A RESUME LEADING TO SUCCESS

Resume is a first and foremost hand closely related to the job of any enterprise or institution.  Certainly the resume must match the nature of the job true to the term. With the growing number of the candidates sending resumes, the selectors find it hard to pick up the right candidates to reckon the most requisite aspects of the specific job and write accordingly.

The basic points to be borne in mind are as follows:

v  To be brief & to the point.

v  Not to write irrelevant but fitting phrases to be written.

v  To provide the information that can please and convince the interviewer.

v  Good writing skill is an added qualification and highly expected.

v  Distinct & clean contact number and address must be there.

With the resume one has to present other skills or parallel ones if any which may be required for any other branch or area. However one has to assert with evidence and enthusiasm.  There must be a clear-cut approach to the selection operation through effective resume that must reflect clarity of thoughts. Although there is no specific rule for making a successful resume but it is necessary to express or communicate effectively so that it will create some interest to the interviewer about you.  It may be one page or multipage but there is no specific format for making a resume.  It depends mainly on your purpose, intention and your appropriate situation.

What is the purpose of your resume? Why do you need a resume at all? What is it supposed to do for you?  Here’s an imaginary scenario. You apply for a job that seems absolutely perfect for you.  You send your resume, with a cover letter to the prospective employer.  Plenty of other people think the job sounds great too and apply for the job.  A few days later, the employer is staring at a pile of several hundred resumes. A job offer often attracts between 100 and 1000 resumes these days. So, you are facing a great deal of competition. This person isn’t any more excited about going through this pile of dry, boring documents than you would be. But, they have to do it, so they dig in. After a few minutes they are not really focusing any more. Then, they run across you resume. As soon as they start reading it, they perk up. The more they read, the more interested they become. Most resumes in the pile have only gotten a quick glance. But yours gets read, from beginning to end. Then, it gets put on top of the tiny pile of resumes that made the first cut. These are the people who will be asked in to the interview.

The resume is a tool with one specific purpose to win an interview. It presents you in the best light. It convinces the employer that you have what it takes to be successful in this new position or career. It is so pleasing to the eye that the reader is enticed to pick up and read it. In inspires the prospective employer to pick up the phone and ask you to come in for an interview.

PURPOSE/REASON FOR A RESUME

·       To properly expedite the employer’s scrutiny of the basic facts such as requisite educational level, prior experience & training etc.

·       To point out the basic facts which might favourably influence the employer (companies worked for etc.)

·       To provide current information indicating address, telephone number and email must be there.

·       To enable a candidate as a professional person with better prospects should be assured.  Excellent  writing skills is an added qualification and beneficial aspect of the profession itself.

To capture a job most people write their resume. They write it simply to fulfill this obligation. If you realize that a great resume can be your ticket to the   job entrance, you may be able to muster some genuine enthusiasm for creating a masterpiece, rather than the feeble products most people turn out.

Imagine the person who will be hiring. You need to write your resume to appeal directly to them. What does the employer really want?  If you fail to understand the real need of the employer, they will show cold response to your resume.  Putting yourself in the shoes of the person doing the hiring is the first and most important step in writing a resume that markets you rather than merely describes you.

Focus on your writing efforts. Get clearly what the employer is looking for and what you have to offer before you begin your resume. Write down everything you have ever done that demonstrates that you match perfectly with what is wanted and needed by the prospective employer.

Next one has to assert with evidence of whatever you have got to say and even go to the length of referring that you are very willing to face any amount of interview. In this first section you make assertions about your abilities, qualities    and achievements. The second section, the evidence section, is where you back up your assertions with evidence that you actually did what you said you did.  This is where you list and describe the jobs you have held, your education, etc. This is all the stuff you are obliged to include. Most resumes are just the evidence section, with no assertions. The juice is in the assertion section.  When a prospective employer finishes reading your resume, you want them to immediately reach for the phone to invite you in to interview. In all of them, your job is to communicate, assert and declare that you are the best possible candidate for the job.

You start by naming your intended job. This may be in a separate “Objective”   section, or may be folded into the second section, the “Summary.” If you are making a change to a new field, or are a young person not fully established in a career, start with a separate “Objective” section.

Targeting your resume requires that you should be absolutely clear about your career direction. The way to demonstrate your clarity of direction is defining your Objective. An example, the owner of a small software company puts an ad in the paper seeking an experienced software sales person.  The owner comes across a resume in the pile that starts with the following:

“Objective: a software sales position in an organization where an extraordinary record of generating new accounts, exceeding sales targets and enthusiastic customer relations would be needed”.

