A fresher resume in India is usually one page, in one column with plain headings, with Education first, then Projects, Internships, Skills and Certifications, sent as a PDF unless Word is requested. Write your marks with the scale, for example "CGPA 8.2/10", and never round them up, because offers are commonly checked against marksheets. A photo is optional and usually left off for IT and multinational roles, and a short summary should replace the generic "Objective".
If you are a final-year student or a recent graduate in India, your first resume probably started as a senior's copy: a long objective, a table of marks from Class 10 onward, and a column of hobbies. Recruiters on Naukri, LinkedIn and company career pages see hundreds of these. This guide covers what Indian recruiters and placement cells generally expect from a fresher resume, how to write your degree and CGPA, and how to turn projects, internships and NPTEL courses into real experience.
Every name, college, company and figure in the example below is made up, so use your own details. Practice varies by employer: "common" here means common, not required. If a placement notice or job advert asks for something specific, follow it.
Want to build the worked example below as your own? Build this fresher resume in the builder with the India setup. It opens with a matching template and an optional date of birth field, which prints only if you fill it in.
The basic format: one page, one column
There is no official standard, but the usual pattern for a fresher resume is steady:
- One page. You do not have enough work history for two. A second page usually means school detail and repeated duties.
- One column, plain headings. Education, Projects, Internships, Skills, Certifications. Screening software and portal parsers read simple layouts best (see what an ATS is).
- Education first. For a fresher the degree is the strongest credential. Move Projects above Education only if you are applying for a technical role and your projects are clearly stronger than your marks.
- PDF by default. Name it Rohan-Mehta-Resume.pdf, not "resume final 3". Send Word (.docx) only when asked.
In India "resume" and "CV" are often used for the same document; academic applications use "CV" for a longer record. See CV vs resume if unsure.
Campus placement vs off-campus: two different jobs for the same document
This is the biggest India-specific point, and most guides skip it.
Campus placement. At many colleges the training and placement (T&P) cell collects resumes and sends them to visiting companies, sometimes in one college format. Follow it. Companies often announce eligibility rules such as a minimum CGPA, specific branches or a limit on active backlogs, so your resume is read after you meet those, and accuracy matters more than design.
Off-campus. You apply yourself through Naukri, LinkedIn, Internshala, company career pages or referrals. Here nobody has filtered you. Your resume has to pass a quick scan by a recruiter who knows nothing about your college, so the profile and your first two projects or internships carry the weight.
Objective or summary?
The classic Indian fresher resume opens with an "Objective" such as "Seeking a challenging position in a reputed organisation where I can utilise my skills." It could belong to any of the thousands of applicants and tells the reader nothing. Replace it with a two- or three-line summary: what you studied, what you have built or done, and the role you want.
Before: "Objective: To obtain a challenging position in a reputed organisation that offers growth and utilises my skills and knowledge."
After: "B.Tech Computer Science graduate (CGPA 8.2/10) with a four-week web-development internship and a final-year project on bus-pass management. Comfortable with Java, SQL and basic React. Looking for a software engineer or graduate trainee role."
Rewrite it for each type of job.
Writing your degree, CGPA and percentage
Indian marks come in more than one form, so always show the scale.
- Degree wording. Write the full name, the specialisation, the college, the university and the years: "B.Tech, Computer Science and Engineering, Example Institute of Technology, affiliated to Example University, 2022 to 2026". Equivalent forms are "BCom (Hons)", "BA Economics" or "BBA". If you have not finished, write "expected 2026" or "final year".
- CGPA. Many colleges use a 10-point scale, some use 4 or 5 points. Write "CGPA 8.2/10". Without the scale, a reader cannot tell what 8.2 means.
- Percentage. Some universities and many company forms ask for it. If your university publishes a CGPA-to-percentage formula, use that exact formula. Never invent your own conversion.
- Class 10 and Class 12. Give one short line each with the board and year, such as "Class 12 (CBSE, Science), 2022: 88%". Company forms often ask for these. Keep them below your degree.
- Backlogs and gaps. Do not hide them. Many campus eligibility forms ask about active backlogs, and background checks compare against your marksheets. If you had a gap year, one honest line such as "Gap year (2022 to 2023): CAT preparation" is better than leaving the dates unexplained.
Never round up. Offer letters in India are commonly verified against your marksheets.
Projects, internships and certifications count as experience
Recruiters hiring freshers know you have not held a full-time job. They look for proof that you can build something, finish it and work in a team. For each entry, say what you did and what came of it. Use numbers only when they are true.
Final-year or academic project
Before: "Project: Bus pass management system using Java and MySQL."
After: "Built the booking and renewal module of a four-person bus-pass management system (Java, MySQL); tested it with 50 sample student records and presented it to the department panel."
Internship
Before: "Internship at a software company. Learned a lot about web development."
After: "Web Development Intern (4 weeks), Sample Tech Solutions, Pune: fixed 12 front-end bugs in an internal dashboard and built a responsive contact form (HTML, CSS, JavaScript)."
