Simple CV Format For Freshers/ Your First Job | Free Templates

As a recent graduate with little to no work experience, writing a CV can be difficult. However, if you want to land interviews and a good job with great pay, you should start with a well-tuned CV.

You should choose the best CV format before writing one, especially if you’re new. Modeling after a working friend or mentor with years of experience is pointless. No worries—we’ve got you.

This article explains what a fresher CV is, the three CV formats, the best CV format for freshers, and how to write the perfect CV to get more interviews. Let’s begin!

What Is A Fresher CV?

Curriculum vitae (CV) means “course of life” in Latin and includes your professional skills, education, work experience, scholarships, awards, and achievements. Your CV should match the job description and only include relevant skills and experiences.

Fresher CVs are similar to regular CVs. You write a fresher CV to apply for your first job after graduating. Applying for jobs as a new graduate can be difficult because you’ll be competing with many more experienced applicants. You must write a great fresher CV to attract recruiters and beat out other applicants for the job you want.

How Many CV Formats Are There?

Now that you understand what a fresher CV is, let’s take a look at the types of CV formats.

There are three basic CV formats which are:

• The functional CV format
• The reverse-chronological CV format
• The combination/hybrid CV format

What Are The Differences Between The Formats?

We’ll go through each of the CV formats, so you’ll have a better understanding of their uses and differences.

1 . The Functional CV Format

The functional CV format, also known as a skills-based CV, emphasizes the applicant’s skills over their employment history. Research has shown that recruiters dislike this type of CV format, making it the least popular among applicants.

The functional CV format is built like this:

• Full name
• Professional title
• Contact information such as your phone number, professional email, city, zip code and country where you reside
• Your profile ( this is a summary of who you are and your most endearing quality, and make sure to match it to the job description)
• Your skills (this usually takes up the majority of the space)
• Experience and employment history
• Educational qualifications

2 . The Reverse-chronological CV Format

The reverse-chronological CV format is the most commonly used by applicants. Probably because it is the most straightforward, and hiring managers prefer it because it highlights the applicant’s experience and employment history. To use this CV format, begin by listing all of your professional experience and employment history in reverse chronological order. That is, you begin by listing the most recent ones.

Here’s how it’s built:

• Full name
• Professional title
• Contact information such as your phone number, professional email, city, zip code and country where you reside
• Your profile ( this is a summary of who you are and your most endearing quality, and make sure to match it to the job description)
• Experience and employment history (this usually takes up the majority of the space)
• Educational qualifications
• Skills

3 . The Combination/Hybrid CV Format

As the name suggests, this CV format is a hybrid of functional and reverse-chronological CV formats. To use the combination CV format, first list your skills and educational qualifications, then your employment history. However, keep in mind that you should only highlight skills and work experience that are relevant to the job position.

Here’s how the combination CV format is built.

• Full name
• Contact information such as your phone number, professional email, city, zip code and country where you reside
• Skills
• Additional Skills
• Educational qualifications
• Experience and employment history

You’re free to switch positions between the qualifications and experience sections but you must always place the additional skills right next to the skills section.

What Is The Best CV Format For Freshers?

The reverse chronological and combination formats are the best resume formats for freshers. As a fresher, you can use either of these CV formats, even if you have no work experience. Simply replace the employment history section with your internship experience, awards, and achievements. Another helpful tip is to concentrate on your skills and other volunteer work you’ve done.

How Can I Write My CV As A Fresher?

Writing your CV as a fresher is quite easy, just follow the steps below.

• First, you start by writing out your name and all your personal information at the top of the page.
• Fill out your educational qualifications and employment history.
• Add custom sections such as personal projects or volunteer work.
• List out your skills and languages.
• Add extra custom sections like volunteer or internship experience.

How To Choose A Resume Format For Fresher Jobs That Will Land You More Interviews

There are numerous resume formats to choose from, but the best resume format for freshers must meet the following criteria: it must contain all of the necessary sections and have a clear and simple layout. Your fresher resume must include the following sections:

• A header. This includes your name and contact details.
• Career objective. This is a summary of what you have to offer.
• Work experience if you have any.
• Education section.
• Skills section which includes a short list of relevant skills that match the job description.
• Additional sections such as “achievements” or “volunteer” highlight your strong points especially since you do not have prior work experience.

Now that you know what to include in your fresher resume, here are some pointers to help you create the ideal resume format that will land you more interviews, regardless of industry.

1. Make sure your resume is scannable and easy to read; the overall layout is what distinguishes a good fresher resume. Your resume should be easy to scan and read. To accomplish this, use white spaces to separate large chunks of text. We recommend 1.5 line spacing and 1-inch margins on each side to make reading easier. You should also use well-defined subheadings to neatly divide your resume into sections. Finally, stick to standard fonts such as Arial or Calibri and avoid using fancy fonts that make your resume difficult to read. Ideally, the font size should be 11 to 12 points.

2. Keep your resume short: one page is the ideal length for any resume, including a fresher’s. If you discover after writing that it is longer than one page, you must go over it again to ensure that you are only including necessary information and removing irrelevant ones. Also, try rewriting long sentences to make them shorter, but never use tight line spacing or smaller fonts to fit everything on one page.

3. Submit your resume as a PDF: Unless otherwise specified by the employer, sending your resume as a PDF file will better preserve the document’s format and layout.

Here’s a sample of a fresher resume:

Gabriel Isaac
Graduate of Business Administration
08045689251
Gabrielisaac@yahoomail.com
Linkedin.com/in/gabrielisaac
Nationality: Nigerian

Objective

Zealous and hardworking graduate of Business Administration with 6 months of the bookkeeping internship experience. Kept a detailed account of all supplies and purchases, which were double-checked and accepted by the HOD. Winner of the ” Business Minds” proposal writing competition, looking to leverage proven data analytics and accounting skills to help Anchor Suites in providing excellent business management.

Experience

Accounting Intern
Legend Interiors Ltd
February 2021 – August 2021

• Recorded daily supplies and purchases of furniture, which were accepted by HOD as being 99% correct.
• Took stock of inventory once a month and reported timely findings of damaged furniture which helped cut the company’s loss by 20%.
• Supervised the sales team ensuring proper accounting of cash inflow.
• Created a database using Excel for easy compilation of the company’s quarterly reports.

Education

BSc, Business Administration 4.3 / 5.0 GPA
University of Nigeria, Nsukka
2017-2022

• Pursued a passion for Business Analysis coursework
• Won the 4-day” Business Minds” proposal writing competition, in 2021
• CGPA of 4.5 / 5.0

Computer Appreciation Training Certificate
Delta State Skills Acquisition Center, Asaba.
June 2016 – December 2016

• Acquired basic computer knowledge of Microsoft Office including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• Engaged in computer networking and basic graphic design practicals

West African Secondary School Certificate WASSCE
Zappa Secondary School, Asaba, Delta State.
March 2015

Skills

• Proposal writing
• Bookkeeping and accounting
• Project management
• Use of Microsoft Office- Word, Excel and PowerPoint
• Analytical skills
• Communication skills
• Teamwork

Languages

• English
• French
• Igbo

Conclusion

Writing your first CV or resume as a fresher can be confusing, but I believe that with the information in this post, you’ll be well on your way to creating the ideal CV/resume that will land you your dream job. Not ready to create your own CV? Use this free CV builder