The Indian Resume Format: A Short Guide to How to Write a Resume in India (+Example)

indian resume format

It's an exciting time to be looking for a job in India, as the country is set to become the third-largest GDP growth engine for the planet by 2030. But landing your dream job there starts with knowing the Indian resume format by heart.

Did you know that the Indian resume format has some unique features that set it apart from its Western counterparts?

Tailored specifically to appeal to Indian employers, this format highlights your skills and qualifications while placing a strong emphasis on academic achievements, technical skills, personal details, and in some cases, even family background.

As a resume builder that’s helped over 2.5 million people create their resumes, many of them coming from India, we’re here to share our expertise and guide you through the ins and outs of the Indian resume format.

In this short guide, we’ll walk you through the essential components of an Indian resume, share some design and formatting tips, and provide a list of dos and don’ts to help you create a resume that gets noticed by Indian hiring managers. We'll also show you an Indian resume sample from a real person who got hired.

Table of Contents

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Table of Contents

Understanding the Indian resume format

While in many aspects, the Indian resume format mirrors resumes from the rest of the world, there are some significant differences.

Generally speaking, the Indian resume format places greater emphasis on personal details, educational qualifications, and technical skills.

While some aspects of the format may be considered unconventional by Western standards, they serve to showcase the unique strengths of Indian professionals.

Indian resume format vs western resume format

What are the key differences between Indian and Western resume formats?

  1. Indian resumes can be a bit longer. In the Western parts of the world, the length of your resume is ideally one or two pages. Yet, in India, recruiters and hiring managers often accept resumes as long as three pages. So don't hesitate to include more information on your resume that you'd, for example, in the U.S.
  2. Resume formats are often detailed and elaborated. Compared to Western countries, in India, you can get away with relatively extravagant or creative resume designs. Indian resumes may use more decorative elements, including borders, colors, and different fonts. Western resumes, especially in the US, tend to have a more minimalist and clean design, with limited use of colors and a focus on readability.
  3. More personal details. While Western resumes typically only include the candidate's name, email address, and phone number, Indian resumes often include additional information like date of birth, gender, marital status, religion, and sometimes even the names of the parents. That's because Indian recruiters may be interested in the candidate's family background. However, you should only share what you feel comfortable with.
  4. Objective statement. Indian resumes often begin with an objective statement that outlines the candidate's career goals and aspirations. Western resumes, on the other hand, tend to replace the objective statement with a professional summary that highlights the candidate's key strengths and accomplishments.
  5. Emphasis on academic qualifications and achievements. While Western resumes generally focus more on skills and work experience, the Indian resume format places significant emphasis on educational qualifications by providing detailed information about grades, ranks, and distinctions.
  6. Technical skills and certifications. Indian resumes put an emphasis on certifications and a wide range of technical skills. These are typically listed in a separate section before the work experience section and are clearly divided by areas of expertise. Western resumes, on the other hand, tend to integrate technical skills within the work experience section or list them in a separate skills section without emphasizing certifications as much.

Now that you know the key differences between Indian and Western resumes, let's have a look at a real resume sample from an Indian job seeker.

Indian resume format sample

So, what does an Indian resume look like?

Take a look at the Indian resume example below. It comes from a real person who got hired as a Junior Business Analyst at American Express.

See how “Corey Graves” emphasized his academic achievements, including earned grades, even though he already has professional experience.

He also cleverly opened his resume with a resume objective and used bullet points to structure his text. Thanks to that, his resume is extremely easy to read.

Junior Business Analyst Resume Example

Indian resume sample

This resume sample was contributed by a real person who got hired with Kickresume’s help.

Which resume sections are a must in your Indian resume, then?

Main sections of the Indian resume format

Generally speaking, the Indian resume format follows all the established practices of good resume writing, such as being concise, relevant, and customized for each specific job position.

Yet, as stated above, there are a few formatting differences compared to American or European resumes.

To avoid making any mistakes, take a look at the essential sections that you should include in your Indian resume (and what to write there):

Indian resume format sections

1. Personal information

First of all, just like any other resume in any country around the world, an Indian resume should always include:

In India, including personal details, like your gender, nationality, or religion, can help a prospective employer get a better mental picture of you as a candidate.

Because of that, on your Indian resume, you can also:

However, only include personal details that will help you score the job.

2. Resume objective

While in the Western world, resume summary has slowly but surely replaced the resume objective, in India, it's more common to see an objective statement at the beginning of resumes.

What's the difference between the two?

The best thing you can do is to go with the one that recruiters are the most familiar with in your country. And when it comes to India, a resume objective is still more popular.

Here's an example:

Highly skilled IT professional with 5 years of experience, seeking a Software Engineer role to leverage diverse programming expertise and contribute to company growth. Eager to embrace new technologies, collaborate with a dynamic team, and drive innovative solutions for client success.

Still, if you choose to instead go with a resume summary, you probably won't make a mistake.

3. Work experience

The work experience section is pretty standard, and even in India, you should follow the general rules that are also applicable in Western countries.

4. Education

Even if you're a skilled professional with years of experience in the field, unlike in the Western world, education carries larger importance on your resume in India.

So, how should you go around it, and what should you include?

5. Skills

First of all, let’s define what resume skills we recognize. Generally speaking, there are two types of skills:

In the Western resume format, the skills section is often one of the smaller sections on the resume, as job applicants include a lot of the skills directly in their work experience.

However, in India, the “Skills” section tends to take up more space. Especially hard (or technical skills) are a must on the Indian resume, and they’re valued more than soft ones. Thus, make sure that you dedicate a separate section to your technical skills and properly highlight them in your text.

6. Other resume sections

Apart from the essential resume sections, there are also other additional sections that you can include on your resume:

Applying for a job in India?

Stand out with a resume that catches the eye.

Final tips for the Indian resume format