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Entry-level resume
First-time jobseekers or job market debutants often find developing a resume challenging. Every first-time jobseeker should be keen on the structure of his/her resume to ensure that it markets him/her in the best possible way. Similarly, fresh graduates and individuals making dramatic career shifts need to overcome some challenges to ensure they develop outstanding resumes. In most cases, the challenge is to develop a resume without employment history. Yet, any entry-level jobseeker or individual submitting a job application for the first time must describe and present his/her limited employment history in an appealing manner. This could prove daunting for debutant resume writers. Describing a constrained professional history positively could seem difficult.
Given the odds, entry-level resume templates can assist jobseekers in organizing their qualifications and other strengths in a manner capable of optimizing their likelihood to be hired. Even when supplied with the most appropriate entry-level templates, most first-time jobseekers struggle with what to enter where in the templates. Distinct from the student level resume, which focuses mainly on displaying academic accomplishments, the entry-level resume is meant to offer a breakthrough into the professional employment sphere. The essence of an entry-level resume is to present limited employment history as relevant and transferable to the job in question.
Entry-Level Resume Sections
Corresponding to the first section in the professional resume, an entry-level resume should open with the objective. Like in the professional resume, the objective in the entry-level resume should prescribe the joy type that the applicant seeks and the kind of sector they are interested in seeking employment. The objective should be properly structured, precise, and concise without jargon or redundancy. This will aid the employer in establishing outright what the applicant is looking for or aims at achieving. On the contrary, a muddled and poorly structured objective is going to confuse the prospective employer. This leads to the forthright rejection of the resume and termination from further consideration of the applicant. It is important that entry-level resume writers do not mistake the objective section for the summary section. It is advisable that entry-level resumes do not contain summary statements, which are more suited for candidates with vast experience as to warrant a professional resume.
In entry-level resumes, the education section is perhaps the most crucial since work experience is either nonexistent or negligible. It tells the recruiter that the applicant has the necessary academic qualifications or trainings that match the job requirements. Stated differently, the education section of an entry-level resume demonstrates the likely capacity of the applicant to undertake the tasks associated with a job position successfully.
First-time jobseekers are likely to find the education section particularly beneficial in demonstrating exemplary academic honors and achievements. Highlighting academic prowess is important in entry-level resumes because employers often consider it a direct indicator of potential workplace performance. Although lack of industry-based work experience renders the education section more significant, detailing complementary extracurricular and curricular performance in this section can considerably influence the employer’s perception of the candidate. This is because skills’ transfer to the workplace environment is easier for first-time employees with exemplary, complementary educational performance.
To navigate around the challenge of lack of experience, first-time jobseekers can employ several tactics besides those mentioned in the previous paragraph. One option is to match the layout of their resumes with the listing of the job requirements by the employer in the job posting. The other option is to opt for a template or layout that emulates the skills-based or functional format in detailing any useful work-related accomplishments as opposed to using the chronological format.
Listing any relevant internships, volunteering experiences, unpaid/paid work instances, and hobbies in the ‘would-be experience’ section would be another option of navigating the lack of experience for first-time employees. Such listing would demonstrate that the applicant is eagerly pursuing transition into employment while simultaneously demonstrating readiness to advance. Other skills honed during the education journey such as communication, organization, public speaking, events planning, and so on should be included in the education section as uncertified achievements. This tells the employer that the applicant is all-round and pursues many learning opportunities apart from the mainstream formal education.
One should not overlook the significance of including hobbies in their entry-level resumes. Jobseekers with interest in the digital media field might lack professional experience. However, demonstrating that they have been spending long hours in shooting and editing video content even for fun could qualify as relevant experience altogether. The essence is to demonstrate developing interest in the target industry for the entry-level applicant. Additionally, this demonstrates to the employer a desire to grow and advance professionally in a field one is already passionate about.
Entry-level resume writers should observe various tips when preparing resumes for their first jobs as either freshmen or entrants to a new industry sector. The most important tip is to bear in mind that the entry-level resume should purpose to catch the interest of the potential employer at first sight. This is perceived to be the key to achieving the ultimate objective of securing employment. However, getting an interview opportunity is the first major milestone an applicant must accomplish.
As is the case with preparing professional resumes, anyone preparing an entry-level resume should undertake substantive research about the industry they are interested in entering. Considering that first-time applicants are in most cases inexperienced in undertaking in-depth industry research, basic analyses such as looking at job postings, perusing through publications in the employment sector one is interested in, and consulting professionals in the HR sector or even recruiters. The idea is to offer practical insights to the jobseeker about what the entry-level resume is to contain.
Upon consolidating all preliminary research outcomes, the entry-level jobseeker should be ready to write the resume. The first step while writing is to determine the sections to include in the resume. Granted that job requirements differ with every job posting and the qualifications are equally different, the content and arrangement of each first-time resume will be equally different. However, it is advisable that entry-level resumes contain four principal sections.
Like any other resumes, entry-level resumes should have impeccable grammar, spelling, layout and formatting. Spelling errors or any inconsistencies exacerbate the negative first impression that entry-level resumes that have cluttered formatting and layouts create to potential employers and recruiters. Consequently, this means that proofreading is a vital task that any entry-level resume writer should undertake. If possible, it is important that the resume writer consult another person or institution to proofread their initial drafts.
The entry-level jobseeker should include his/her contact information after the name at the top of the resume. Preferably, contact information should include a phone number, physical mail address, and professional email address. The professional email address would normally contain the names of the resume owner and not fancy combinations or nicknames. As for mail addresses, keeping them updated is critical to ensuring that conventional employers who prefer contacting candidates via post can reach the candidate.
Entry-Level Resume Templates
As pointed out earlier on, the layout and presentation of any resume is critical to successful applications. For first-time jobseekers with little experience in developing resumes, using entry-level resume templates is the best approach. This is because resume templates will help the first-time jobseeker to determine what content to place where. A resume template is also helpful for individuals making a shift into another industry that requires a specific resume format. For example, resume formats for academia tend to differ significantly from IT management ones. Thus, an experienced IT manager applying for a teaching position at a university might need to use an entry-level resume template to ensure appealing formatting and layout.
Besides, using a resume template offer both first-time job applicants and experienced professionals shifting industries a guided yet systematic means for concentrating on the most relevant content. With a resume builder, the candidate can customize his/her resume as desired and get an actual preview of the final copy. This enables the resume writer to make on-course decisions before completing the final resume. This is important because organized presentation of the resume might make the employer overlook under-qualification at times. Resume builders help in eliminating chances of untidiness in formatting, typos and poor prioritization of achievements in entry-level resumes. Instead, resume templates and builders help jobseekers on emphasizing the most appealing achievements at the expense of what the candidate is lacking.