Resume Format for Freshers in India (With a Sample You Can Copy)
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For most freshers in India, the right resume is one page, single column, with education near the top, followed by projects or internships, skills and a few achievements. No photo, no full address and no “references available on request”. The rest of this guide explains each section and shows a sample you can copy.
This applies to private-sector and campus applications. Government and PSU applications follow a different format, covered in the government job resume format guide.
The section order that works
| Section | What goes in | Length |
|---|---|---|
| Header | Name, mobile number, email, city, and a LinkedIn or portfolio link | 2 lines |
| Summary | Your degree, your strongest skill and the role you want | 2 to 3 lines |
| Education | Degree, college, year and CGPA or percentage; 12th and 10th in one line each | 3 to 5 lines |
| Projects and internships | Your two or three most relevant, each with what you did and the result | 2 to 4 bullets each |
| Skills | Tools and skills you could demonstrate, grouped by type | 1 to 3 lines |
| Certifications and achievements | Only those that relate to the role | 2 to 4 lines |
| Activities | Leadership roles, clubs or volunteering, if they show something relevant | 1 to 2 lines |
Why education comes first, for now
With no job history, your degree is your strongest credential, and campus recruiters look for the degree, branch and score first. After your first full-time role, move education below experience.
A fresher resume sample
Rohan Mehta · Pune · 98XXXXXXXX · rohan.mehta@example.com · linkedin.com/in/rohanmehta
Summary: BBA graduate (Marketing) with a social media internship and hands-on campaign projects. Looking for a marketing executive role where I can grow into analytics.
Education: BBA (Marketing), Savitribai Phule Pune University, 2026, CGPA 7.8/10 · 12th (Commerce), Maharashtra Board, 2023, 81% · 10th, 2021, 85%
Internship: Social Media Intern, Brightleaf Media, Jun to Aug 2025. Drafted 30+ posts across Instagram and LinkedIn. Tracked weekly reach in a spreadsheet and shared a one-page summary with the team.
Project: Campus fest promotion. Planned a three-channel campaign for a 1,200-person fest; ticket sales finished 20% above the previous year.
Skills: Canva · MS Excel (pivot tables, VLOOKUP) · Google Analytics basics · Hindi, English, Marathi
Certification: Fundamentals of Digital Marketing, 2025
All names, employers and numbers above are invented for illustration. Use your own real details.
Section by section
Summary. A good summary is specific. It names your degree, your strongest skill and the role you want. “Hard-working fresher seeking a challenging position” says nothing a recruiter can use.
Education. Use the same format on every line. Write CGPA with its scale, such as 7.8/10, because a bare 7.8 cannot be compared.
Projects and internships. Start each bullet with a verb and add a number or outcome wherever you honestly can. Two strong entries beat six thin ones. If you have none yet, our guide to a resume with no work experience shows what to use instead.
Skills. List only what you could demonstrate in an interview, grouped by type. Where it is true, use the same words the job description uses, since both recruiters and software look for them.
What to leave out
- A photo, unless the company or form asks for one.
- Your full postal address. A city is enough.
- Date of birth, father’s name and marital status, which private-sector resumes usually do not need.
- “References available on request” and a declaration block.
- An objective that begins “To work in a challenging environment”.
- Generic hobbies such as reading and music, unless they relate to the role.
- Skill ratings, bars and stars. Nobody can tell what “Excel 80%” means.
Format and file basics
- One page, single column, with body text at 10 to 12 pt and margins of at least 0.5 inch.
- A plain font such as Arial or Calibri. Avoid text boxes, icons and graphics for text.
- Save as PDF, named something like Rohan_Mehta_Resume.pdf.
- Dates written the same way everywhere.
For the reasoning behind these rules, read how ATS software reads your resume and one page or two.
Mistakes recruiters see most
- Inconsistent date formats and fonts from one section to the next.
- An unprofessional email address.
- Copying a sample word for word. Recruiters read the same lines again and again.
- Typos in the college name, degree or year.
- Listing every school activity so the strongest entries get lost.
Start from a layout that already follows this
On bestcv.in, the Compact Fresher template puts education first and is built for campus placements and first jobs, while Classic ATS is a single column in Arial with no graphics. Both are free to build and preview, and ₹49 once to download as PDF or DOCX.
Frequently asked questions
Should a fresher's resume be one page?
Yes. A fresher rarely has enough relevant material to justify a second page, and recruiters scanning a stack of campus applications read the first page far more closely than anything after it.
Should I put a photo on my resume?
For most private-sector applications in India, no photo is needed. Add one only if the company or the job form asks for it. Government and PSU applications follow different rules.
Should I write CGPA or percentage?
Use whichever your college reports and include the scale, for example 7.8/10 or 74%. Convert only if your university publishes an official conversion formula, or if a form asks for a percentage.
What if I have no projects or internships?
Use academic projects, coursework, certifications, volunteering and college activities, and describe what you actually did in each. Our guide on writing a resume with no work experience shows how.
Should I send my resume as PDF or Word?
Send a PDF unless the company or portal asks for Word. A PDF keeps your layout the same on every device.
Ready to put this into practice? Build your resume on bestcv.in: free to build and preview, ₹49 once to download, no subscription.