THINGS NEEDED FOR GETTING HIRED
How to Get a Job as a Fresher (11 Easy Tips to Get There Faster)
Now that you’ve even announced your completion of graduation on your social media, it’s time for the next venture — finding a job as a fresher. You have a lot of companies in mind, and you even got in touch with a few. You’re doing everything right but there’s one thing coming in the way of landing fresher jobs — ‘fresher with one-year experience’. For every posting of fresher-specific job role, employers end up wanting someone with a little experience anyway. So,
How do you overcome this paradox of an ‘experienced fresher’?
It is not an impossible feat, and you can take certain steps to get a job without any prior professional experience. Here are some tips on how to get a job as a fresher.
1. A break helps
Give yourself just a few days to unwind from your recent sleepless exam nights before getting onto your job hunt right away. It is essential for you to come back to a fully rested and refreshed mental state in order to think and prepare well for what’s coming next.
2. List your strengths
How to get a job as a fresher
Focus on what abilities you have recognised in yourself over your academic years. Write down a list of soft skills or personal traits that you see in yourself. It could be anything such as the ability to communicate, verbally or through writing, or the skill to lead a group project. These are reflected in your resume as the skills needed to work in a professional environment, as an individual professional as well as a team member.
3. Seek help building your resume
How to get a job as a fresher
Sometimes, trying to dig out your skills and abilities can be quite confusing, and more so for someone trying to look for jobs as a fresher. This is where your close friends or family can help. Ask them to tell you what they see as your strong points and your weaknesses. You’ll be surprised to see yourself from their perspective, and find out more about you than you thought you knew.
Need help with your resume? Here’s how to go about it: Writing Your First Professional CV
4. Online job boards
How to get a job as a fresher
You can also get professional services for building your resume, from online job boards and portals where you can register yourself. These platforms allow you to search for the jobs you are looking for, filtering searches by posting date, experience, role, industry and location. You can have your resume and profile boosted for better search results among recruiters, learn tips and tricks to improve your interview skills, and get advice specific to industries and roles, and even other aspects of the professional lifestyle.
5. Make the most of your networking skills
How to get a job as a fresher
Living in the age of the internet and social media, it is imperative to have a network online. While professional networking sites such as LinkedIn are purely meant for career-oriented connections, even your social networking platforms have dedicated groups and pages for you to connect with people for professional opportunities. Organisations give employee referrals more preference than you might think. And more often than not, employees get a referral bonus too. So, don’t shy away from approaching a friend or friend’s friend, for you might actually be providing them an unexpected bonus.
Here are some ideas to build your networking skills: Networking: Using Facebook and Twitter to Find Your Next Job
6. Research your employer
how to get a job as a fresher
If you were to consider someone to work with you, you would naturally expect them to show some interest in you, right? Almost every interviewer asks you what you know of the company, and it definitely looks bad if you have no idea. Yes, you might be applying to multiple companies and remembering everyone’s details is difficult. But, as a fresher, having a keen interest in the company coupled with a passion to prove your worth are sure ways to make a good impression on the employer. It also helps if you customize your resume for specific roles/companies that you apply for.
7. Align your skills with the company goals
how to get a job as a fresher
So, you already listed out your skillset in your resume, and the interviewer has already seen it. Instead of repeating that during your interview, you can describe how your skills can be utilised to make an impact at the workplace. Highlight any achievements that are relevant to your role. You can cite examples of projects, assignments or volunteer work where you might have delivered actual results, therefore, proving how you can add value to your potential employer.
8. It’s either a good overview or it’s over
how to get a job as a fresher
Your resume only gets about 5–6 seconds before the recruiters move onto the next one. With such a small window, your overview is your best chance at grabbing your recruiter’s attention. Make it as crisp and to the point as possible, providing a comprehensive view of your purpose. This may sound intimidating, but nothing that a simple research on the internet won’t resolve.
