|
Jaya
Jagannath,
Your Resume : ......
It's a common observation that there are several gray areas, issues,
concerns and worries related to the way of communication while
applying for a job, resume format and flavor, Email ID, Cover
letter, Resume content, etiquette and mail manners to stick to
during job related conversations which I need to convey to all of
you in advance.
First of all let me appreciate all of you for choosing IT as career.
But all of us need to mature and professionalize ourselves on those
gray areas of concerns and issues as I discussed above. Now let me
this elaborately on each of the concerned fronts.
Today’s we will be discussing on How to write a good and impressive
Resume ? Topics coved in this document are : ( Today I will be
discussing about the following verticals )
- Tips to write a good and impressive Resume
- Resume Purpose
- Types Of Resumes
- Chronological Resume
- Functional Resume
- Combination Resume
- Resume Preparation
- Tips For Effective Resume Preparation
How to write a good and impressive Resume :
--------------------------------------------------------------
Resume or curriculum vitae is a textual representation of one’s
profile and it should be prepared only for the purpose it's meant to
be.
First and foremost thumb rule is a resume should always be in
written in MS word ( An integrated tool of Microsoft Office ) only.
Unless until specifically asked for any other format a resume should
always be saved in .Doc format only. How ever some companies
occasionally ask for resumes in text format or ASCII format. In such
cases it can be temporarily be saved and sent as .txt or. Rtf or .
pdf formats.
Although mentioning Career Objective is an integrated part of resume
preparation but now a days it’s considered as a traditional style of
resume preparation. Career aims and objectives are advisable for
those who are fresher and yet to start their professional career but
what most of the intellectuals feel is that there is no
justification to mention Career objective and aims for the
experienced people as they say Experienced people being already half
thru their objective need not have to over mention it again.
A resume should be well framed, cleanly aligned, complete with
respect to all the necessary information of ones education,
profession, achievements and personal qualities.
It should be crystal clear at visibility and should never have
grammatical or spelling mistakes.
It should be always be impressive rather than being interesting. It
must be compact, short, Self explanatory, easy to read, well versed
and robust.
It should be always be in Print lay out format rather being in
Normal or Web lay out mode. ( to make a document in Print Layout you
need to click View option from the top navigation bar and click of
Print Lay out )
It must not contain anything with font size more than 10. Best
visible, impressive and recommended fonts are “Arial”, “Verdana” and
“Bookman old style”. Fonts like “Times new roman” makes a resume
look like cousin of a news paper.
It’s always ideal not to keep much of bold texts as it some times
irritates readers eyes.
Again Few of the most important parts of information or even
headings can be colored different but such a color should be chosen
which is gentle and good looking.
The resume should not be named with nick names of the person like
“pappu.doc” or “chunmun.doc”. This predicts ones maturity level.
Always name the resume with your full name.DOC ( Ex : Siba Ram
Baral.doc ). How ever if it’s specifically asked for any other
format then occasionally it can be renamed as per the need.
All the information relevant and related to ones career are to be
present in the resume. Information must be arranged according to
their priority levels. Thus it looks more formatted and less
confusing. Following is a small demography of arrangement of
information according to their priorities
- Name, Email ID, Contact number
- Details of companies worked along with the duration
- Brief of professional Experience Summary highlighting roles and
Responsibilities
- List of designations and positions held during professional
expertise
- Statistics of technical skill set
- Education and certification details
- Trainings and Seminars related to professional and personal
developments attended
- Project assignment details describing project name, technology
used, Techno-functional briefing of the project, modules handled and
details of roles and responsibilities
- Personal profile covering few extra qualities which can be
considered as career achievements, extra curricular activity details
and few good points about our personality or life style which may be
favorable to Organizational culture
Always Start a new project in a new page and the project should be
neat and cleanly described. Project should start with a clear cut
and self explanatory naming convention. This should be followed by
the list of technical languages, back end and other tools used. This
should be followed with a Techno-functional briefing of the project.
The text should be written aiming at the coverage of the aims and
objective accomplished, then modules handled and details of roles
and responsibilities
Mention all the details that are must to be mentioned in the resume.
