Resume Building 2: Making your resume more effective than ever

The process of scouting for a job can be daunting for a fresher as well as an experienced candidate.

The process can be a long cycle of interactions between the aspirant and employer. Often, resume is the first step of interaction between these two parties. Obviously, the importance of having an effective resume cannot be undermined or taken lightly.

In my last post, I discussed on how candidates makes mistakes while making their resumes when they forget that they are not making a resume for self but for the employer. It is important to always keep in mind that the resume is the first point of impression which you create upon your prospective employer and what they say about “First impression being the last impression” does demand some respect

• Make your resume keeping in mind the employer
• It must be ensured that the resume looks like how the employer will want it to look. This can be done by doing a good research about the company, its requirements, what skills is it looking for and how can your achievements fit into their expectations. Obviously, it means that customizing your resume for different organizations or atleast for the similar types of organizations is advisable and can be fruitful
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• Write a resume not your autobiography

• As mentioned in previous post, a resume is different than a CV and unfortunately, both of them are very different than an autobiography. Having resumes which goes on beyond 2 pages is a taboo. Chances are that most of the employers will not even shortlist you. By asking for a resume the organizations as for a snapshot of your educational and professional background. The details are kept for the personal discussion and interview. Hence, a resume should be a clear, relevant and concise piece giving only the information that is asked by the organization.
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• Alignment between mentioned objective, your skills and organization’s requirements
• Ensure that the objective mentioned in the resume is well placed with your skills and company’ expectation. There should not be difference in what you express in objective and what comes out about you from your resume. Also, the objective should be in line with the organization is expecting from you as an employer.

• Highlight achievements and projects which are most relevant with respect to the job profile
• Make clear sections in the resume highlighting objective, educational background, professional background, work-experience, projects undertaken, extra-curricular achievements and other information which is relevant for the job application
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• Make your resume attractive aesthetically by using the right font and font size.

• Always use “Normal” or “Moderate” margin. Write the resume with a single font. Times New Roman, Arial, Verdana and Georgia are most common fonts used for professional resumes. The font size must be 10-12 pts for body of the resume. The headings can go upto 14 points. The name should have the largest font size on the resume but must not go beyond 16 pts. You can also consider highlighting certain points or keywords which you think are very relevant for the job application. This should not be overused though.

There are many more important tips which I will discuss with you on writing effective resumes in the coming posts. You can also check out some simple resume format for your reference on our share portal.Magister Share Portal