Resume format for freshers (2026): what goes where, with a free PDF and Word download
Published
Short answerUse one page, one column and plain text. Put your contact line first, then a 2-line summary, then education, projects, skills and any internship. Leave out your photo, date of birth and "declaration" unless the employer asks for them.
A fresher resume has one job: get you a call. Recruiters on campus drives and job portals look at hundreds of resumes in a day, so the layout has to be easy to skim, and the software that reads it first (the applicant tracking system, or ATS) has to be able to read it too. The format below works for most degrees and most private-sector jobs in India and abroad.
You can follow it by hand in Word or Google Docs, or open the free resume builder and pick the Fresher template, which already uses this order. Both give you a PDF and a Word file. There is no sign-up and no watermark.
The format at a glance
| Part | What to write | Length |
|---|---|---|
| Name and contact | Name, phone, professional email, city, LinkedIn or GitHub link | 2 lines |
| Summary | Who you are, your strongest skills, the role you want | 2 to 3 lines |
| Education | Degree, college, year, CGPA or percentage | 1 to 3 entries |
| Projects | 2 or 3 projects with what you built and the result | 2 to 3 bullets each |
| Skills | Tools and languages, grouped | 3 to 5 lines |
| Internship or work | Only if you have it; put it above Projects if it is relevant | 2 to 4 bullets each |
| Extras | Certificates, achievements, positions of responsibility | 3 to 6 lines |
Keep the whole thing to one page. Two pages is fine only when you have real work experience to show.
Why education comes first for a fresher
Experienced people lead with their jobs. You do not have those yet, so your degree and your projects are your evidence. Put Education right after the summary, then Projects. If you have an internship in the field you are applying to, move it above Projects.
The builder's Fresher template does this for you. In any template you can also drag the sections into your own order.
Section by section
Name and contact
Use your full name, one phone number, one email and your city. Make the email plain: [email protected] is better than [email protected]. Add a LinkedIn link, and a GitHub or portfolio link if you have one. You do not need your full postal address.
Summary (or career objective)
Two or three lines. Say what you studied, what you can do, and what role you want. Avoid "hard-working fresher seeking a challenging position", because it says nothing. There are copy-and-edit examples in resume summary for freshers.
Education
List the newest first. For each one, write the degree, the college or school, the years and your result. Use CGPA or percentage, whichever looks better, and keep it the same across entries. Include class 12 and class 10 only if the employer's form asks for them or your marks are strong.
B.Tech, Computer Science and Engineering 2021 – 2025 Anna University, Chennai CGPA 8.4 / 10
Projects
For a fresher, projects are the work experience. Pick two or three that show skills the job needs. Each one gets a name, a link if it is public, and two or three bullets: what you built, which tools you used, and a number if you have one (users, marks, time saved, accuracy).
Built a Python app that recommends movies from viewing history; used by 120 classmates in a campus test.
Skills
Group them so a recruiter can find the match in two seconds: Languages, Tools, Subjects. Use the exact words from the job post (for example "Power BI", not "dashboard software"), because ATS software matches words. There is a full list by field in resume skills for freshers.
Extras
Certificates from real courses, hackathons, class representative or club roles, and sports or volunteer work if they show leadership. Skip hobbies unless they add something.
What to leave out
- A photo, unless the employer asks for one. Most private-sector job applications do not need it. See should you put a photo on your resume.
- Date of birth, father's name, marital status, religion and a "Declaration" line. They are not needed for a resume and can cause bias. The builder's ATS check flags them.
- Two columns, tables, text boxes and pictures. Many ATS read these in the wrong order or skip them. See what makes a resume ATS-friendly.
- Long paragraphs. Use short bullets, each starting with a verb: built, designed, led, cut, analysed.
- Fonts that are hard to read. Use one plain font such as Arial, Calibri or Helvetica at 10 to 11 points.
PDF or Word?
Send PDF unless the employer asks for Word, because the layout cannot shift. Keep a Word copy so you can edit it later. The free builder downloads both from the same data. More on this in Word or PDF for your resume.
Check it before you send it
Open the Check tab in the resume builder. It scores your resume out of 100 and tells you what to fix: missing contact details, no numbers in your bullets, a weak summary, personal details you should remove. Paste a job post to see which keywords you are missing. Everything runs in your browser and nothing is uploaded.
Make your resume free
No sign-up, no watermark. Eight templates, a free ATS check, and PDF and Word downloads. Made on your device.
Frequently asked questions
How long should a fresher resume be?
One page. Recruiters spend only a short time on each resume, and a fresher rarely has enough experience to fill two pages with something useful.
Should I put a photo on my fresher resume?
Not unless the employer asks for one. A photo does not help software read your resume and some companies prefer to see none, to avoid bias. If a form asks for a photo, follow the form.
Is a Word resume or a PDF better for freshers?
Send a PDF by default so the layout stays exactly as you made it, and keep a Word copy for edits. If the job portal or recruiter asks for a Word file, send that.
What is the best resume format for a fresher with no experience?
Education first, then projects, then skills. Add internships, certificates and achievements below. Use a single column and plain text so ATS software can read it.
Can I make a fresher resume for free without sign-up?
Yes. The PromptUp resume builder is free, needs no account, adds no watermark and gives you a PDF and a Word file. It works on a phone as well as a computer.