Are you in a chicken or egg situation? Wondering how to get a job? Everyone is asking for experience and unless you start somewhere you won’t get experience? How to create an impactful resume so that you get noticed and have the edge over others? Let us explore the tips for creating a good resume for new graduates which will make you land a great job. What should be added to a resume for new graduates?
Since you do not have work experience, how should you approach a job? Your resume is the first point of interaction when you apply for a job. Therefore, you need to create the WOW factor in your resume for new graduates?
How to add the WOW factor to a resume for new graduates?
What would a fresh graduate have to create his/her resume for new graduates? Typically, the coursework and academic grades! This is something that everyone has and will have on their resume? How do you differentiate yourself? What additional activities have you worked on? How can you project your capabilities?
Since there is no experience that you can quote, you have to focus on your future goals, your aspirations and how you can align with the company’s goals. This is the ‘Career Goal’ section that goes on your resume for new graduates.
“Career Goal” section in a resume for new graduates
“I am not sure where I want to work or what I can do”! If this is what you are thinking, do not worry because the majority of the graduates are in a similar position. So, how do I write? Let us look at a few aspects to zero in on the goal:
How do you choose a career?
- You are passionate about a subject or area and that is what drives you
- If you already have a mentor who has guided you, then your job is easier since you have a path identified for you
- Majority of the Graduates are not very clear where they want to start. So it is for you that here are a few factors to help you steer your career:
- Most often, if you are not fixed on a subject, one key factor is the pay that you can get
- Another factor is the sustenance of a career path– how long will this career last or will it be lost?
- What is the growth path in the career you are contemplating to pursue?
Facts to know for creating a good resume for new graduates
Career Growth and Sustenance
- “One fifth (1/5) of the world’s GDP (us $ 12 trillion) is being spent on projects.” That is a humongous amount – 20 % of the world’s GDP is being spent on projects.
- An Anderson Economic Group study report states that “projects avg. of 1.2M Job Openings Per Year in project-oriented professions.”
- Project-oriented roles along with certified people are in demand across IT/ITES, Construction, Infrastructure, Engineering, Finance, Manufacturing, Healthcare and Service Industries.
- PMI’s job growth report states that there is a clear rise in the jobs requiring project oriented skills where there is not enough talent to meet these needs. By 2027, 87.7 million will be needed in project-oriented roles.
Here is a list of industries/sectors where there are project-oriented job openings:
| Industry | Job openings (millions) |
| Manufacturing | 9.7 |
| Information Services & Publishing | 5.5 |
| Finance & Insurance | 4.6 |
| Management & Professional Services | 1.7 |
| Utilities | 0.28 |
| Oil & Gas | 0.05 |
These jobs are spread across the world. Depending on which country you are in, you can see the number of jobs being created.
Career and Pay
- How does a median annual salary of $45,611 sound for one with under 1-year experience? Great! This is the salary for an individual holding the CAPM- Certified Associate in Project Management which is the entry-level certification from Project Management Institute, USA.
- CAPM Certified managers typically would earn close to $ 100,000 if working in IT industry in Canada, Rs. 9 lacs if in Indian IT industry while it would be around $127,000 (highest) if in the USA.
- Did you know that the average salary of project-oriented roles in the United States is at least 80% higher than non-project oriented roles?
If what you have seen so far is interesting and want to know more, here you are!
What are projects and project-oriented roles?
Have you ever participated as a volunteer for a social project? Were you a member of any clubs in your university? What kind of activities did you work on? Did you run a campaign to collect funds for a cause? Did you conduct any cultural events- art exhibitions or plays/theatre? Have you conducted any technical fests or cultural fests in your school? All these can be added to a resume for new graduates as experience!
“Experience section” in a resume for new graduates
Work done as a member of a club or society: If you are a member of a theatre club and have worked on certain goals for the club such as organizing a play, you can project that as experience for project role. You can showcase your team play skills which are critical for a project-oriented role.
Organizer of a technical/cultural fest: If you spearheaded the organization of any event- seminar, play, art exhibition or an inter-college competition, you can project your leadership skills. Write about how you motivated the team towards the common goal and developed the vision for the whole show. These are the key skills that you need to have as a future project manager.
Internship
Have you worked as an intern? Talk about what you learned as an intern in your resume for new graduates. Describe the business knowledge that you acquired. Did you get to know how different business units function and need to coordinate to get the job done? What kind of collaboration skills and interpersonal skills did you use? Have you seen conflicts being resolved? Were you given targets/goals to achieve? Then, you have been experiencing and learning the skills needed for a project team member and leader. If you had a summer job at Walmart/Amazon/Costco, etc., look at your learning and not just the pay you received. All this is a valuable input to your resume for new graduates.
