Your resume can make or break your ability to find a job and pursue a career. It’ll be very challenging for you to land a stable job if potential employers aren’t impressed with how your resume is prepared. This can also become the reason why you won’t be able to earn money from a full-time job, climb up the professional ladder, and improve the quality of your life.
However, fresh graduates find it hard to create a resume for first job because they don’t have any idea what to include and exclude in the document. Since they don’t have any professional experience yet, they would often see themselves clueless on how to make a resume from scratch.
If you see yourself facing this kind of dilemma, let this article help. Here are ways you can create an impressive resume even if you’re still a fresh graduate:
1. Focus On The Future
Just because you don’t have any professional experience doesn’t mean that you should submit your resume as an almost blank document. Even as a fresh graduate, you can still incorporate the information in your resume that can convince potential employers that you’re the best person for the job.
For you to create an impressive resume as a fresh graduate, focus on the future, and indicate your hopes and plans in the document. Add an objective section and utilize this area to discuss what you want to achieve in your career, or how your skills can become an asset to your employer.
As a fresh graduate, indicating objectives in your resume is essential. This will enable potential employers to know you better, and allow you to showcase your own personality. The information presented in this section can help you stand out from hundreds or even thousands of applicants vying for the same position.
2. Incorporate Keywords
With the number of people applying for the same job, it’s important that your resume will stand out from the competition. Writing your resume just like anyone else would surely make it hard for you to land a job, especially since you don’t have any professional experience yet. As a fresh graduate, incorporating keywords to your resume is a great way for it to be different.
Before you prepare a resume, read the qualifications of the job you want to apply for. Does this job require excellent communication skills? Should the candidate have a degree in web design in order to qualify? Take note of the skills required for the job and indicate those keywords on your resume.
Incorporating keywords to your resume can leave a positive impression as employers will know that you actually read through their ads, and you fully understand what the position requires.
3. Emphasize References
The information you’ll include in your resume will be useless if you can’t provide names and contact numbers of individuals who can validate your skills. How can you convince potential employers that you’ve undergone an internship related to the job if you can’t provide the name of a colleague? Do you think potential employers will believe that you possess leadership skills if you can’t mention anyone who can vouch for it?
You can give more teeth to your resume by emphasizing character references. If you know someone who can vouch for your experience and skills, ask for their permission and add their names and contact numbers to your resume. These individuals can be your professors in college, colleagues from organizations, or mentors during your internships. Ideally, you should have at least three character references in your resume.
The feedback or comment the employer can gain from these character references will surely help them determine if you’re fit for their job opening.
4. Highlight Your Education
As long as highlighted properly, your education can become your asset in your resume. Instead of merely indicating your course and where you’ve studied in college, expand your educational experience by indicating specific topics you’ve learned in the classroom and life experiences you’ve gained from the course. For example, if you studied business administration in college, indicate how this course helped you socialize with other people or improve your communication skills.
If you’ve completed elective high school courses that align with your course in college and the position you’re applying for, make sure to indicate these in your resume as well.
5. Use Simple Language
Contrary to popular belief, using hifalutin words in your resume will never compensate for your lack of professional experience. Using complex words will only confuse potential employers and can become the reason why you’ll have a hard time conveying your thoughts and ideas to them.
To prevent this from happening, use simple words in your resume. Avoid using complex terms in the document. The simpler the words are in your resume, the easier it’ll be for potential employers to read through the entire document. You’ll also have better chances of being scheduled for an interview if the employer actually understands what you’ve written on your resume.
6. Make Use Of Free Editing Tools
Regardless of how flawless you think your resume is, it’s always important to use a spelling and grammar checker before submitting the document to potential employers. This tool is accessible online, and a lot of them are free and easy to use — perfect for fresh graduates!
A spelling and grammar checker will usually provide inputs on how you can improve your resume by making minor improvements, so make sure to take note of these and edit your resume as needed. You should never neglect the importance of such a tool because one misspelled word is usually enough to create a negative impression in the minds of potential employers.
Knowledge Is Power
Creating an impressive resume is challenging when you’re still a fresh graduate, but there are many tricks to make this process easy for you. If you’re planning to apply for your first job soon, use this article as your guide. As long as you’re willing, the information in this article is enough for you to create a resume that will surely wow your potential employers!
