Resumes are integral components of the job-search and application process. Freshers, often don’t know the CV sections for Freshers and the CV making process.
cvDragon helps students solve this dilemma by creating perfect resumes. For the best results, one must have these 20 important CV sections for Freshers on a CV.
#1: Basic Info:
Enter basic details like Name, Gender, Date of Birth. You can choose if you want your Nationality and Marital Status to be visible in the CV or not.
TIPS
- Add your entire Full Name with First Name and Surname.
- Do not misspell or complicate the name with symbols or special characters.
- Include relevant links like LinkedIn, portfolio (for Designers) or Medium (for Content Writers). Enter them as per the role you’re applying for.
[Note: Customise and update the profiles as per your qualifications.]
#2: Contact Details:
Enter contact details like phone number, email and address here.
Disclosing your contact number and email id is mandatory or else a Recruiter won’t be able to contact you.
TIPS
- Don’t give your work phone number, fax number in your contact details.
- Include a professional email address. Create a new account if your current email address is not appropriate.
- Include your own mobile phone number and not somebody else’s.
- Double check if you’ve entered the right phone number and correct email address.
#3: Profile Image:
It is not mandatory but you can upload a professional photograph or headshot of yourself.
TIPS
- Upload a recent profile picture not more than 6 months old.
- Don’t post selfies or group photos, use close-ups where the upper part of the body and face is clearly visible.
- Avoid photos with sunglasses, hats or masks.
- Ensure you’re properly visible and your face occupies about 60% of the image.
- Always use a passport size photograph.
Sample: Female Sample: Male
#4: Career Summary:
Enter a brief description of your career history and the most valuable skills and experience you have to offer.
It is the first CV Section that gets noticed, so write an impressive summary with some bold USPs.
TIPS
- Use an elevator pitch to grab the attention of the Recruiter.
- The summary should be a small paragraph not exceeding more than 3-4 sentences.
- Things to include in a Summary Statement:
Current Field + Experience in years + Career Focus
- Mention background details and relevant achievements for the particular position.
- A summary of what you achieved in your career and what you can offer your potential employer in the form of USPs.
[Note: Avoid fluff like: “I’m a great critical thinker,” “I have good teamwork skills,” “I’m super organised”.]
Examples for Career Summary:
- Freshers: “To become a Customer Service Manager to serve the Call Centre team with lead and sales generation. Willing to promote sustainable long-term goals at your organisation.”
- Experience: “Seeking a Service Manager position with 3 years experience in call centres. Organised team lead for support teams. Achieved 10% reduction in refunds and 15% increase in sales over a 2-year period.”
#5: Technical Skills:
Enter your Technical or Hard skills in this section. For example: ‘Java’, ‘SEO’, ‘Digital Marketing’ or ‘MS Office’.
TIPS
- Do not include outdated or irrelevant skills.
- Do not show generic technical skills for software programs. Specify which versions can you handle such as ‘Adobe Lightroom CC 2019’.
- List skills in order of relevance so that employers can recognize them quickly.
- Do not add several skills but only relevant ones as per the job description. So, update this section frequently for each specific role.
- Arrange your skills in order of proficiency. Put the skills first in which you are an expert and then in which you’re just competent.
- You can indicate competency using parameters such as ‘Beginner’, ‘Intermediate’ and ‘Proficient’.
- Use recognised and accessible vocabulary when listing skills.
- Be honest and only list skills that reflect your abilities.
#6: Soft Skills:
Enter your Soft skills that have been asked by your prospective employer regarding the role you’re seeking.
A targeted skills list is more effective than a long and overwhelming one.
TIPS
- Use action words and select skills that meet the position requirements. Note: Some Soft Skills are universal.
- Write short and understandable phrases. Remember, employers prefer simplicity.
- All the skills you list will be judged and verified during the interview process so be honest.
- Describe personal characteristics like ‘Fast Learner’, ‘Dependable’ or ‘Attention to Detail’ as skills.
- Do not include Technical or Hard skills in the Soft Skills section.
#7: Internships:
If you’ve participated in any internship or apprenticeship training, enter the details here.
TIPS
- An internship is same as work experience so it’s important for employers to know if you have done any relevant internships.
- Ensure that the internship experience is relevant to the job. Including internships and work experience paints a picture of your career path.
- List duties and responsibilities you had as part of the internship. Select appropriate tasks and enter them as bullet points.
#8: Volunteer Experience:
If you’re associated with NGOs or volunteer organisations, enter them here.
TIPS
- Recruiters prefer candidates who take part in fund gathering, charity and social services. It shows that you’re willing to contribute proactively.
- Community work shows employers that you have the skills to succeed and know how to apply them in the real world.
- Listing everything is not a good idea so compile a list of items you want to include and narrow it down.
- Don’t include anything offensive, odd or undesirable. Avoid participating in political campaigns unless you’re applying in a political organisation.
#9: Positions of Responsibility:
It refers to roles or positions that you held in your College or Institute for a particular goal.
They are useful for students with limited experience to add value to their resume for campus placements.
For example:
TIPS
- List any important Positions of Responsibility that demonstrates your Leadership and Team Player skills.
- Describe and list some points about how you achieved that particular goal or objective.
#10: Work Experience:
Enter work experience history so that employers can evaluate your candidature. Be accurate and concise while describing roles and responsibilities.
