Resume & Career Resources

The resume writing task can make many people go nervous in the first instance. It brings a lot of confusion initially while jotting down the points, classifying the important and the least important matters, drafting the final text and more. It sometimes seems to be an unachievable task. But a few tips by the Resume Builder mentioned below can surely leave your apprehensions behind and ensure a winning resume for you.

Firstly, be clear with the objective of the job, before you actually write a resume.  Well-defined objectives should be laid down first around which all the contents of the resume revolve. Use your resume as a tool for marketing yourself as a product in the market and your resume stands here as an important link between you and the different employers. It just works as a market brochure highlighting your positive attributes. It should ignite in them a force to look at you in person ultimately. It should make them think how you can be beneficial to their organization. Your resume should be a powerful display of your personality.

Secondly, the main purpose of a resume is to land you for an interview and not job. So do not focus on job achievements and specifications in detail. Be precise about what you are looking for, in a concised way. Leave the details for the actual personal interview. It mainly generates employer contact with you for an interview. Use bullets wherever required if you are elaborating on points. The Resume Builder do not suggest you lengthy paragraphs but instead it would advise you to use small sentences or to-the-point statements. Bulleted statements make the resumes read easily.

Thirdly, focus on functional style and action words like monitored, organized, prepared, developed, accomplished, presented, etc in the bulleted sentences. These action words work as booster for the resume. Use numeric, alpha-numeric symbols and signs. The numbers, percentages, dollars, etc stand out in the resume and show the precision more effectively.

Fourthly, Highlight your strengths in a hierarchy, with the most strong ones first that suit your job requirement best. Bullet those strengths so that they can be quickly reviewed as the resumes are normally reviewed in 20 to 30 seconds. Use key words in your resume picked from the reviewed ads, for the designations you are interested in. These key words help them to understand your level of interest and sharpness. Try to use the buzzwords in your resume that show your competence in a specific field.

Fifthly, Emphasize on the positive things. Ignore the negative aspects of your personality or your job experience and even the irrelevant points from your resume. Concentrate on those duties that are required for the current job objective. Suppose for example, if some duties of the earlier job do not match with the current job objective or specification, you might simply ignore mentioning that. Also do not mention the irrelevant personal information on the resume like your height, weight, color, marital status, class, etc.

Sixthly, Display only that knowledge of what you know. Don’t be explicit in describing details of things. Interview takes care of that part. Always keep in mind, that resume is an interface between the applying part and the actual interview. It already does your initial work for the upcoming interview. Display the names of important persons you know. You might know the Branch Manager or the Regional Manager of a bank, a Vice-president or any board member of a software firm, etc. With this you actually make the employer infer about you as an important person too.

Lastly, Structure your resume formally with easy-to-read statements. Use white space and font size normally of 10 point and not less than that. Restrict the number of pages and do not let them go beyond 1-2 pages. This should just enable the employer scan your resume swiftly and effectively, as how it is stressed by the Resume Builder.

Make someone else go through your final resume. Since its your resume, there is a possibility for you to miss out on some points here and there and having someone else review your resume, your job objectives, your way of listing positions that interest you and other things would enlighten you with some more required inputs or deletion of some points, etc. Try to discover from them the pros and cons of your final draft and based on their queries, you can progressively work out more on your resume.

Send or hand over your resume to the potential employers. Your resume submission at different places is like a game where your chances of winning increase with every submission. All the best for your dream job search..!

Many applicants come across this situation where their resume get those interviews but not offers. A candidate should actually analyze if after a row of interviews he is still not being selected. The Resume Builder has determined five job interview errors that could possibly be the causes of not getting selected.

1. Even if you are an active participant in the interview process, you should be careful in not taking over the whole interview. The interviewer only can be the real holder of the whole meeting. You only ask appropriate questions.

2. Be careful with the sentences’ formation and the vocabulary usage during the interview. If they do not meet the interviewer’s expectations, it might ruin your chances of getting selected. Recall the questions asked and how you answered them. Avoid passive phrases like “I think” or “I believe”.

