Freshers won’t have any work experience to show, but they can still capture the attention of recruiters by showcasing their skills and expertise in certain ways.
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Experts say freshers should take special care to highlight their achievements and skills as they won’t have a body of work or experience to speak for them. Agrawal, founder and CEO of Internshala, an internship and online training platform, says there are some effective ways in which freshers can smartly plan their resumes to successfully land their first job.
1) Tailor your resume to each job and organisationIn today’s competitive world, standing out among your peers while applying for a job is crucial. One important step to take is to understand the job requirements well and do a thorough research about the organisation concerned. This would help you create a customised resume for each job opportunity you are applying to. This also goes a long way in showing the recruiter your keenness in joining the organisation.
2) Highlight relevant skills in your applicationAs an extension to customising your resume, it is quintessential that you showcase both your soft skills and relevant hard skills/job-specific skills. While hard skills are highly necessary for each job, soft skills are equally important. Oftentimes, most applicants for a job would have a similar set of hard skills. In such cases, your soft skills can make you stand out.
In fact, in today’s time of AI penetration across industries, employers are putting a greater emphasis on a candidate’s soft skills while evaluating them for a job. Fresh graduates must work especially hard on building such skills.
Here are some of the key soft skills employers are looking for in the post-pandemic world:
(a) Ownership Skills: Having high ownership skills is crucial for interns/entry-level applicants to take responsibility, stay motivated and complete their work efficiently
(b) Tech Savviness: Working remotely relies heavily on technology for internal communication, client outreach, project collaboration, virtual meetings and more. Being tech-savvy is a key attribute for professionals adapting to this digital work environment
(c) Agility: The dynamic nature of recent times, particularly influenced by events like the pandemic, underscores the importance of agility. Professionals need to be adaptable to changing circumstances, such as the shift from office to remote work, and the ease of this transition often depends on their agility
(d) Communication Skills: Effective verbal as well as written communication is crucial for remote work as it is conducted through emails, video conferencing and phone calls. Clear and polite communication is especially of utmost importance in a virtual setting where conveying ideas and inputs may pose a challenge
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(e) Time Management: With distractions prevalent in a home-based work environment, interns need strong time management skills. This includes completing tasks promptly, attending meetings punctually, and respecting both their own and others’ time
(f) Creativity: Virtual work often demands creative thinking for adaptation. Interns may need to creatively use virtual means such as emails and phone calls to implement their client outreach strategies
3)Emphasise on internship experiences and relevant projectsEven while hiring for entry-level positions, recruiters are often looking for some practical exposure and work experience in a candidate’s application. So internship experience and projects play a critical role in presenting your candidature for a job opportunity.
Internships and relevant real-world projects have the potential to validate your skill sets. It shows that you have professional exposure and hands-on experience, and gives the recruiters confidence in your competency for the said job.
4) Demonstrate quantifiable achievementsWhile adding an internship experience or an academic project to your application, make sure to highlight the responsibilities you have held and the impact you were able to make while working on the same. Wherever applicable, make use of numbers to quantify your achievements during these stints. Mentioning quantifiable achievements is a concrete and measurable way to showcase the impact you made through the projects and during internships. For instance, if you did a blogging internship, you could mention the number of blogs written and the amount of traffic generated on the blog through your contribution. Similarly, if interned in the sales field, you could mention the number of sales made during a specific time period.
5) Showcase your zeal for continuous learningChange and growth are continuous today due to the rapid technological advancements. In order to survive and thrive in the dynamic professional world, you must be enthusiastic to inculcate the habit of continuous and lifelong learning. Recruiters understand this and are always on the lookout for candidates who are committed to staying current in their fields. Here, highlighting your enthusiasm to learn the latest technologies and work practices could certainly give you an edge over your competitors. To do so, you can mention any certifications you have done, or workshops attended to stay up to date with the latest advancements in your field.
6)Build a professional online presenceHaving a professional online presence would include keeping your LinkedIn profile up-to-date and aligned with your resume. LinkedIn profiles have become a go-to step for many recruiters while they are initially evaluating a candidate for a job role at their organisation. Make sure that you have added all your relevant projects, internship experiences, academic achievements, certifications, and skills on your LinkedIn profile along with a compelling summary talking about your professional aspirations and objectives.
In addition to LinkedIn, other online platforms for specific job roles need to stay updated. For instance, while hiring for a graphic designer role, employers would be interested in taking a look at your Behance (social media platform owned by Adobe) profile. Similarly, for a programming role, they would be keen on seeing an updated GitHub (code hosting platform for collaboration and version control) profile.
