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Fresh Out of College? Here’s How to Make Your Resume Look Attractive to a Recruiter

In this blog post, we go over the ways you can write resumes that help you stand out and score interviews and jobs.
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Photo: Unsplash

Graduating from college is fulfilling. Finally, you’ll start working on your dream career and make money. But that’s not usually the case for most graduates. They send many job applications but get rejected or never hear from the recruiters. You must change your tactics if you apply to jobs but always get left out. Otherwise, you’ll remain unemployed for a longer time.

Writing a captivating resume is one of the quickest ways to land a job when fresh from college. Since many applicants want the same position, you must give the recruiter solid reasons to call you for an interview. A compelling resume can land you your dream job even without experience.

There’s a way to write fresher resumes, which differs from those with work experience. In either scenario, you can hire essay help to proofread and edit your CV drafts. In this blog post, we go over the ways you can write resumes that help you stand out and score interviews and jobs.

Let’s get started.

1. Make Your Resume Concise

Recruiters receive hundreds of resumes from applicants. Thus, they only take a few seconds to skim through and filter them. That’s why you must use concise words that quickly relay your key points. When formatting, add relevant sections to the position you're applying for. 

Your resume should be one page long at most. 

Here are the most important sections to include in your resume:

  • The header - your name, contact, and relevant social media channels
  • Professional summary or objective
  • Work experience 
  • Achievements
  • Skills 
  • Certifications, coursework, and awards
  • Education

2. Tailor Your Resume to Match the Job You’re Applying For 

You might grab the recruiter's attention, so make it worthwhile by showing you’ve read the job description and know what they seek. Read the job post and write the essential duties and experience. You can get invited for your first job interview if you match most of them. But if you have no experience, start with what you have and work through it.

If you went for an internship or voluntary work during your studies, highlight those in your resume. Write down your roles and key achievements to make the CV more appealing. Add specific numbers or values to stand out further. If you haven't done volunteer work or any internship, you can still add relevance by highlighting your skills and abilities matching the role.

3. Write a Captivating Summary or Objective

While experienced people can create a compelling summary by highlighting their work experience, you can't do so when fresh out of college. Instead of focusing on experience, tailor your CV to highlight your goals and how they can impact your prospective organization.

Your goals and motivation should match the company’s culture, mission, or vision. That way, you attract the recruiter by showing how valuable you can be to their company. Visit the organization’s website or official page and read through it. Take note of the fundamental values and mission, then match your objectives or goals to them in summary.

Note: Mention the company by name. Your summary should be a paragraph of 3-4 lines long.

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Photo: Pexels

4. Highlight Coursework, Certifications, and Awards Relevant to the Role

Another excellent way to make your resume appealing without work experience is to discuss the certifications and awards relevant to the open position. Relevant certificates and awards show that you’re familiar with the responsibilities you’re applying for, even without experience. They also signify competence, making you more attractive to recruiters.

5. Add Relevant Work Experience From Internships and Voluntary Work

Work experience is a significant section recruiters check to find the best fit. But when you’re just from college, you’re likely to have never worked in a corporate job and have no experience. Add relevant experience from an internship or extracurricular work on campus to counter this. Talk about your duties in detail. Mention key achievements with metrics to make your resume stand out. 

If you have never volunteered or had an internship, explain your skills and abilities and how they can be helpful to the organization.

6. Add Well-Known References

Your references section is another place to focus on if you want to land an interview with your prospective company. Mentioning an employee of the target company or a reputable person can make your resume more attractive to a recruiter.

A current employee in your target organization acts as a mutual contact. It may sound like favoritism, but mentioning them will make your application appealing to the recruiter. Also, if you know a reputable person in the industry you’re applying for, mention them. 

Getting reputable people in the industry as contacts takes a lot of work. Start creating these connections while on campus. It could be the person who mentored you on campus or was a leader of a well-known club or organization you were in. Remember to include such people when they know of you and can positively speak about you.

7. Edit and Proofread Your Resume

Proofreading your resume may sound obvious. But, even the best candidates with typos and grammar errors in their resumes turn off recruiters. A CV with mistakes creates the impression of carelessness, and no recruiter will want to hire you. That’s why you must read through your CV and remove the mistakes before sending it to the recruiter.

An edited resume will make it easier for the recruiter to read through it without straining to understand what you’re saying. After creating your CV, pass it through grammar editors to correct the mistakes. You can also read through it aloud or ask a friend or family member to help you identify errors.

Here are the main things to edit and proofread to make your CV attractive:

  • Grammar mistakes
  • Punctuation errors
  • Spelling mistakes
  • Wrong sentences structures
  • Wordy sentences
  • Unclear or unprofessional details
  • Wrong contact information

Conclusion

Getting your first job after college can be daunting. You have no work experience, and many recruiters may ignore your application. But you can quickly land your first job by writing a captivating, fresher resume. Identify the skills, abilities, certifications, and awards relevant to the job and highlight them in the CV. To make it appealing to a recruiter, make the CV one page long, and proofread it before sending it.