The new resume: A strong profile now means more than academic scores

That shorthand is no longer the language recruiters are reading. What is emerging in its place is harder to quantify and far more demanding to build. A resume is no longer a summary of education but a layered narrative of internships, projects, certifications, communication ability, adaptability, and increasingly, personality. The shift is visible across data, institutions, and lived experience. And it is happening faster than most formal systems have been able to respond.

Arpita Chakraborty, talent strategy leader, Mercer India, emphasises that in an AI-enabled world, “talent, not tech, delivers a competitive edge,” especially as skill shortages constrain growth ambitions. “The hiring landscape now prioritises specific skills, practical experience, and cultural fit to drive outcomes in a transforming, AI-driven environment,” she says. This shift is clear in India, where 74% of C-suite leaders prioritise skills-based approaches, exceeding the 63% global average. According to Mercer’s Global Talent Trends 2026 report, employees are also responsive, with 54% in India worried about skill relevance and 57% wanting employers to pay more for critical, in-demand skills.

This evolution is not limited to hiring. It is equally visible in higher education admissions. Arushi Chhibber, who has been accepted into a prestigious Master’s programme in Europe with a scholarship, echoes the same drill. “Looking back, I don’t think it was just my degree that made the difference. As part of the Delhi University Economics (Hons) cohort, which was the first to experience NEP, I did feel that the academic structure became quite broad, sometimes at the cost of depth in core subjects. That actually pushed me to think beyond the classroom from the first year.

“During my undergraduate years, I focused on gaining practical exposure. I interned with different organisations every year. Alongside this, I volunteered with animal shelters which does not directly relate to economics but it added a personal dimension to my profile. I also attended a summer school in a university in Italy,” says Chhibber.

And it does not stop at gaining internships. “Another important aspect was language. I had been learning French since school and made sure to formalise that through certification which is valuable when applying to programmes abroad. After graduating, I also made a somewhat unconventional choice. Instead of immediately continuing in a traditional academic path, I chose to work as a language assistant in France. This decision added an international and experiential dimension to my profile, which I believe further strengthened my application,” she adds.

But it’s not linear. Swapnil Ghose, an Ashoka University alumnus, heading to the London School of Economics and Political Science for an MSc in Comparative Politics and Conflict Studies, believes your overall profile matters a lot today. “It’s not that internships are disproportionately more important. Rather, of all the different components of your profile you need to be strong in most of them, even if you are not strong in all.”

His own application was uneven in places. “In my case, I feel like my strongest component was my letters of recommendation from my professors…  My academics was also pretty good and I think I wrote a good statement of purpose. My internships were actually probably the weakest part of my profile, relative to other people who have excellent internships but maybe their academics was less strong than mine. These other students also got in, so there’s basically no one path to success is what I feel.” That absence of a single formula is now central to how resumes are built.

On Ashoka campus, the shift is visible early. Bhavya Sood, who completed his second year majoring in International Relations at the university,  says resume-building begins almost immediately from first year onwards. “On Ashoka’s campus, it’s as soon as possible. You might not have nuanced technical skills because you just started your course work in the first year, so you might look for more broader internship roles.

But as you begin deeper into your academic work, you tend to look for more relevant experiences,” he says, adding strong academic background really helps but to add on to that, one needs to have complementary skills that build an overall well-rounded resume that get your foot in the door. “There have been cases when one had exceptional CGPA but not a lot of leadership positions or projects to show alongside. On the contrary, when someone has a decent CGPA but a lot of responsibility or relevant work done in the industry and hands-on experience, they have gotten an edge over others, so that helps,” he adds.

The ecosystem reinforces this. Corporates regularly hire interns from the university, particularly in consulting roles, while mock interviews and structured preparation are built into campus life.

Students themselves are conscious of diverging paths. One second-year student describes two broad tracks. Those inclined towards policy or academia build their profiles through research papers and working with professors. Others leaning towards technical roles focus on data and method-based courses. “We are taught to write CVs and make LinkedIn profiles from the first year itself,” she says. “The highest package someone has received was Rs 35 lakh per annum,” she adds, underscoring the stakes.