3. Many candidates do not concentrate on the dressing part. They dress up either too casual or too conservative. Your attire reflects your attitude and this needs to be kept in mind while appearing for the interview. Too casual might give them an impression that your attitude towards job is casual as well and vice-versa. It is better to ask the recruiter or can find out by visiting the hiring organizations to see how the employees dress up there, as how the Resume Builder suggests.

4. There is also a possibility of landing up at the wrong organizations. For instance, if you are applying for the post of a bank cashier, then the job responsibilities (like executing cash transactions, maintaining vault records, etc.) are the same irrespective of the place. But what differs is the culture of the organization you fit in.

Suppose, a normal conservative bank like Corporation bank may prefer reserved candidates, where as a modernized fast-growing bank like ICICI bank may prefer more approachable individuals. So it’s just not about the open position that is available to match your qualification or experience, the organizational environment also matters in which you can fit best.

5. Candidates commit another mistake by not doing follow-ups. The hiring managers look for zeal in the candidate so that they get back to him. It is not simply about the job-related skills as how the Resume Builder points out, it is also about the soft skills like communication and integrity that matters. Just an acknowledgement letter would suffice.

It is really difficult to examine the exact error(s) that you may commit without witnessing your interview process. The Resume Builder has underlined some additional points for self-analysis apart from the above:

- Did you ever feel a sense of disappointment on the interviewer’s face or through his expression? If yes, then recollect the question and analyze how well you could have answered it.
- Did you any time feel that you stammered with the interviewer’s question? If yes, recall that question and assess how well you can readdress it.

Pondering over your mistakes by critical analysis and rectification would surely take you one step forward as mentioned by the Resume Builder.

Your resume should professionally stand out from the rest of the applications. It is not about pen, paper, print, but it gives an insight into a person’s personality and his approach towards professional life.  If you thought it is just an interlink between you and your employer then its the time you reflect on how it can do wonders that you could ever imagine, and pays you back with that one statement you highlighted or other parameters. Your resume can speak volumes about your professional life. It not only summarizes the whole picture in text but also diligently makes you stand out in the public.

It is a medium of communication between you and the hiring employers and all you have is just a few seconds at your disposal to make best use out of it. Consequently, the Resume Builder has a very informative way of how to write a resume.

Your resume is not only about paper, formatting, right fonts, alignment, color or spacing and other things. Ponder over what makes one’s resume unique, appealing and competent apart from these criteria? There are other simple basics In and Out of your resume.

The Resume Builder advises you to be well acquainted with the employer’s background. Your pre-knowledge about the company will make your resume individualistic. Summarize this aspect very polished in 3-5 sentences with the employer’s keyword. The employer comprehends that you had done some research about them and that leaves a good impression on them. It’s always beneficial to remember that your qualification should befit the employer’s need. For this, use figures if required, as this reflects your approach towards work ethics and achievements.

Use an action word in your resume once initially, that matches with your employer’s keyword; and avoid overuse of it. These employer’s keywords should match with your qualification actually in one sentence with figures, which is appreciated by the hiring managers.

Consider the number of pages used. It’s always better to have one page for entry levels and 2-3 pages or more for higher levels like managerial posts. There is no specific rule for that but it’s preferable with less number of pages, for times when the hiring officials go through many applications at a time.

Never write about your personal information and pictures. This might disqualify you. The Resume Builder highlights an exception here for applying in the entertainment industry where they require your pictures.

Avoid writing objectives in your resume. Instead write a polished summary outlining the important points that matches your qualification with the job description as pointed by the Resume Builder. Do not use this statement “Reference is available upon request”, as it can be dealt later in the interview.

Keep your document aligned. The hiring managers would know where to skim and for this you can expand your word format which also highlights the keywords.

Moreover, keep your resume neat with a professional look. Avoid fancy fonts or overused ones like Times New Roman. It should simply look professional, as stressed by the Resume Builder.