Resume; Steps and Techniques

A resume is a document that is created and used by an individual to present her/his career objectives, experience, academic background, skills, and achievements.

A résumé is an individual marketing tool whose content should match job requirements for a particular industry.

Importance of the Resume:

• It presents a positive and factual picture of an individual's knowledge, skills, and abilities.
• It provides a positive direction for the interview.
• It guides the interviewer towards the potential candidates for shortlisting and selection.

Steps for Writing a Good Resume

1. Choose a job target/ career objective
2. Make the list of experience; this may include paid work, unpaid work, and internships.
3. Make a list of academic qualifications that present you as a good candidate for that target job.
4. Write 3 or 4 of the strongest skills and abilities that are suitable for the target job; for each key skill, write some accomplishments that were achieved in the past.
5. Make a list of your additional training that is related to the job requirement.
6. Select a suitable resume format; chronological or functional. A chronological résumé lists a candidate's job experiences chronologically, and Positions are listed with starting and ending dates. A functional résumé lists work experience and skills sorted by skill area or job function.
7. Summarize the key points at the top of your resume in about five short lines.
8. Provide a working contact address, mobile number, and professional email address.

Techniques of Writing Resumes

DOs:

•       Tell the Truth

•       Use Real and Simple English

•       Use Powerful Verbs and Check grammatical errors

•       Use a Creative Resume Template

•       Highlight your  Experience, previous job titles or Company names

•       Use Digits

•       Create a Master Resume and Customize according to the job requirements

•       Optimize for Applicant Tracking Systems

DON’Ts:

•       Don’t use more than 2 fonts and effects

•       Don’t Use More Than Two Lines Per Bullet

•       Don’t Send it as a Word Document to the employer; send it in a PDF format.

•       Don’t Swap Resumes With Colleagues

•       Don’t Include Obvious Skills

•       Don’t Include Anything Confidential