Continuous learning

The rise of online learning has both accelerated and complicated this transition. Data from Coursera shows 54.4 million enrollments in 2025 alone, which is a 10% increase from the previous year, with strong demand in courses such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, data analysis, and prompt engineering.

For mid-career professionals, the urgency is becoming sharper. At upGrad, CEO Anuj Vishwakarma describes a clear behavioural change. “Students are today looking at more experiential learning, which is basically either in terms of projects or internships.” He notes that even mid-career professionals are now enrolling in large numbers, driven by what he calls a “job relevancy” concern. “If I don’t upskill… I may not be relevant in my current job.”

Yet access to learning is no longer the constraint. As Amit Goyal, managing director, Project Management Institute (PMI), notes, internships, certifications, and projects matter only when they demonstrate outcomes. “Employers are looking beyond theoretical knowledge to assess how individuals translate learning into impact.” The emphasis is shifting from participation to execution. “PMI’s latest Salary Survey indicates that PMP-certified professionals earn, on average, 17% higher median salaries globally, with differentials reaching up to 24% in the US. This reinforces the growing recognition of certification as a reliable indicator of capability, consistency, and long-term professional impact,” Goyal adds.

For some, this shift is not just strategic but personal. In Chennai, 33-year-old communications professional Rashmika Majumdar offers a different perspective. “I’ve done an online certification course in content marketing from Hubspot Academy, which was free. I was also pursuing an online PGDM but dropped out,” she says. Her attempt to follow a conventional path quickly became unsustainable.

“My day was packed. On the days I was working from home, I would begin work by 9, end at 6, studying 8-10. Make dinner, eat, sleep, repeat.” The pressure took a toll. “I was doing extremely bad mentally, I was suicidal, I felt trapped and cried every single day… I had to drop out of the course mid way,” she adds.

What followed was a quieter recalibration. “The content marketing course by Hubspot Academy was a self-paced course. I took my time. Two months. And I completed the course. I was feeling accomplished that I could finish what I started.” It was a small credential compared to a degree, but it was aligned, manageable, and directly applicable. “I got an idea of what content marketing involves and started applying for roles aligned with the course.” 

For others, the path is more incremental. Saurabh Mitra followed what is becoming a familiar route. After graduating, he did not secure a job immediately. Instead, he built experience step by step. He did three paid internships in graphic design after his post-graduation from Ambedkar University, along with continuous learning through Coursera, Udemy, and YouTube.

Dr Brillian S K, executive vice president and chief people officer at TimesPro, says this is relevant as long as the person learnt and not just collected certificates. “A certificate helps only when it represents meaningful effort and relevant learning. Sadly, today, many chase certifications under the assumption that they will sail through. But recruiters are increasingly able to tell the difference between a candidate who has genuinely built capability and one who has simply collected certificates and credentials,” he says.

But 29-year-old Mitra did not just collect certificates for the sake of it. “What I also did was go for random interviews to brush up my communication skills… If I had to say no when they asked me if I’m proficient in a skill, I would go home and start learning that online.” By the time he entered the job market seriously, he had something more valuable than a degree alone. “I believe I had a good portfolio by then, which helped me secure a role at a reputed New Delhi-based advertising agency on a senior level.”

The India Skills Report 2026, released by Educational Testing Service with the Confederation of Indian Industry, All India Council for Technical Education and others, describes the labour market moving towards a skills-first hiring culture, driven by AI and global mobility. Internships have become central to this shift. Government initiatives such as the Prime Minister’s Internship Scheme have created thousands of opportunities, attracting hundreds of thousands of applicants. “I think what has happened is most of the people are looking at career acceleration and I think overall with this entire euphoria about AI Summit and the entire AI, I think a lot of learners are now today in a FOMO mode,” says UpGrad’s Vishwakarma. “Earlier people with 2 to 3 years of work experience would take these courses. But today, people with 5 years plus, 10 year plus experience are enrolling.”

All-rounder personality

At the Indian School of Business, Professor Pranav Jindal notes a clear shift in employer expectations. “Yes, very much so, and this shift has become far more pronounced over the past few years. What matters today is not just what students know, but how effectively they can apply that knowledge in ambiguous, real-world situations.”

