The resume is brief account of one's qualifications and experience, used while applying for a job. The resume is the first document an employer sees from you, and use it to decide whether the candidate is eligible for the job or not. So, your resume should speak clearly and convincingly about your qualifications, and should clinch. Most employers spend a bare minimum of 10-15 seconds scanning a resume. It becomes very important for you to ensure that your resume stands out among those hundreds.The success secret lies in the details you include, how intelligently you include them, and most importantly, its overall presentation and appearance.
The objective
Start writing your resume by giving your career goal and its ''Objective''. This is the starting point which makes the employer understand that you are the candidate that they are seeking. Do write about two or three qualities, abilities or achievements that would make you a potential candidate for that specific assignment. It is always a good practice to write a different objective for each company you apply to.
Present your resume in two sections
The first section should emphasize your abilities, qualities and your achievements. The second section should be backed by evidence of your abilities and achievements in the form of your job experience and educational qualifications, etc.
Design your resume to meet the needs of the employer
Gather the information on the requirements of the employer and build a resume emphasizing your abilities and skills in that particular area. Do stress about the skills, experience, knowledge and personal attributes which make you the right choice for the particular assignment. It may merely involve changing the order of your abilities and skills while emphasizing those required for the assignment.
Align your abilities and achievements
Think of everything you have ever done that would fit you perfectly with what is wanted by the employer. Look for connections between what you have done and what the employer is looking for. What do you have to offer the prospective employer?
List all your summer and work study assignments held during your course work. You can also include academic projects or research whenever relevant.
Describe your responsibilities in brief, using the strongest verbs possible.
List your special abilities such as language proficiency, computer software knowledge, laboratory techniques and equipment, other technical skills, etc. This section should highlight those skills that may enhance your candidacy. For some positions, especially those requiring technical laboratory or computer skills, you may want to list these before your experience to help bring attention to the qualifications you possess.
Other accomplishments could include a list of performances, exhibitions, publications, photographs published, and research completed, if relevant and not included elsewhere.
Interests is an optional section. Include this only if found relevant to the job requirements.
Avoid using words like ''I,'' ''me,'' ''my,'' ''also,'' ''feel,'' and ''because.''
Summarize your resume
Summary is the one place to include your professional characteristics where employers attention is primarily focused on the most important qualities, achievements and abilities that you possess.
Highlight your Accomplishments
In this section one can tell the employer the accomplishments in the form of outcome from earlier job responsibilities and how they were achieved through your efforts. Present your accomplishments in the order of importance for the desired career goal.
Academic Qualifications
Educational qualifications should be listed in the reverse chronological order. Include mark lists in support of your degrees and list selected course works / projects during your studies. Include any advanced training done by you relevant to the targeted job as this will help to add to your qualifications.
Vital information
See that your resume contains the following vital information.
Contact Information like name, address, phone/fax numbers, and email address.
Publications, Patents, and Awards. List the publications, patents, and awards relevant to your job function in this section.
Computer Skills. Include your hardware, software, programming language, and operating system experience and make sure to list a few critical technical terms which can be caught by resume tracking software.
Other Skills and Activities. Include information like your membership in industry-related societies. Keep it short, general, and avoid controversial hobbies or pastimes.
Use Proactive phrases in your resume
Give a logical presentation of facts
Decide on a resume format which is appropriate to the needs of the employer.
Make the resume scanner friendly
Include important key words in the resume related to the job requirement, since it may help if the resumes are sorted out by Optical Character Recognition (OCR) system.
Draft attractively your covering letter:
When applying for the job, do include a concise covering letter, ideally separated into three paragraphs. The first paragraph should tell the reader how you heard of the job, the second should discuss your relevant skills, and the third should tell the reader why you are a great fit.
Make sure that your resume has the following qualities:
Leave enough space between different sections of the resume and keep your resume to one page whenever possible.
Use minimum number of fonts - two at the most. Use a font that is easy to read. Use italics, capital letters, bullets, boldface and underlining with uniformity and consistency.
Use a simple clean structure that is easy to read, symmetrical and well-balanced.
Use short and direct sentences as possible. Eliminate any extraneous information and repetitions.
Take care to avoid errors of any kind - typographical, spelling, grammar, syntax, punctuation or errors of facts.
Avoid large paragraphs of text.
Quote only valid references: In some instances it is necessary to include names and address of references on the resume. If a reference is included, make it sure that the referenced person knows you and your work well. Add the phone numbers and e-mail IDs of the references included.
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