Campus placement puts your resume through three very different readers: your placement cell's format check, a mass recruiter's eligibility filter, and a product company's technical screen. One page can satisfy all three if you order it correctly.
The structure that works for all three
- Header — name, phone, college email, LinkedIn, GitHub. No photo unless your cell mandates one.
- Education — B.Tech branch, college, expected year, CGPA; 12th and 10th on one line each
- Technical skills — grouped: languages, frameworks, tools, coursework
- Projects — two to three, three lines each
- Internships / training — even a six-week one counts
- Achievements — ranks, contest ratings, scholarships, papers
- Positions of responsibility — club, fest, sports, NSS
CGPA: when to show it and when not to
Mass recruiters filter on it, so if you clear the common cut-offs (typically 6.5 or 7.0), print it. Below that, leave it off the resume and let the eligibility form carry it — there's no benefit to volunteering a number that triggers an instant reject during a human read.
If your CGPA rose sharply after first year, show the last-two-years average alongside the overall. It's honest and it tells a better story.
What mass recruiters check in ten seconds
For TCS, Infosys, Wipro, Cognizant and similar volume hiring, the first pass is mechanical: branch, CGPA, backlogs, year of passing, and whether your skills line contains the stack they're staffing. Make all five findable without scrolling.
What product companies look for instead
Product companies and startups care far less about CGPA and far more about what you've built and your problem-solving signal. For them, the projects section and any contest rating (Codeforces, LeetCode, ICPC) are the resume. Put them above the fold if that's your target.
Mistakes the placement cell will send back
- Inconsistent fonts from pasting between documents
- Dates missing on internships
- 'Expected 2026' written as '2026-present'
- A declaration line with a date and signature — no longer expected outside some PSU formats
- Personal details (father's name, marital status) that the format no longer needs
Common questions
Should I include backlogs on my resume?
No — the eligibility form asks for them separately and answering there is mandatory. Your resume is for what you've built, not for disclosures the process already collects.
Put this into practice
Build, score and tailor your resume with JotCV — free plan, no card needed.
Use a campus-ready template