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The ATS résumé guide for freshers

Campus recruiters receive hundreds of résumés per drive. Software ranks them before a human reads any. Here is what that software checks and how a fresher with no job experience still passes.

The seven checks that reject most fresher résumés

  1. No phone or email in plain text. Put both on line two.
  2. Scanned or image PDFs. Export from Word or Google Docs, never a photo.
  3. Non-standard headings. Use Summary, Skills, Education, Projects, Experience or Internships, Certifications.
  4. First person. "Built a Flask app" not "I built a Flask app".
  5. Tables and two columns. The parser reads them out of order.
  6. Missing role keywords. Name the exact tools: Excel, not spreadsheets; Tally, not accounting software.
  7. Bullets without verbs or numbers. "Built a tracker used by 200 students" beats "Worked on a project".

A one-page format that passes

Name, then email, phone, city, LinkedIn. A two-line summary that says your course, year and target role. Skills as a comma-separated line. Projects with name, tech, one or two bullets with a number. Internships the same way. Education with year and CGPA. Certifications with year. 120 to 700 words. No photo, no table, no colour blocks.

Role keywords recruiters search

  • Software: Python, Java, JavaScript, SQL, Git, data structures, algorithms, OOP, REST API, HTML, CSS, React, Node.js, debugging, testing.
  • Data: Python, SQL, Excel, pandas, statistics, Power BI, Tableau, data cleaning, dashboards, regression.
  • Finance and accounts: Tally, Excel, GST, accounting, financial statements, reconciliation, ledger, taxation, MIS.
  • Sales and marketing: lead generation, CRM, negotiation, digital marketing, SEO, social media, campaigns, Google Analytics, market research.
  • HR: recruitment, onboarding, screening, employee engagement, payroll, HRMS, sourcing.

Only list what you have used. Recruiters ask about every keyword in the first round.

Check it before you send it

Wishire's ATS résumé checker runs all of these checks, scores the résumé, and fixes wording in one click without adding facts. "ATS approved" means 75 or above with every critical check passing.

Questions people ask

Should a fresher résumé have an objective?
A two-line summary works better: course, year, target role, one proof point.
One page or two?
One. Recruiters give a fresher résumé about eight seconds.

Start free 2 AI mock interviews, 1 proctored test and your first résumé build are free with your college licence.

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