9. Knowing your worth vs. negotiating your salary
how to get a job as a fresher
Earning your own money is one of the best things you look forward to as part of entering the professional life. While most companies have a fixed starting salary range for fresher jobs, some might be open to a little negotiation. But, before you think of negotiating, you must be aware of the industry range for your role. You can compare salaries for fresher roles in your industry from professional sites. The Monster Salary Index is one such option which provides you with a comprehensive report of salaries across roles, industries and even locations. If you think your offer is quite less than the standard range, you can put forth your case based on your research. Speak to them how you can be effective in the role and convince them that you deserve more than what is being offered.
More on how to negotiate your salary as a fresher: Should You Negotiate Your First Salary
10. Prepare for your interview — before and after
how to get a job as a fresher
There are loads of questionnaires specific to job roles, where you can prepare for expected interview questions. But, your best learning comes from the actual interview. Even if you don’t get to the next round, you now have live experience. Revisit your interview, study what your body language was, re-answer the interviewer’s questions, and refine your resume.
Here is a list of possible interview questions to prepare from: How to Answer 10 Most Common Interview Questions
11. Go high collar, go confident
How to get a job as a fresher
What you wear makes a significant impact on your first impression score. Before you start communicating and interacting with the interviewer, your choice of clothing reflects your attitude towards the interview. Depending on your role and industry, go for a formal or semi-formal outfit. For example, while most roles demand you dress in formals, for interviews with firms like an advertising agency, casual wear is actually more appropriate. But, no matter where you’re interviewed, don’t forget to wear confidence.
Some tips to help you get dressed for your interview: Interview Dress Code
If you are looking for a more detailed guidance on how to get a job as a fresher, read our Graduate Handbook. It is an all-encompassing help manual that covers all aspects of handling the job hunting spree. If you follow the points covered above, and keep learning from your job search experience, you have a much better chance of making it and eventually landing a job you deserve.
Good luck!
What to Put on a Resume: Good Things You Should Include
Sample Resumes That Include All the Key Sections
1. Nanica
Create the perfect resume
The best thing about this template? All key sections are noticeable in a flash thanks to big section headings. It helps you bring attention to what matters most. Also, this resume design is conservative and simple — recommended for corporate job applications.
2. Primo
Create the perfect resume
Another layout that helps you include everything in an organized manner. Primo features a timeline for your work history and education, making it super easy to navigate through your career progression. All the necessary sections are highlighted with tiny icons. Two columns make it easier to fit more information onto a single page. This template is very versatile: will work for traditional as well as creative jobs.
3. Cubic
Create the perfect resume
Another resume that helps you organize all the items better thanks to the double-column layout. Want to put more extra information on a resume? Courses? Additional activities? Certifications? With Cubic, you can include all that and still send out a one-pager. A good template for senior candidates.
4. Diamond
Create the perfect resume
This resume style is most popular amongst job seekers in business and finance. Again, the most important pieces of information are prominent thanks to professionally-looking headings.
5. Newcast
Create the perfect resume
Last but not least — Newcast. This resume template will help recruiters easily skim through all the necessary sections going from top to bottom. One of the most minimalist-yet-elegant resumes on our offer, nothing gimmicky, traditional layout, lots of white space — an ideal pick for academic admission applications or jobs in research.
Now, let’s go through all key sections you should put on your resume:
1. Contact Information
The contact information on your resume includes:
Your Name, Professional title, Phone Number (The one you answer.)Professional Email, Social Media Handles (Twitter and LinkedIn)
URL to Your Personal Website, Blog, or Portfolio
Adding your address is optional these days, especially if you are applying for a job in a different state or country.
If the job you’re applying for is not local, excluding your current address will help you avoid confusion.
And that’s all you need!
Pro Tip: Whenever you update your contact information, don’t forget to update it on your LinkedIn Profile as well. Having an optimized LinkedIn profile that is updated to reflect your resume is crucial, as the platform continues to be the most popular social media site for professionals.
2. A Resume Summary or Objective
Tricky question — what do you put at the beginning of your resume after your contact information?
Starting a resume with a summary or objective is a golden opportunity.
But which do you choose?
The resume objective is better for resumes for:
students, scholarships, internships, entry-level candidates, candidates without work experience, career changers, job seekers with career gaps
Everyone else should use a resume summary. Both are short, snappy introductions that should highlight your career progress and skill set. And if you don’t have much career progress, write two or three lines that tell a recruiter where you are and where you’re going professionally.