The emphasis on “Day 1 readiness” has led to an expansion of experiential learning. “These engagements go beyond the application of academic frameworks… they require students to draw on their prior professional experiences, contextual judgment, and collaborative problem-solving abilities to arrive at actionable recommendations.”

Because of this, students, in turn, are responding differently. “Students today are far more intentional about building well-rounded, market-relevant profiles. Beyond the classroom, they actively engage in industry projects, case competitions, leadership roles within student bodies, and targeted skill-building initiatives.”

Similar to Ashoka University, ISB, too, has the Career Advancement Services (CAS) team offering specialised offerings in career advisory and professional development. “These initiatives work closely with students throughout the year to help them articulate their aspirations, identify skill gaps, and prepare in a structured manner,” says Jindal. 

Dr Brillian of TimesPro describes a clear shift. “Employers today are paying far closer attention to how a candidate shows up, not just what is written on the CV. Communication, confidence and interpersonal maturity are no longer seen as ‘good to have’ qualities; they have become core to employability. In most workplaces, people are expected to collaborate across teams, present ideas clearly and build trust quickly. This requires skills that are not taught in any curriculum. The opportunity and therefore the need is to look at softer skills. The good news is that we are seeing a shift in learner intent.”

He is careful to distinguish between surface-level grooming and deeper behavioural change. “Technical skills help you qualify and get a foot in the door, but behavioural skills determine how far and how quickly you move.”

The gap, he says, is often not about intelligence. “Many graduates enter the workforce with reasonable academic grounding, but they struggle to translate that into workplace effectiveness… Most are chasing impressions when they should have chosen an expression.” That gap is visible in how people seek to fix it.
At Behes, India’s largest school debate community and platform, established in 2014 to promote, train, and host debate tournaments , aimed at building articulation, critical thinking, and persuasion skills, CEO Salil Singh sees this shift clearly.

“The need to be able to communicate clearly is being increasingly appreciated by people.”

And the consequences are immediate. “Whether you’re working in a team, dealing directly with clients/customers, or leading a group, people who can express their ideas better, clearly always have an upper hand. I have had many people working in different industries tell me that when they came out of a meeting or conference they felt that they knew much more than they could express during that meeting, and that the person who could speak clearly pipped everyone else. The question that then emerges is what if the person who had the knowledge could also convey as clearly. What could stop him or her then professionally? Wouldn’t it be a great enabler to help people develop excellent communication skills? The ability for quick research, quick comprehension, clarity in thought and clear, succinct communication,” Singh adds.

Within organisations, these behavioural traits take on even greater importance over time. A spokesperson at Deloitte India points to emotional intelligence and self-awareness as differentiators. “These traits often differentiate a good consultant from a trusted advisor.” They influence decision-making, learning, and leadership. “As roles become more cross-functional, technology-enabled, and customer-centric, we have recognised that technical expertise alone is not sufficient. Investing in soft skills will increasingly become a core metric in both recruitment and performance appraisals over the coming decade,” the spokesperson adds. 

At ManpowerGroup, CHRO Lulu Khandeshi frames it in similar terms. “Emotional intelligence and self-awareness are increasingly important indicators of leadership effectiveness and long-term performance sustainability.” Leaders who understand their own behaviour and its impact on others are better positioned to adapt, collaborate, and build trust.

New definition

So what does having a good resume mean today? Dr Brillian puts it succinctly: “A job-ready candidate with a good resume can step into a role and start adding value with minimal handholding. The degree may open the door; it no longer closes the case.”

Across data, institutions, and individual journeys, the conclusion is consistent. The resume is an evolving document that captures capability, intent, and trajectory. According to Mercer, hiring processes are undergoing a significant transformation, moving beyond static resumes and academic credentials towards more dynamic, data-driven, and predictive assessment methods that focus on actual capabilities, potential for growth, and behavioural fit. These evolving processes demonstrate a strategic shift towards a more holistic, data-informed, and forward-looking approach to talent acquisition.

“Up to 62% of HR leaders plan to introduce assessment frameworks that target understanding an individual’s capacity to learn, adapt, and align with values, with plans to create employee digital twins, predicting skills development and success in new roles,” says Mercer India’s Chakraborty. It answers not just what a candidate has done, but why. The marksheet still matters. Just that, it is no longer a decisive factor.