To make the resume more impressive only one color is recommended
apart from the general black color for the texts only to mention all
the headings. It’s always not wise to mention Percentage and year of
passing in Education details unless until it is specifically asked
for.
Purpose of a Resume:
A resume is a self-marketing tool. It is designed with one purpose
in mind - to "sell" your skills, knowledge, and experience to an
employer so that he/she will invite you for an interview. An
effective resume speaks to the employer's needs and requirements and
demonstrates a match between what you have to offer and those
requirements. It stimulates interest in you by summarizing
information: unique qualities, well developed skills, relevant work
or academic experiences, or accomplishments that clearly
differentiates you from the competition.
Employers want to know about you, not your position. Spend more time
describing your duties, responsibilities and accomplishments than
describing the size and nature of your organization, although it is
important for the employer to know that you have had experience in a
similar organization. Your resume should be factual, impressive,
readable, and tailored to the position you are seeking. It should
describe your experience and achievements to stimulate a positive
response. Your resume is an important item in getting you the
position desire.
Types of Resumes
The chronological and functional resumes, or some combination of
these two formats, are the standard types of resumes used by job
seekers in today's employment market. To select the type which best
supports your needs, review the following information. Many
professional recruiters discount functional resumes and consider
them as a "red flag", since many applicants use them to disguise a
lack of experience or unstable work history.
Chronological Resume (Preferred)
In this type of resume, job history is organized chronologically
with the most recent information first. Job titles and organizations
are emphasized and duties and accomplishments are described in
detail. A chronological
resume is easy to read, since it highlights names of employers and
job titles, and emphasizes career growth. It is best suited to those
whose career goals are clear and whose job objectives are aligned
with their work history.
A chronological resume is advantageous when:
1. your recent employers and/or job titles are impressive;
2. you are staying in the same career field;
3. your job history shows progress;
4. you are working in a field where traditional job search
methods are
utilized (e.g., education, government).
A chronological resume is disadvantageous when:
1. you are changing careers;
2. you have changed employers frequently;
3. you want to de-emphasize age;
4. you have been absent from the job market.
Functional Resume
Stay away from a function resume if at all possible. In a functional
resume, skills and accomplishments developed through work, academic,
and community experiences are highlighted. Your skills and potential
can be stressed and lack of experience or possible gaps in work
history de-emphasized. However, it is important to realize employers
often view functional resumes more critically for these very same
reasons.
The functional resume is advantageous when:
1. you want to emphasize capabilities not used in recent work
experience;
2. you want to emphasize personal qualities relevant to the job such
as industriousness, cooperative attitude, related interests, and
aptitudes;
3. you want to focus on capabilities rather than lengthy employment
history;
4. you are changing careers/re-entering the job market;
5. your career growth in the past has not been continuous and
progressive;
6. you have a variety of unrelated work experiences;
7. your work has been free-lance, consulting, or temporary in
nature.
The functional resume is disadvantageous when:
1. you have little work experience;
2. you want to emphasize promotions and career growth;
3. you are working in highly traditional fields, such as teaching,
accounting, and politics, where employers should be highlighted.
Combination Resume
This format combines the best elements of the chronological and
functional types. It presents patterns of accomplishments and skills
in a section headed "Areas of Effectiveness" or "Qualifications
Summary." But it also includes a brief work history and education
summary. This format is advantageous for those who wish to change to
a job in a related career field.
Resume Preparation
In preparing to write your resume, remember that you can only count
on an employer to spend twenty seconds scanning your resume before
deciding whether to review it further or put it aside. The key is to
design the format in such a way that it leads the employer's eye to
words that speak to his/her needs. Obviously then, effective resumes
are developed by individuals who have thoroughly researched the
organizations they want to work for, have identified the specific
job they want, and have figured out what they have to offer.