Writing a professional resume career summary isn’t easy, and it’s even harder when you’re trying to figure out how to write a resume objective.
The most important thing to keep in mind when writing both is that you no longer tell an employer what you want. You can actually boil it down to just a few words using our formula for resume titles.
Instead you tell them that you’re going to give them what they want.
3. Experience Section
The experience section is going to make up the body of your resume.
To begin, you do not need to list every job you’ve ever had.
Only add jobs that you had in the past ten or fifteen years or are relevant to the job for which you are applying. Just don’t leave large gaps in your job history. So, what should you include in your experience section? A list of relevant jobs in reverse-chronological order, starting with your current position. If you’ve worked for a no-name company, it might be a good idea to briefly describe it.
Write one or two lines about what the company is and does under the company’s name and before you dive into your bullet points.
Up to six bullet points describing your roles and responsibilities at each job.
Try to add responsibilities that reflect the skills listed in the job description and are most relevant to the job for which you are applying. When you write your bullet points, lead with an action verb. Paying attention to how you construct your bullet points makes your resume more readable. Start with an Action Verb. Make a Quantifiable Point. Follow up with a Specific Task.
After you list a responsibility, think if you achieved anything significant while carrying out that task. Did you increase sales or customer satisfaction? Did you complete a project ahead of time?
If you can add numbers or tangible details to illustrate the achievement — even better.
Numbers draw the eye of the recruiter to the achievement, and details help them imagine you achieving the same results for them.
That’s why adding your achievements to your resume is one of the best things you can do for your experience section.
Internships — but only if you have limited work experience.
If you’re a fresh graduate, it’s more than okay to list your internships. In fact, that’s when they should go on your resume.
But if you’ve been working for several years, it’s time to for the internships to go bye-bye.
The only exception to the rule is if you had a high-profile internship in a widely recognizable organization that’s relevant to the job to which you’re applying.
Add key skills throughout your experience section and make sure you include experience that matches what is required by the job offer. Whatever important information you find in the ad is potentially a keyword for your resume.
Also, feel free to list “non-traditional” work such as volunteer jobs or freelance work, especially if you haven’t held a regular job in a while.
Want to really strengthen your resume experience section?
When making a resume in our builder, drag & drop bullet points, skills, and auto-fill the boring stuff. Spell check? Check. Start building your resume here.
Create the perfect resume
When you’re done, Zety’s resume builder will score your resume and tell you exactly how to make it better.
4. Education Section
Your education section can either come after your experience section, or you can add it before if you’ve recently graduated.
What should you include?
A list of your degrees and schools.
Your education section is also written in reverse-chronological order, with your most recent degree appearing first.
If you have higher degrees, you do not need to add the high school you attended.
A description of your course of study.
You don’t have to add a description of what you studied, but you can if you’re a fresh graduate, want to emphasize it, or find particularly relevant to the job.
Any honors and awards you received.
A typical entry in your education section should include your type of degree, your major, the name of your university, and any honors and awards you received like this:
Honors BA in English Literature, Purdue University, Salutatorian
Pro Tip: You can skip your GPA if you’re a professional, and you can add it if you’re a student and it’s a 3.5 GPA or higher.
5. Skills to Grab a Recruiter’s Attention
When considering what to put on a resume, skills are the most important.
Your skills section is a list of your best skills.
Also, you should make sure that you list as many skills from the job description as possible.
These are your keyword skills, and they are what recruiters want to see.
But besides the keyword skills from the job offer, what skills need to go on a resume?
There are a few desirable skills that will look good on any resume, and if you have them they should definitely go on your resume.
Here are a few:
Communication (Written and Verbal)
Leadership
Planning and Strategic Thinking
Analytical Thinking and Research
Teamwork or Collaborative Work
You will want to scatter your skills throughout your experience section and put your best skills in your skill section. A traditional skills section is the best place for a list of your skills when your resume is up against Applicant Tracking System (ATS) software.
An alternative route to getting skills on your resume is to create an infographic resume. Graphic-based resumes allow you to lay out complex information in a simplistic way. However, infographic resumes are risky business. Applicant Tracking Systems can’t parse them and most recruiters don’t like them either.
