Resume Tips

A resume is a marketing tool to promote oneself to the potential employer. It is the very first item through which an employer came to know about the job seeker. So a resume should be capable enough to present you in the best possible way, it should help you to stand apart from the clutter.

The major elements in a resume:

• Personal Information: The personal information should include your Name, Current and Permanent address, Telephone number and E-mail address

• Career Objective: In this section you can include a brief note about your career goal; who you want to become and what you can contribute to the organization.

• Work experience: Include job title, name of the organization, State and job duration under work experience.You can highlight any achievements and also give a brief list of the duties and responsibilities. It is better to present the information in a reverse chronological order.

• Education Background: If you are a fresher give more care in this section. Give details about your education background in a tabular form. This section should include name of the course, name of the institution, board or university of studies,year of pass out and percentage of mark.

• Competencies or Strengths: Tell your strengths and competencies to the employer because only if you are aware of your own strengths others will recognize it. Use bullet points for the same and should prepare to face questions based on this section in any interview. If you can narrate an incident where you have made use of this strength or competency, things will become more valuable.

• Computer Knowledge: List out your knowledge in computer such as the languages you know or course you have done. Your computer knowledge will always be an added advantage for almost any kind of job.

• Projects: Give a brief note about the projects you had undertaken in college or later in Career. It should include the project name, name of the organization where you have done the project, duration, major focus and any additional roles you have done.

• Seminars and Certifications: List out the seminars you have conducted with a short note about the title and purpose of the seminar. Give a list of the certifications you hold if they are an added value to the post you are seeking, otherwise avoid quoting them.

• Achievements: Specify any achievements such as awards, scholarship, any program you organized and any prizes under this section.

• Professional affiliations and community organizations: You can give the name of the organization and the positions you held in this segment.

• Personal Details: Personal details should include your name, name of your guardian , date of birth, languages you known etc.

Points to remember!

• Be honest

Be honest when you write your resume. You need to be sincere and never exaggerate the things in your resume especially your mark, experience etc., it may end up in negative effect.

• Write what the employer wants to hear

When most people write their resume they are not thinking about what the employer is looking for, they're thinking about themselves. The employer is not interested in your autobiography. He is looking for someone who is the most suitable for the position. Your resume needs to tell him or her exactly what they want to hear!

• Proof read

Proof reading your resume is very important, one small typo error may miss your chances of getting hired. So proof read your resume twice, thrice or as many time as necessary. Give utmost care for numbers, dates and email address. Use bullet points and short sentences which will reduce grammatical errors.

• Know well what you write in it

You should know what you write in your resume. Prepare to answer any questions related to resume.

• No hobbies

Unless you are sure that some of your hobbies will support you candidacy, avoid mentioning them. Most of the candidates used to mention listening music and watching TV are their hobbies. Good you are honest but it has no use for your potential employer so avoid mentioning them.

• Update your resume regularly

Update your resume on a regular basis. Add all the new information that you think is relevant, Such as courses, training programs and other academic qualifications that you might receive along the way. This is the best way to keep track of everything and to make sure that you will not end up sending an obsolete document to the employer.

Your resume is not the only resume on the employer’s desk, it's may be 1 out of 100 or 1 out of 500. The better the position and the company you are applying for , the more resumes your resume will be competing against. To beat today's heavy competition for jobs, it's important that you identify and anticipate the full range of needs each employer faces and show how you can solve those needs. Such a resume will help you to stand out as a superior candidate for the job you are looking for. So decide who is reading your resume. Write what the employer wants to hear. Write with essence & depth and be sincere with what you are writing.