25 Keys for good resume writing
1. There are giant companies, multinationals, small companies and smallest family run businesses. Irrespective of size and nature of business, one thing common to all companies is that all have problems. Only to solve the problems they need people. One more thing common to companies and job seekers is that both want to make more money in as short a time as possible. You have your qualifications and skills to solve problems only in your area of specialization. To match this to the needs, all that you have to do is to get to know about many companies, their products or services, sales volume, annual profits, growth, paying rates etc. This will be your first step.
2. In preparing your resume for the first time, all your Noteworthy performance, abilities etc may not come to your mind for projection in the resume. All that will generally come to the mind are the degrees and diplomas passed since you have the certificates issued by the authorized bodies. Sit in a calm place in a comfortable atmosphere. Many plus points and your contributions are hidden in your mind. Pull them outFrom your mind and jot down. You can highlight these things appropriately for the jobs which directly or indirectly have relevance.
3. An employer is not at all interested in which school you studied. Hence avoid giving the details of your school studies in the resume. Also avoid giving details such as date of birth, religion, your height, weight, your present emoluments, reasons for leaving the previous employment or present one or your hobbies for that matter. These things are not needed by the prospective employer.
4. If you are applying for a specific company, try to know about the company in detail. The website may give only a rosy picture about the company. Meet some employees and try to know the problems in the company. If you have bright ideas, mention the same in the covering letter as a suggestion without mentioning the problem. The top management always values such suggestions and such suggestions sometimes will kindle their enthusiasm resulting in your much awaited call for interview.
5. Do consider a bulleted style to make your resume as reader - friendly as possible.
6. People often confuse you that in resume preparation the first rule is "one -page resume rule." Though for fresh graduates it can be followed, (there also it is not a rule) don't become a slave to that rule. If you have a lot of experience, two pages may be more appropriate. But see that you don't ever exceed 2 pages.
7. Please include as much contact information as possible. That is, give your mailing address, e-mail 10, residence phone number (also office phone number if not objectionable to your present employer) and mobile number to enable an employer to reach you at any point of the day.
8. It is always better to avoid the personal pronouns such as I, my, me and mine in your resume. For example, instead of writing 'I was in charge of the entire purchase function in the_________company" simply write as "In charge of the entire purchase function of the_________company" .
9. While furnishing your experience, list it by giving full details such as position held, number of years (better to give the from - to dates) company's name, address, etc.
It is essential to give your job experience in reverse chronological order, giving the latest job first and then the previous etc. This will help the prospective employer to know your present line of expertise. We will see the types of resume in detail in the key number 23 (Page 15 to 18)
10. Instead of simply writing that your experience is in the field of administration or production or maintenance or computer, use the powerful yet attractive terms like production specialist (or expert) maintenance specialist etc etc.
11. Computers do the initial screening in most of the companies This is done on electronically submitted resumes as well as hard copies. If you are sending hard copy of the resume take the following precautions. Send only the original copy and not photocopy. Use typefaces of Times New Roman, or Courier and not others and also point size 11 or 12. Also avoid boldfacing.
Avoid using tabular columns.
Give your name at the top of the resume. If it is electronically submitted resume, the resumes should have certain key words, that the employer usually expects for the positions applied. The key words are generally nouns related to the field of specialization. The computer will make a blind search for such key words and based on the number of such words it will either select or pass by.
12. Kindly remember that your resume will not be read word by word by the prospective employer. You may be surprised to know that the employers hardly take 10 to 20 seconds to go through one resume. Hence you have to make your resume highlighting your special qualities and achievements. It is common nowadays to give "The objective statement" suiting to the job you apply for. In fact you should not send the same resume to two different companies for different jobs. Most of the contents can be same. But the objective statement should be changed suiting to the requirements. The objective statement should simply state your areas of strengths which you can contribute in the job you apply for. In fact, you can have your resume in the P.C if you own one and if not, have your resumes saved in a C.D or floppy. You can create several versions and keep on modifying and make it most appropriate to the job you apply
13. Many job hunters use Microsoft Word resume templates and wizards. Though it is not wrong to use it, my suggestion will be to have your own design since yours should be distinctive from others.
14. While furnishing your experiences, don't simply say "I was responsible for ……….. “Or "My duties included ……….” or “I was in charge of……….”,
Since these terms are very vague, they don't sell well in the employment market. Use the expressions like My contributions were... .., ... ..... My accomplishments were "..My interventions were... .,. ... .. etc.
