A Curriculum Vitae (CV) or Resume or Bio-Data is your most powerful tool to the prospective recruiter/organization in order to elicit their interest in your candidature.
From time to time, I have some open positions and get bombarded from our recruiting department with a host of resumes. Based on my working knowledge I submit before you some of the pointers for effective resume writing.
#1. A resume should not be more than 2-3 pages. If it is more then 2-3 pages, the reader loses interest. One trick is to fill in as much pertinent information as possible and carry the back up details at the time of the interview (provided you get the call).
# 2. Always tell the truth. With the current technology, it is very easy to share information and hence lying will not help you in the long run.
# 3. The following are some basic sections which needs to be present on the resume:
* Executive Summary: This should be about one paragraph – highlighting your skills, your experience and your achievements. This is one section which can be customized depending on the type of position you are applying – or if you are sending it to a particular company without a known opening, then it can be generic.
* Objective: Please try to be as realistic as possible. Write this carefully and use the correct words. This is static and will not or should not change. Think about what you want to do, where you see yourself in 5 years, 10 years hence etc. This is not a place to dream – e.g. I want to be the President of the company in 10 years. Statements like this are an automatic invitation to rejection.
* Key Accomplishments: This should be in point format. Highlight what were your contributions in your previous engagements. This is also an area, which can be tailored to suit the position.
* Professional Experience: List in chronological order the previous companies, the positions held, areas of responsibility and the time frame. Do not lie regarding the time frame. If there is a break, explain it during the interview process. Honesty is the best policy and is always rewarded. Be ready to back up some of the listed experiences with letters at the time of the interviews.
* Education Background: This should be as short as possible. The graduate degree / post graduate degree, which discipline, college/ university / institute and year. Mention of class / division etc is optional.
* Skills Sets and Training: Briefly touch upon the skills which you possess and the training which you have undergone. In this section, you can include some extra curricular activities.
# 4. Other pointers:
* At the end of the CV, include a line saying that the references will be provided on request. No need to provide names and telephone numbers at this stage.
* If it is generic resume, include your name and contact address including email id. If for overseas position, you may include your passport details.
Personal Touch
70%-80% of the evaluation is done based on the resume. The next level is the telephone interview. The primary objective of this is to evaluate the candidates’ oral communication skills. The final face-to-face interview carries only about 10% and is to evaluate the overall personality etc.
The above guidelines can be used both for freshers and for experienced candidates. That reminds me, I need to practice what I preach – got to update my resume.
Happy & Successful job hunting / job switching