Infographic resumes are only a supplement. You will still want a traditional resume.
6. Hobbies
Adding a hobbies and interests section to your resume is a very good idea, especially if you’ve got extra space.
Many companies are now placing more of an emphasis on personality and how well they think you’d fit in with their team and the company’s culture.
You don’t have to add a hobby section, but it’s a great way to show off your personality and set yourself apart.
It is definitely something that you should consider including on a resume.
7. Other Additional Sections
Besides a Hobbies and Interests section, there are other sections you could consider including on your resume.
If you’re writing a student’s resume and are struggling to fill it up, you could consider adding a separate section for awards and honors or additional activities, such as your extracurricular activities.
If you’ve got a technical background you might want to consider a separate section for certificates, licenses, or software.
Certain professionals who are have opted for a resume vs a CV might still find it relevant to add sections that highlight their publications or attendance at conferences.
Otherwise, you can add other sections to show a particular strength such as your command of several foreign languages.
Whatever you decide to add, just make sure that it doesn’t overwhelm your resume or comprise your resume length.
8. Tailor Your Resume To a Job Description
Remember to tailor your resume to the job description — this point is crucial.
The skills and experience listed in the job description are what recruiters look for when they initially scan your resume.
Add keywords from the job description throughout your resume.
It’s also a good idea to add most of the skills verbatim. Put them in your experience or your skills section.
When a hiring manager sees words from the job description, they will know that your resume is relevant and that you have the skill set they want in a potential candidate.
See what to put on a resume for your profession:
Part Time Job Resume, Federal Resume, Teen Resume, Business Resume, IT Professional Resume, Basic Resume Examples
Or find your profession here: Resume Examples for All Jobs 2021
16 Things You Should Not Include on a Good Resume
Here is a brief list of what you should not include on a good resume…
Don’t forget that in most cases, even an optional cover letter is necessary. Don’t treat this as another annoying hurdle, embrace it as an opportunity. We’ve got a great guide to help you: Writing a Cover Letter in 8 Simple Steps
In the Contact Information:
Your exact address, especially if you are not applying for a local job.
An unprofessional email address.
Personal information like your sex or marital status.
A photograph (the US and the UK).
When considering how to write a resume in the United States, be aware that it is not customary to add a profile picture.
You should research the company you want to apply to if you are thinking of adding an image of yourself to see if it would be acceptable.
In the Introduction:
Do not include a resume objective if you are a professional with a lot of work experience. Instead, go for a resume summary.
Salary requirements.
In the Experience and Education Sections:
Every job you ever had.
Jobs you only had for a very brief period of time.
Fluff words, especially adjectives and tired verbs.
Your GPA (with exceptions).
In Your Skills and Hobbies Sections:
Irrelevant skills that don’t translate to the job. Like your bowhunting and nunchuck skills. They simply take up valuable space without adding value.
Odd hobbies like cat hoarding. You will come across as weird, not quirky or charming.
Controversial hobbies that relate to politics, religion, or sex. If the recruiter is not on the same page as you, this can hurt your chances at connecting with them.
Fluff words, especially adjectives and tired verbs.
Other:
Lies. If you can’t think of how to write a resume without lying, then you are in trouble. It may seem like a small thing to exaggerate to make yourself look more capable, but one day you will have to face the music.
The phrase “References Available Upon Request.” You no longer have to add this to the bottom of a modern resume. Recruiters know that they can ask you to provide a reference if they want one, or you’ve already included your references anyway. Technically, you shouldn’t list references on your resume anyway. However, there’s a way around this in case the job ad asks for them. It’s a reference resume page.
Key Takeaway
What to Put on a Resume
Keep these points in mind as you are making your resume:
Not everyone’s perfect resume is going to look the same.
While a standard resume will include contact information, experience, and education, the skills and achievements you add will differ based on your job offer.
Remember that when you are trying to decide what to put on your resume your job description is your best friend. It tells you exactly what a hiring manager expects to see on your resume.
If you don’t include anything else on your resume make sure you add keywords, skills, and experience from your job offer and you can be sure that your resume is practically perfect in every way.