He is immediately interested. The first sentence conveys exactly what you are looking for.  It conveys that you have the qualities that are important for the job. This works well because the employer wants someone exactly like you.  The employer is interested in hiring you for what you can do for them, not for any other reason. 

Here’s how to write your objective. Remember, your resume will only get a few seconds attention.  You have a generate interest right away. Be sure the objective is to point.

If you are not really sure what job you are after, you should adapt your resume to each type of job you apply for. There is nothing wrong with having several different resumes; each with a different objective, each specifically crafted for a different type of position. You may even want to change some parts of your resume for each job you apply for. Have an objective that is perfectly matched with the job you are applying for.

The point of using an “Objective” is to make the employer focus immediately on where you are going, rather than where you have been. If you are looking for another job in your present field, it is more important to stress your qualities, achievements and abilities first.

The “summary”   consists of several concise statements that focus the reader’s attention on the most important qualities, achievements and abilities you have to offer. Those qualities should be the most compelling demonstrations of why they should hire you instead of the other candidates. This may be the only section fully read by the employer, so it should be very strong and convincing.

The most common ingredients of a well-written summary are as follows.

Ø  A short phrase describing your profession.

Ø  A statement of broad of specialized expertise.

Ø  One or more professional or appropriate personal characteristics.

Ø  A sentence describing professional objective or interest.

In this final part of the assertion section of your resume, you go into more detail. Let them know what results you produced, what happened as a result of your efforts, what you are especially gifted or experienced at doing. Flesh out the most important highlights in your summary. Remember, not too much detail. Don’t tell them everything.

Sometimes the “Skills and Accomplishments” section is a separate section. When it is a separate section, it can have several possible titles, depending on your situation.

Skills and Accomplishments

Summary of Accomplishments

Areas of Accomplishment and Experience

Areas of Expertise

Career and Professional highlights

There are a number of different ways to structure “Skills and Accomplishments” sections. If you have many skills, the last skill paragraph might be called “Additional Skills”.

Here are a few ways you could structure your skills and accomplishments section:

1.    A listing of skills or accomplishments or a combination of both, with bullets.

          Example:

v  Effectively sold over 2 million shirts (ladies and gents) in leading Garment stores in the all over India.

v  Organized a charity show for the welfare of the orphans, specially the children. It gives immense success to achieve funds for the distressed.

v  Participated in a debate contest and lucrative prizes won.

2.    A list of accomplishments or skill paragraphs under each job (in a chronological resume).

           Example:

v  Senior Salesman – Aggarwal Garments Distributors Ltd., Mumbai.

v  Promoted from Salesman to Senior Salesman after one year of joining.

v  Given the responsibility for local branch’s sells activities.

All the mandatory information that you need to include on your resume is best placed in the second half of the resume. Put the exciting stuff in the beginning. This is the standard stuff that any resume book can help you with, so we will not cover it here in detail.

The Essential or mandatory information are as follows:-

Arrange the list of Jobs in reverse chronological order. Focus on the most recent and/or relevant jobs. (Summarize a number of the earliest jobs in one line or very short paragraph, or list only the bare facts with no position description.) Decide which is, overall, more impressive: your job titles or the names of the firms you worked for, then consistently begin with the more impressive of the two, perhaps using boldface type.

Express or explain about the firm in a phrase in parentheses this will impress the reader. Put dates in italics at the end of the job, to de-emphasize them; don’t include months, unless the job was held less than a year. Include internships and major volunteer roles if desired; because the section is labeled “Experience”. It does not mean that you were paid.

List education in reverse chronological order, degree or licenses first, followed by certificates and advance training.  Set degrees apart so they are easily seen. Put in bold face whatever will be most impressive. Don’t include any details about college except major and awards, unless you are still in college or just recently graduated. List selected course work if this will help convince the reader of your qualifications for the targeted job.

References

You may put “References available upon request” at the end of your resume, if you wish.  Do not include actual names of references. A reference list can be done as a separate sheet and brought to the interview to be given to the employer if requested.

There are few more Tips

Try not to include anything on the resume which could turn the employer off,  anything which is controversial could be taken in a negative light.

Put most important information on the first line of writing “block” or paragraph – the first line is read the most.

Spell out numbers under and including 10; use numerical form for numbers over and including 11 (as a general rule).  Spell out abbreviations unless they are unquestioningly obvious.

What not to write on a Resume

The word “Resume” at the top of the resume.

Fluffy rambling “objective” statements

Salary information

Full address and zip codes of former employers

Reasons for leaving jobs

A “Personal” section or personal statistics (except in special cases)

Names of supervisors

References

Always remember a well-presented resume could become a passport to your dream role.