15. In the resume, include your positive traits. If the positive traits in you are not visible to you, think of those unsuccessful, unpunctual lazy co-workers and analyze their drawbacks. Your strengths in fact are the absence of such negative traits. Some of the traits worth mentioning are
Being punctual
Creative
Caring for minute details
Reliable.
Following systems and procedures Efficiency minded
Cost conscious
Waste control etc
16. Always mention how many people you supervised. This is a key information for the prospective employer since your man management or leadership skills will be known from this information.
17. If you have good physique and you are enjoying excellent health, without fail include it in your resume. These days many companies are becoming leaner and smarter by cutting the work force to a minimum level. You may, on an average, have to work for 10 to 12 hours daily to cope up with your work. Mention your good health and your preparedness to work long hours in contributing to the goals of the company.
18. Generally the resumes are first seen by personnel department, nowadays called as H.R (Human Resources) department. Initial screening will be done by this department. This department people may not have the in-depth knowledge of all the specialties of each job. Hence it will be necessary to avoid professional jargons and to make your resume not only short but also easy to read and understand. Always use words which have universal appeal and don't forget to include your problem solving abilities and experiences.
19. If you have proven performance in games and sports don't forget to mention the same in the resume. More than the skill in the particular game or sports, the employers expect that such persons will work in a team more effectively, with better drive and competitive spirit.
20. Don't give references in the resume. They can be reserved for future correspondence once you get interview call. However, if there is space, at the end you may include a line informing as "References will be sent on request." You must have the references ready with you. Employers nowadays not only ask the persons given in reference confidentially but also ask more than one person in the previous company you have worked or in the company presently working.
21. Don't mention your current salary or the expected salary. Spare them for revealing during interview. If found suitable, salary is generally negotiable.
22. Once you finalist the resume, you may key in the P.C. You will do the spell check if you work in M.S. Word. But don't depend on it fully on two counts. Primarily, the spellings in computers are American English. Most of the employers in India are conversant with British English. Secondly for some of the words keyed in wrongly P.C. will not show it on the screen.
You may go through your resume on the monitor screen itself once or twice. But that is not sufficient. Take a hard copy. Read word by word and letter by letter. Such a careful proof - reading will eliminate errors if any. Even if there is one mistake in spelling or grammar, the resume will be summarily discarded.
23. Types of resumes
There are 3 types of resumes namely.
a. Chronological Resume
b. Functional Resume
c. Combination Resume
In Chronological Resume, type your name, address and other contact details on the top of resume. Then follow the objective statement (optional), experience, education, merits, co curricular and extra curricular activities.
For people with more experience in multi functions and senior positions, functional resume can be preferred in which after your name and contact details, experience is portrayed in terms of various
functions in various capacities in various companies. The headings are generally:
Objective
Summary
Postion 1 Postion 2 Postion 3
Work experience:
From '" """"" To """'" ...x company
From """................ To................... y company
From..................... To................... z company etc.
For very senior positions with very long experience a combination of both chronological and functional resumes are used. In this book we will limit to onlychronological resumes. For people with a few years of experience in a few companies, it will be better to give a reverse chronological resume. It is nothing but while giving your experiences, give the latest (or present) first and then the previous.
24. Provide only authentic information. All in formations will be verified at the time of interview or later. Suppose your marks in a particular examination are 76.5% or 76.6% don't write as 77%. You should not round it off to a higher digit. Also don't just write the number of people supervised as a high number than you actually supervise I supervised. You may think you can impress by over projecting yourself. But on verification, if found wrong, you might not get an offer even if you are found fit for their job.
25. When you start your job hunting, you generally prepare your resume. It should not have the fate of being static for a long time. It should be made dynamic by incorporating more and more qualifications, skills and experience. Steady transformation should take place to climb up the career ladder in your life. You can make a point to add a significant achievement in your profession and improving your abilities every six months or a year. Participate in short term training programmes for a week or so on various topics. Many practical aspects of long experience are deliberated in such training programmes. Participate seriously, take notes and make yourself more suitable for jobs by sharpening your brain. Fill thrill ,in your career by continuous development. Give a back seat to your money and asset management and front seat for your real development.
