My teenage cousins are taking their turns to graduate, which is kind of sad because it means I am getting older >.<, but also quite happy, because this is an important milestone, transitioning from being a student, to a professional.
Out of three cousins, two had just graduated, and they came to me, asking for an advise for their resumes. The truth, I forgot how to develop my CV during my entry level period, however I do have some experiences in building a team, and worked with my bosses and HR team to recruit some staffs to strengthen our department.
Disclaimer: I am not an HR expert, I just had a several ideal jobs, and some of the HR team members are sweet friends of mine :) also I do some desktop research in order to write this, which in my opinion have a relevance with the needs of entry level job.
Before we get to the resume building, I wanted my cousin to realise that from today to the unknown when, is less than ideal time for our life. Be patient in finding a job, or a dream job. Stay confident and patient along the process.
For me, resume letter is one thing before others. Yes, you need to create an outstanding yet clear resume letter, however you also need to give attention to the needs of your future employer. An HR colleague once told me during our lunch meet-up 2 months ago, that even if the title is the same, each company may have different needs in the details.
That means, you need to adjust, shifting in emphasis, or making it more detail to one or more points so the HR people would know whether you are suitable for the position. Before that, let’s break it into some major aspects on how to write a resume.
First thing I would look for, is simplicity in the layout. I don’t mind having coloured papers or a bit of complexity in the overall design, but it needs to be proportional and easy to read. Font size, spacing, things like that. However, each industries are different, so just be confident, you can also ask for other’s opinion on how they would see it.
Contact details. Write your full name (and nickname), and address. I put my DOB on my resume, I think it is a bit accustomed in Indonesia. If you think your social media accounts would portray well in relevance to the role you’re after (or to express your personality in general) you can add that too.
Photo. I always have my photo in resume, and it is good to have HR to have the first glance at you. Make it professional. Dress appropriately, you may want go bolder with colours and patterns, however I would advise to keep the overall look clean, and since the objective is to recognise your face, wear something that complement the facial area.
Summary of the overall resume. As a fresh graduate, I had a very limited working experience. I would definitely put my academic background, and add particular things about my life at the Uni/College: notable projects, organisation I joined, etc. I wanted to show that I wasn’t just go to school, study, go home. I aimed for a very sociable role (Public Relations), hence I showed the communication and interpersonal skill, and team player.
I also put my internship records, not much of an “important” thing going on, but I would emphasise on the valuable learnings. Try to keep the summary short and meaningful, because you will still have some space to detail it under the Working Experience part. This part, in my opinion you should catch attention by reflecting your competence and potentials through your hard skills and soft skills. Finish with some sentences about why you are fit for the position, and why do you want to apply there. The first one shows you know the role expectation, and the second one you pay attention to the company as the whole - for this part, you can put it on your cover letter.
Education History and Working Experience should be straight forward explaining where you get your education and work/internship in details. Go ahead and sell yourself, your ideal length for a resume letter is one page, include the ones that make you reliable, full of initiatives, and resilient.
Recommendation letter or contact person. I put one of my professor’s contact in my resume (with his permission), which I think will built an image of me being a trusted person. He trusted my ability enough to want to speak on my behalf.
Don’t forget to proof read please. Give the HR and user a reason to believe they could rely on your attention to detail, a very important soft skill, from the very beginning.
There are a lot of information online about building a fresh-graduate/entry-level resume, do your research and tailor fit to your needs. Again, stay patient and keep being motivated in the process, as I said to my cousin, you can do it! :)
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| Wishing you good luck on your job search!^^ |
That’s it from me, please share your thoughts as well through the comment what you think would make a resume letter stand out and get you your dream job :) I wish you well, stay safe and healthy. Until next time!
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