curiosity about you, thus compelling them to call you for an interview.  

Create a Resume that Resonates with the Job Vacancy 

Whether you’re using traditional or other tech-forward formats, you must understand that a professional resume for freshers is a marketing tool that tells your recruiter that you’re skilled to perform the duties outlined in the job description. Therefore, frame your resume around the job opening you’re applying for. To do that, try expressing yourself in terms of who you are, what you do, how you do it, and what impact you can have on the company.  

Communicate the Value You Bring 

Another way to revamp your resume is to focus on the value you can add to a company instead of concentrating on your skills and credentials. Ensure you keep it short and fluff-free. Remember, recruiters have tons of resumes to go through. Therefore, they’ll be attracted to nimble job applicants who can clearly articulate the value they bring in a two-page resume, especially if they implement a lean management strategy.  

Add Your Passions, Interests, and Hobbies to Your Resume 

If a company calls you for a job interview, it means they already know your skills and experience – what motivates them to interview you is to know who you are. Thus, include your interests, passions, and hobbies, as these provide points to start the interview. Further, list your contact information, skills, passions, and objectives in a separate section, so they stand out from other elements like education history and job experience.  

Have Online Visibility 

The paper-based resume is old technology. Remember, we are all data points, and our professional brand is a crucial asset. In this tech-savvy era, many employers and companies leverage social media websites like LinkedIn to search for top talents. Furthermore, AI-powered software and machine learning have become vital tools in identifying suitable talent profiles for advertised job vacancies. Hence, it’s mission-critical for freshers to have a robust digital presence and build online communities to position themselves for employers to find and even consider them for a role.  

How to Write the Resume Content 

Having known the tips for sprucing up a resume for freshers looking for the first job, you might wonder: “How do I organize and write the bullet points?” 

• The best approach is to start each sentence/statement with a strong verb, such as created, developed, directed, strategized, etc.  
• Follow this action verb with the core content or the actual task, project, or duties you undertook. 
• Include the results or beneficial outcomes resulting from the core content. 

Here’s an example: Suppose you’re a content marketing assistant and helped your company increase its newsletter open rates, a suitable bullet point will be something like this: “Developed a content calendar for the corporate newsletter that boosted the open rate by 7%.” 

When writing the bullet points, begin with the most important, narrowing them down to the least crucial. Therefore, you should first list the most striking examples. Additionally, ensure the verb tense is consistent throughout the document. If you’re referring to a position you currently hold, use the present tense. But if you’re talking about things that happened in the past, write the resume in the past tense.  

The Dos and Don’ts of Resume Writing 

Dos

• Know your job search objective before writing your resume, and frame it around the position you’re applying for 
• Focus on the positive achievements and outcomes. 
• Customize the resume to match your specific field by using industry buzzwords. 
• Write strong, action-centric statements about your work 
• Make it as short as possible 
• In each section, list the experiences in reverse chronological order, i.e. start with the strongest point first. 
• Highlight your specific accomplishments instead of discussing them in detail. 
• Proofread your draft. Your friends, advisors, or a career center may help with that. 

Don’ts 

• Make general claims, such as “Good computer skills,” without backup information. 
• Lie about your GPA score, skills, or abilities 
• Don’t exceed more than two pages  
• List references on the same page(s) of your resume content. They should be submitted on a separate page and presented at the recruiter’s request. 
• Include long and generic information. Recruiters are often too busy to go through all that. 

Get the Right Education Online

Your educational qualifications are as important as your job experience and the skills you have acquired. Therefore, earning a college degree can be hugely beneficial to your job prospects. If you are looking for an affordable online program that’s also high-quality and flexible, University of the People is the right educational choice for you. UoPeople prepares students and young leaders for successful careers by providing world-class excellence in its academic curriculum. A nonprofit, tuition-free, American-accredited university, UoPeople is dedicated to opening access to higher education by offering programs ranging from bachelor’s and associate degrees to master’s and non-degree or certificate programs. With faculties like business administration, computer science, education, and health science, UoPeople positions you for the most lucrative fields to help spruce up your job resume. Apply today and become a changemaker in your community and future career.