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TIPS FOR A GOOD RESUME - A MUST READ

The resume is the medium of presenting yourself as a candidate for a job. Having a good and precise resume is necessary for a successful job landing. Surveys suggest that employers take only 5 seconds to judge your resume and wont read yo ur resume for more than one minute. So it is necessary to make yourself be presented as the bestsuited employee for the work in that short time. Here I am going to give some tips in order to make your resume better and more presentable. 1. Make employer-specific resumes: Instead of making a general resume with all the details, it is better to create a new resume every time that mentions only relevant information pertaining to that position. 2. Work experience: Instead of mentioning qualities separately, merge them with your work experience as it creates a good impression. Also try to use stats instead of just statements. Use different action verbs like managed, headed, controlled, supervised, etc. instead of just worked. 3. List: Use lists of data instead of just writing paragraphs. Moreover in each topic mention the important details at the top of the list. 4. Key-words: Most companies use digital databases to search for key words in your resume and short list candidates. So find out key words pertaining to your job title and mention them in your resume. 5. Things to avoid: Avoid negativity about past employers, etc. You need not mention age, religion, hobbies and other personal details that are irrelevant to the job. Also avoid having your picture attached unless asked so. Avoid fancy designs and fonts. Also dont lie or even exaggerate as it could be verified easily. Avoid too much of technical terms as the person who is going to read your resume is probably a HR person and may not know the jargon. Dont use first person. 6. Other specifications: Mention the important things in bold. Dont forget to mention all relevant achievements in the past. You need not even mention all your previous work; just the important ones will suffice. Dont mention salary but keep it in mind and prepare your resume to match your requirement. You need not mention references available upon request as it is implied when you send your resume. 7. Know the purpose of your resume: Some people write a resume as if the purpose of the document was to land a job. As a result they end up with a really long and boring piece that makes them look like desperate job hunters. The objective of your resume is to land an interview, and the interview will land you the job (hopefully!).

8. Back up your qualities and strengths: Instead of creating a long (and boring) list with all your qualities (e.g., disciplined, creative, problem solver), try to connect them with real life and work experiences. In other words, you need to back these qualities and strengths up; else it will appear that you are just trying to inflate things. 9. Make sure to use the right keywords: Most companies (even smaller ones) are already using digital databases to search for candidates. This means that the HR department will run search queries based on specific keywords. Guess what, if your resume doesnt have the keywords related to the job you are applying for, you will be out even before the game starts. These keywords will usually be nouns. Check the job description and related job ads for a clue on what the employer might be looking for. You can read more about resume keywords on the article Tapping the Power of Keywords to Enhance Your Resumes Effectiveness. 10. Use effective titles: Like it or not, employers will usually make a judgment about your resume in 5 seconds. Under this time frame the most important aspect will be the titles that you listed on the resume, so make sure they grab the attention. Try to be as descriptive as possible, giving the employer a good idea about the nature of your past work experiences. 11. Proofread it twice: It would be difficult to emphasize the importance of proofreading your resume. One small typo and your chances of getting hired could slip. Proofreading it once is not enough, so do it twice, three times or as many as necessary. 12. Use bullet points: No employer will have the time (or patience) to read long paragraphs of text. Make sure, therefore, to use bullet points and short sentences to describe your experiences, educational background and professional objectives. 13. Where are you going? Including professional goals can help you by giving employers an idea of where you are going, and how you want to arrive there. You dont need to have a special section devoted to your professional objectives, but overall the resume must communicate it. The question of whether or not to highlight your career objectives on the resume is a polemic one among HR managers, so go with your feeling. If you decide to list them, make sure they are not generic. 14. Put the most important information first: This point is valid both to the overall order of your resume, as well as to the individual sections. Most of the times your previous work experience will be the most important part of the resume, so put it at the top. When describing your experiences or skills, list the most important ones first.