TIPS
- Do not use abbreviations. For example: Instead of writing “BDE” , write “Business Development Executive” as Designation.
- Enter job responsibilities in bullet format rather than in paragraphs.
Examples:
- Tracked sales conversions and improved hikes by 30%
- Coordinated invoice purchases and assisted customers.
- Emphasise on recent work experience. Be concrete and quantify responsibilities.
- Precisely describe the duties most relevant to the job.
- Include at least three bullet points for job experience.
- Avoid including unrelated experience altogether.
- If you don’t have work experience, mention any volunteer experience or internships done earlier.
- If you’ve unemployment gaps, list the activities you did such as courses, classes or educational activities etc.
#11: Work Projects:
Enter details about projects undertaken. Remember, details entered here should be associated with ‘Work Experience’ or ‘Internships’ sections on your resume.
TIPS
- Quantify and focus on the results of the projects and don’t just say “Led the project to increase production.”
For example “Designed and managed streamlining of division production processes, resulted in a 200-percent increase over the previous year.”
- Discuss how your involvement was beneficial to the project. Briefly mention the project background.
- Use active language to clearly connect your participation and results using phrases such as “Developed and led implementation of marketing programs to reach new markets overseas”.
- Highlight how your leadership resulted in surpassed project goals or objectives.
#12: Educational Background:
Enter details about Secondary, Higher Secondary and Graduation degrees in this section. It is a compulsory section.
TIPS
- Do not include scholarships, awards, recognitions or projects here. We have dedicated sections for them.
- If you hold professional qualifications like ‘MBA’, ‘Engineering’ etc, you can skip it.
- You can include school, college or institute names, board or University name, degree/ course done and marks, CGPA or year of qualification.
- Avoid CGPA or % marks if you’ve scored below the passing marks or CGPA since it can create a negative impression on Recruiters.
- Mention your Honours or Major Subject distinctly if it’s related to the role you’ve applied for.
#13: Academic Projects:
Enter details about academic projects such as research papers, projects, dissertations etc if you have any on the resume.
It is not required for those having more than 2+ years of work experience.
#14: Professional Qualifications:
If you hold any professional qualifications like “MBA”, “Chartered Accountancy”, enter them here.
Do not enter any scholarships, certification or short term courses here, Separate sections are available for them.
TIPS
- Include grades or percentage only if it is above passing marks or grade.
- Use the same tips for listing them as we’ve explained for the ‘Educational Background’ section.
#15: Hobbies, Passion & Interests:
Hobbies and interests say interesting details about your personality to employers. It’s not necessary that your Hobbies and interests have to match the job role.
TIPS
- Use this section to show that you’re a well-rounded individual and how you will make a great addition to the organisation.
- Don’t include offensive or undesirable information. Only include information that presents you in the best manner possible.
- Compile a list of your favourite hobbies and narrow it down to a few hobbies that make you an attractive employee.
- Interests such as reading or travelling are outdated. Show off your talent with active personality traits like drawing or writing.
#16: Co-Curricular Activities:
Co-curricular are activities, programs or learning experiences other than the educational activities you participated in such as Debate, Elocution and Recital.
#17: Spoken Languages:
Include languages in which you can communicate. The more languages you list, the more appealing will be your communication skills to a Recruiter.
TIPS
- A lot of MNCs prefer foreign languages so you can use websites like Duolingo, FluentU or Babbel to upskill yourself with language certifications.
- Be honest while including languages because a Recruiter might verify them during the interview.
- Mention if you can speak, read or write in a particular Language as per your fluency.
#18: Honours & Awards:
If you’ve received any awards, scholarships or honours for education/ work accolades, enter them here.
TIPS
- Do not include accolades earned in younger years or High School days in your professional resume.
- If you’ve received scholarships or awards from educational institutes, mention their names, duration and briefly describe them.
- Avoid listing honours with no relevance to your desired career goals or preferred roles.
- Don’t use extra technical jargon while talking about the awards received.
#19: Publications:
Enter details about articles you authored, reports created that have been published in any journal, magazine, newspaper or conference proceedings.
TIPS
- Career-related articles, books, blog posts, white papers and publications are essential for making a resume stand out.
- Including a list of published materials proves that you’re an expert in your field and that your work is respected or admired.
- Include publications that have appeared in peer-reviewed journals and cite archived sources where your articles have been published with their URLs.
- Double check every data item. An interested employer might search your articles and incorrect entries can lead to confusion and also reject your candidature.
#20: Certificates:
If you have certifications like “Certificate in Digital Marketing”, “Certificate in Pharmaceutical Management”, etc, enter them here.
TIPS
- Include certifications relevant to the desired job.
Related:Learn Technical Skills: FREE Certificates that add value on a Resume [2022]
- Do not include more than five recent certifications to avoid cluttering your resume.
- If the employer inquires about why you’ve included only five certifications, let them know if additional information is available.
- Certifications add value to your resume no matter if they’re a six-month Certificate course, a Diploma certificate or Advanced Diploma degree so always include them.
Conclusion:
So, these are some of the important CV Sections for Freshers which help to add value on a resume.
An HR report claims, “A Recruiter spends an average of 7 seconds skimming resumes.” So, making a resume that grabs their attention should be the main concern of every applicant.
We hope our guide for 20 Important CV Sections for Freshers will enable you to secure an interview soon!