In addition, well designed resumes have these characteristics in
common:
1. Visual appeal, easy to read layout, and high quality
reproduction;
2. Highlights strengths and links them to employer's needs;
minimizes or
excludes irrelevant experience;
3. Presents the most important information first;
4. Entirely free from any errors: spelling, typographical,
punctuation, or grammatical;
5. Succinct and organized; does not exceed two pages.
point out that the categories of information you include on your
resume should provide answers to these questions:
1. Contact section: Who are you and how can you be reached?
2. Objective statement: What do you want to do?
3. Education section: What have you learned?
4. Experience/Employment section: What can you do? What have you
done?
5. Professional activities and accomplishments: How have you been
recognized?
6. Miscellaneous: What else do they want to know about you?
Sequence the categories according to what is most important to the
employer and your career objective. A recent college graduate with
limited experience should usually put the education section first
since it is the most significant qualification. Education should
also be listed first when, as in the case of teaching, law,
medicine, or engineering, education is a qualifying requirement. In
a situation where an applicant wants to
emphasize significant work or extracurricular experience or when an
employer seeks to fill jobs in fields such as sales, public
relations, or merchandising, the experience or work history category
may be listed first.
1. Contact Information
Begin your resume with your name by capitalizing or using bold type.
Include street address, city, state, and zip code. Include phone
number(s) where you can be reached weekdays, 9am-5pm. Designate your
home phone with an "H," and work number with "W," or a "Messages"
number.
2. Career/Job Objective
This is recommended only for recent graduates or entry level
personnel. Experience and professional job seekers rarely include
it. This component of the resume can be very challenging to write.
The purpose of the objective statement is to inform the reader of
your career goals and qualifications. The statement should be
written specifically enough to let the reader know that you have a
focus to your job search. If you are considering a variety of
objectives, you may want to relay the relevant objective in an
accompanying cover letter.
3. Educational Highlights
This section is most effective when you have experiences from your
education that are impressive and/or directly relate to your
objective. Adding this section is useful when you have developed
skills and specific knowledge through your education rather than
work experience. This section can be used to highlight coursework,
research, or special knowledge that complements your objective. This
information is useful in a resume of entry level candidates and
recent graduates.
An alternative to highlighting courses is to list the skills and
knowledge acquired through important courses and research.
Examples: Developed model investment portfolio for Fortune 500
company. Analyzed revenue and expense history using state-of-the-art
computer simulation programs. Designed promotional campaign for new
service a targeted market.
Summary information about your undergraduate and graduate education
should be included in your resume. List the name and location of the
school, time period or date of degree, the degree received, and
academic honors, e.g. Phi Beta Kappa, significant scholarships or
fellowships. You may also list any continuing education and
significant professional training but do not list every course or
seminar you have attended. In general, the more recently you have
attended college, the more education related information you may
want to provide as you will most likely have relatively less work
experience.
Start with your most recent degree or the program in which you are
currently enrolled. List other degrees or relevant education in
reverse chronological order.
Highlight your degree by using bold type, capital letters or
underlining.
If the degree is relevant to your job objective, begin with degree
and emphasis, followed by university, location of university, and
date of graduation or anticipated date of graduation. Example: M.P.A.,
Masters of Public Administration, Annamalai University, Annamalai
nagar, TN, India, May 1995.
If degree/program is not directly related to current job objective,
begin with the university, followed by the location, degree and
emphasis, and graduation date.
If you are within two semesters of graduation, do not use "expected"
or "anticipated" with month/year of graduation.
If you are an entry level candidate or recent graduate and have a
high GPA, include it on your resume. You may want to highlight your
GPA on a new line, or in an educational highlights section. Note:
Some employers believe no GPA on a resume indicates an poor GPA.
Employers hiring experienced professionals generally care only that
you have the degree.
If your education relates to your objective and is within the past
three years, it should be the first section. If not, education
should follow the work experience section of your resume.
4. Employment and or Experience Summary
A brief summary of qualifications can condense an extensive
background by emphasizing experiences and accomplishments in brief
phrases. The qualifications summary is accomplishment-oriented and
provides an overview of your work experience. A summary is most
appropriated for someone with substantial experience, for someone
who is changing careers and wants to demonstrate transferable
skills, or for someone with an eclectic background.
