What is the first point of interaction between
a candidate and his/her prospective employer? - A Resume or a CV. Though I am
not a believer of “first impression is
the last impression” adage myself, I opine that first impression is of
utmost importance be it for a job or a date. Which obviously means that you must
as prepared and charged up for this first interaction for a job as you would be
for your first date!
Type “Resumes/CV for Engineering/Management
candidates” on google and you will have hundreds of sample resumes/cv and
thousands of ways to write a good resume. I am not going to do that here.
Instead, I want to use this post to focus on what does the employers seek in
the resumes so as to shortlist some of them from its ever growing heap. What is
of primary importance for a candidate is to be able to put together the
information which will help his/her resume pass through the first barrier of
resume filtering.
 |
| Primary differences between a resume and a curriculum vitae |
However, I feel compelled to clarify
something which has been confusing a lot of people lately. A Resume and a CV (curriculum
vitae, which is Latin for “course of life”) are two different things. Refer the
smart-art figure for differences. The difference not only lies in the very purpose why these are created but also in how they are created and what should be the content in each of the type.
After having gone through many interviews,
blogs and articles from employers and their concerns to the extent of agony with
respect to the quality and content of the resumes, I could jot down the
following excerpt. It also points out what essentially they look for in the
pile of resumes while short-listing them.
 |
| How to differentiate your resume from others |
“…Most of the resumes are self-centric and
not employer-centric.”
“…resume should be able to catch employer’s
attention in its first 25%”
“…content in the resume must flow logically”
“…achievements are really subjective and
not quantified”
“…Top three pointers employers look into a resume are –
1. Academic achievements
2. Projects/Internships 3. Extra-curricular activities”
“Top three skills looked upon (for a fresher’s
resume) are – 1.Team player, 2.Problem solving 3. Communication”
As you would see most of the concerns are related to the quality of content of the resumes and not about the formats etc. Well, the reason of course could be that resumes with absolutely unacceptable formats are never even counted. However, it is safe to assume that with very little help and guidance from peers and teachers, students can put together a resume which is at least in an acceptable format.
As far as content is concerned, Employers feel that most of
resumes look same to them. Worse, they look sadly same. The majority
of resumes that employers receive are like replica of each other committing the
same mistake again and again and again. The resumes look like they are
shamefully boasting about themselves without being least bother, what the
employer is looking for.
Employers feel that a resume must be able to
communicate to the employers in clear, correct and unambiguous words, what the
candidate brings to the table. This can be achieved by using simple english, recording
measurable and quantifiable achievements and taking pain in putting down relevant information only (in terms of
prior work and project experiences). It means a resume must be able to shout out
loud “Let me help your company by employing my skills, experience and
potential” instead of the cluttered phrase dominant in today’s job
market “I am an engineer/MBA now, so
please offer me this position”.
There is nothing like a wrong and a right resume.
It there was, there will not be thousands of ways of writing them, just one
right way to write it. There are however, good resumes and bad resumes. The
first step towards making a good resume is to understand what the employer is looking
for in the candidate and how can I make use of my skills, experience and
personality to fit into that mould of employer’s expectation?
The bottom-line is - The resume must be made for the
employer and not for you.
Once you are able to answer this question,
you would have a clear understanding of what should go into your resume and how
it must be customized for different employers.
In the next post we will take up some
simple but taken-for-granted pointers to write a good resume.
Cheers,