The next section that you can add in your resume for new graduates is about the Certifications/Honors/Awards that you received. Are you thinking that you do not have any of these? No worries! If you have found the project management arena exciting from what you have read so far, you have a chance to earn a certification in project management. This will put you a notch above the rest in the job scene.
Your next question is: I do not have any experience; so can I go for certification? What is the value for this? Who will give preference for this certification? I know you are bursting with questions since you definitely want to strengthen your chances of landing a job. So, here you are your answers!
“Certification” Section in a resume for new graduates
Most students would not have focused on any certifications and by the time they realize that certifications add value to a resume for new graduates, they find that they either need experience or a technical qualification. Here is the certification that you can go for without experience!
CAPM Certification: Make your resume for new graduates more impactful
Let us look at the answers to your questions:
What is CAPM certification?
CAPM is an entry-level certification from the world-renowned Project Management Institute.
Can I go for CAPM?
It is for fresh Graduates like you and also those of you who are having a High school diploma! CAPM is Certified Associate in Project Management. Therefore, even if you do not have any experience you can sit for CAPM exam. You can also check out CAPM Certification Requirements and see for yourself.
Attend our 100% Online & Self-Paced One-Hour Free CAPM Training.
What is the value of CAPM?
Globally recognized certificate in project management, which means acceptance and recognition across the world and in any domain.
- Shows your commitment towards the profession
- Indicates your long-term interest and investment in this career which in itself is a testimony to your career goal
- Desired certification for project coordinators and other project-oriented roles
- The way you communicate with your global clients, peers are more standardized and the terminology becomes uniform across the globe
- The chances that you complete the project more successfully is greater since you are better equipped
Who will prefer the CAPM?
You have seen earlier the shortfall in talent for project-oriented roles in various sectors ranging from Manufacturing to Publishing and Oil & Gas. So, pick your choice! As a new graduate, how you can show your mettle is through the CAPM certification that demonstrates your understanding of the project management knowledge and skills.
How to get your CAPM?
What does it take to become CAPM? Let us understand the prerequisites and procedure to become a CAPM.
Prerequisites
Do you have a high school diploma or its equivalent that recognized world over? In addition to this, you need to have one of these:
- Did you work for not less than 1500 hours in a project team?
- Did you undergo 23 hours of project management education?
Since you have just Graduated, you may not have the 1500 hours of experience, therefore, focus on the 23 hours of project management education. This Project management education prepares you for the job and the exam as well! Choose a good provider who will also guide you for the CAPM certification exam as well!
You can opt for an online CAPM training which helps you prepare at your convenience and your pace. You can use NEWGRADUATE25 coupon and save 25% in our online CAPM courses!
Procedure to become CAPM
How long is the exam duration?
3 hours and there are 150 question, multiple choice and, no negative marking.
Attend our 100% Online & Self-Paced One-Hour Free CAPM Training.
CAPM Training
CAPM eligibility does not specify an undergraduate degree, you can be holding a high school diploma as well to be eligible. Being a new graduate, you can opt for the 23-hour training since you may not have project experience.
How do you choose the training? Typically, the certificate you receive would also carry substantial weightage about your project management knowledge in addition to the CAPM certificate. So, choose the training provider wisely.
- Examine the CAPM Certification cost in every aspect. Consider the cost of the CAPM course since this is where you can save since exam fee is non-negotiable. CAPM Training Online is less expensive compared to the classroom training
- Check out the experience of the instructors
- Make sure you get a question bank to practice and a CAPM study guide to help you prepare.
You can use NEWGRADUATE25 coupon and save 25% in our online CAPM courses! Enroll in our CAPM Training.
CAPM Exam Fee
You can opt for the student membership and exam bundle that PMI Institute is offering which you can check out on the PMI website. For a PMI member, $225 is the exam fee but it may reduce further if you go for the student package that PMI offers.
CAPM Exam
Before taking the CAPM Exam be sure that you studied with a good CAPM Exam Guide.
Therefore, think of CAPM as a stepping stone for a successful career. Add zing to your resume for new graduates by focusing on CAPM certification and improve your chances of getting a great job that has growth prospects and will help you start big.
Author Biography
Sunanda Gundavajhala, B.Tech, M.B.A, PMP has over 25 years of project management. She is a consultant, trainer on project management for different sectors and is the recipient of “Recognition of Excellence” award from PMI, USA and Woman Volunteer award from Hyderabad, India Chapter of PMI. Sunanda has contributed to the “Practice Standard on Scheduling, PMI”. She has worked as the Liaison officer for PMIEF (Education Foundation) for the Hyderabad, India Chapter of PMI.