In general, you should list, in successive order for each position
you have held, your employer, position title, dates (year to year),
a brief description of your position, and accomplishments. You need
to devote little space to explain commonly known responsibilities
for positions such as city manager, police chief or public works
director. You will probably devote more space for positions such as
assistant city manager, city engineer, and similar jobs. You should
also indicate the size of the budget and number of employees for
whom you were responsible. Give brief, illustrative examples of your
responsibilities and accomplishments. This is where you have the
opportunity to tailor (while being accurate and truthful) your
resume to what the employer is seeking. At least for your current
position, indicate your base salary, not the top of your range.
Begin with your current/most recent position and work backward,
chronologically. Devote more space to recent employment.
If your job titles relate to your current job objective, start each
position description with job titles. If not, begin with the
organization.
Follow job title and organizational information with the
organization's city and state.
Use the first and last month and year to describe dates of
employment.
Describe the last three to five positions in detail. Summarize
earlier positions unless relevant to your objective.
Do not show every position change with each employer. Only list the
most recent and describe promotions.
Do not repeat skills that are common to several positions.
Within each listed position, stress the major accomplishments and
responsibilities that demonstrate your competency. It is not
necessary to include all responsibilities, as they will be assumed
by employers.
Tailor your position descriptions to future job/career objectives.
One-page resumes are preferred for entry-level positions. Two-Three
page resumes are preferred for experienced persons.
5.Professional Activities and Accomplishments
This part of your resume offers you the opportunity to provide
insight into your career development. You should be selective and
complete, listing such items as memberships in professional
associations and offices held, professional registrations, honors
received, and major articles or publications you have written. Do
not list every article or every speech you may have given or every
conference you have attended. Emphasize quality - this section of
the resume should help you to demonstrate you are current and active
in your profession.
Tips For Effective Resume Preparation
1. Overall appearance...
makes an immediately favorable impression is inviting to read
is easy to read looks professional
2. Contact information...
is clearly presented at the top. includes address information;
permanent and temporary includes Contact Number
3. Objective (optional; use if yours is specific)...
includes type and level of position sought includes type and size of
organization sought
emphasizes strongest qualifications and skills pertinent to desired
job
4. Organization...
highlights strongest qualifications or credentials
uses headings to help establish common ground with employer
is brief - usually one page unless you have 5-10 years experience
5. Content...
demonstrates ability to do the job and speaks to employer's needs
supports and substantiates objective
stresses transferable professional skills, accomplishments, and
results
contains only that personal data relevant to the job
omits racial, religious, or political affiliations
6. Education section includes...
most recent degree list of other degrees or relevant training
name and location of university, college, or training institution
major, minor, and/or area(s) of concentration or interest
relevant coursework, skills, or knowledge GPA, honors, and awards
percentage of educational expenses earned
7. Extracurricular activities section (optional) includes...
list of most impressive offices held, including title and
organization
leadership roles and transferable skills pertinent professional
memberships
8. Experience section...
Each relevant paid, volunteer, extracurricular, intern, or co-op
experience
dates position held
description of transferable skills, accomplishments, and
effectiveness
specific examples of successes and results supporting your objective
examples that quantify results or successes
9. Language...
is expressed in succinct manner uses action verbs to begin phrases
has short action-oriented phrases instead of complete sentences
is free from grammatical, spelling, and punctuation errors
is in active rather than passive voice uses vocabulary of the field
for which you are applying
10. Layout and space utilization...
is crisp and clean
separates sections and incorporates enough blank space for easy
reading
centers text with adequate margins
11. Highlighting and emphasis...
uses bold type, underlining, different type styles and sizes is well
balanced
Interview Tricks and Techniques
It is neither Tough getting a job nor tough sustaining with your job
A secret plan to stay afloat during Recession
To be a TOP Talent in an IT industry
Tricks of getting a job within a week
To preserve the Impression of Odia people in IT Industry
Performance Appraisal and Salary Hike
The Lay off Cycle
Tricks to avoid lay offs
Performance in IT industry, Orissa Vs our neighbouring state
candidates
Before joining your first Job in a software company
25 top secrets to be the best employee
Why Employees Leave Organizations
Melting Global Economy and How far we are responsible
Regards
Team Nilachakra |