Certifications and online courses
Courses on NPTEL (run by the IITs and IISc and offered through the SWAYAM platform), Coursera, Google, Microsoft and similar platforms are very common among Indian freshers, so a bare list of course names does not stand out. Make each one count:
- Write the exact course name, platform and year.
- Say whether you completed it and, for NPTEL, whether you took the exam and passed. Mark unfinished courses "in progress".
- Add what you built or practised: "NPTEL: Programming in Java (2025); built a library-fee calculator as the course assignment."
Hackathons, club roles and NSS or NCC service count too, if you can say what you did in a line.
Skills: write them so a person and a portal can both read them
Job portals and applicant tracking systems commonly match the words in your resume against the words in the job description. This works in general terms: if the advert asks for "SQL", "Excel" or "communication with clients", and you have those, use the same words, not a paraphrase.
- Group them: "Languages: Java, Python, SQL. Web: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, React (basic). Tools: Git, VS Code."
- For commerce roles: "Tally Prime, Excel (VLOOKUP, pivot tables), GST basics", if true.
- Skip skill bars and percentages. "Python 80%" cannot be checked. "Python (scripts, file handling)" can.
Use the portal's own profile fields as well as the attached resume. On Naukri and LinkedIn, recruiters often search the profile first, so keep the two consistent: same degree, dates and job titles.
Photo and personal details
- Photo. Optional, and usually absent for IT and multinational roles, where it is often left out so that the resume is judged on content. Some local, hospitality or sales employers still expect one. If the advert or your T&P cell asks, use a recent passport-style photo with a plain background. Otherwise leave it off.
- Date of birth, father's name, marital status, nationality. Older formats list these. Most private employers do not need them on the resume. Government-linked adverts often state age limits, so check the notice.
- Aadhaar and PAN numbers. Leave them off. Resumes get shared by email and forwarded in WhatsApp groups, and an ID number printed on one can be misused. Give it on the official joining form if it is needed.
- Contact. Professional email, mobile with +91, city and a LinkedIn or GitHub link. Skip the full home address.
A worked example: Rohan Mehta (illustrative)
This example is made up. It has no photo or date of birth; add them only if the employer asks.
Rohan Mehta
Pune, Maharashtra · +91 98765 43210 · rohan.mehta@example.com · linkedin.com/in/rohan-mehta-example · github.com/rohan-exampleSummary
B.Tech Computer Science graduate (CGPA 8.2/10) with a web-development internship and a final-year project on bus-pass management. Comfortable with Java, SQL and basic React. Looking for a software engineer or graduate trainee role.Education
B.Tech, Computer Science and Engineering, Example Institute of Technology, Pune, 2022 to 2026. CGPA 8.2/10.
Class 12 (Maharashtra State Board, Science), 2022: 86%
Class 10 (Maharashtra State Board), 2020: 91%Projects
Bus Pass Management System (final-year project, team of four)
• Built the booking and renewal module (Java, MySQL)
• Tested with 50 sample student records; presented to the department panel
Library Fee Calculator (personal project)
• Python script that totals late fees from a CSV file; code on GitHubInternship
Web Development Intern, Sample Tech Solutions, Pune, Jun to Jul 2025
• Fixed 12 front-end bugs in an internal dashboard
• Built a responsive contact form (HTML, CSS, JavaScript)Skills
Languages: Java, Python, SQL · Web: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, React (basic) · Tools: Git, VS CodeCertifications and activities
NPTEL: Programming in Java, 2025 (exam passed)
Coding club volunteer, 2024 to 2025: ran three weekly practice sessions for first-year students
Languages: English (fluent), Hindi (native), Marathi (fluent)
Common mistakes on fresher resumes in India
- A generic objective. Replace it with a specific summary.
- Project titles with no detail. Say your part, the tools and the result.
- Tables and graphics. They can confuse portal parsers. More in the top 10 CV mistakes.
Choosing a template
Fresh Banner is built for first-time applicants, with a clear header and room for education, projects and skills. First Draft is a quiet, traditional serif design with no photo, which suits commerce, law and conventional corporate roles. Open Baseline is a clean layout that works well for technical roles where projects and skills lead. Browse the rest in the template gallery.
Before you send it
Read it aloud, check every date and ask a friend to proofread. Make sure the summary and first two entries match each job you apply for; our guide to writing a professional CV shows how. Then open the resume builder and start. Building is open to everyone, and you need a free account to download the PDF or Word file. The FAQ has more.
Frequently asked questions
Should a fresher resume in India have a photo?
It is usually optional. Leave it off for IT and multinational roles unless the advert asks. Add a recent passport-style photo if your placement cell or a local employer expects one.
Should I write CGPA or percentage on my resume?
Write whichever your college uses and always show the scale, for example "CGPA 8.2/10". If a form asks for a percentage, use your university's official conversion formula rather than your own.
Should a fresher resume be one page or two?
One page. A fresher rarely has enough relevant content for two, and a short, clear page is easier for recruiters and portals to read.