15. Explain the benefits of your skills: Merely stating that you can do something will not catch the attention of the employer. If you manage to explain how it will benefit his company, and to connect it to tangible results, then you will greatly improve your chances. 16. Avoid negativity: Do not include information that might sound negative in the eyes of the employer. This is valid both to your resume and to interviews. You dont need to include, for instance, things that you hated about your last company. 17. Achievements instead of responsibilities: Resumes that include a long list of responsibilities included are plain boring, and not efficient in selling yourself. Instead of listing responsibilities, therefore, describe your professional achievements. 18. No pictures: Sure, we know that you are good looking, but unless you are applying for a job where the physical traits are very important (e.g., modeling, acting and so on), and unless the employer specifically requested it, you should avoid attaching your picture to the resume. 19. Use numbers: If you are going to describe your past professional achievements, it would be a good idea to make them as solid as possible. Numbers are your friends here. Dont merely mention that you increased the annual revenues of your division, say that you increased them by $100,000, by 78%, and so on. 20. One resume for each employer: One of the most common mistakes that people make is to create a standard resume and send it to all the job openings that they can find. Sure it will save you time, but it will also greatly decrease the chances of landing an interview (so in reality it could even represent a waste of time). Tailor your resume for each employer. The same point applies to your cover letters. 21. Identify the problems of the employer: A good starting point to tailor your resume for a specific employer is to identify what possible problems he might have at hand. Try to understand the market of the company you are applying for a job, and identify what kind of difficulties they might be going through. After that illustrate on your resume how you and your skills would help to solve those problems. 22. Avoid age discrimination: It is illegal to discriminate people because of their age, but some employers do these considerations nonetheless. Why risk the trouble? Unless specifically requested, do not include your age on your resume. 23. You dont need to list all your work experiences: If you have job experiences that you are not proud of, or that are not relevant to the current opportunity, you should just omit them. Mentioning that you used to sell

hamburgers when you were 17 is probably not going to help you land that executive position. 24. Go with what you got: If you never had any real working experience, just include your summer jobs or volunteer work. If you dont have a degree yet, mention the title and the estimated date for completion. As long as those points are relevant to the job in question, it does not matter if they are official or not. 25. Sell your fish: Remember that you are trying to sell yourself. As long as you dont go over the edge, all the marketing efforts that you can put in your resume (in its content, design, delivery method and so on) will give you an advantage over the other candidates. 26. Dont include irrelevant information: Irrelevant information such as political affiliation, religion and sexual preference will not help you. In fact it might even hurt your chances of landing an interview. Just skip it. 27. Use Mr. and Ms. if appropriate: If you have a gender neutral name like Alex or Ryan make sure to include the Mr. or Ms. prefix, so that employers will not get confused about your gender. 28. No lies, please: Seems like a no brainer, but you would be amused to discover the amount of people that lie in their resumes. Even small lies should be avoided. Apart from being wrong, most HR departments do background checks these days, and if you are buster it might ruin your credibility for good. 29. Keep the salary in mind: The image you will create with your resume must match the salary and responsibility level that you are aiming for. 30. Analyze job ads: You will find plenty of useful information on job ads. Analyze not only the ad that you will be applying for, but also those from companies on the same segment or offering related positions. You should be able to identify what profile they are looking for and how the information should be presented. 31. Get someone else to review your resume: Even if you think you resume is looking kinky, it would be a good idea to get a second and third opinion about it. We usually become blind to our own mistakes or way of reasoning, so another people will be in a good position to evaluate the overall quality of your resume and make appropriate suggestions. 32. One or two pages: The ideal length for a resume is a polemic subject. Most employers and recruiting specialists, however, say that it should contain one or two pages at maximum. Just keep in mind that, provided all the necessary information is there, the shorter your resume, the better.

33. Use action verbs: A very common advice to job seekers is to use action verbs. But what are they? Action verbs are basically verbs that will get noticed more easily, and that will clearly communicate what your experience or achievement were. Examples include managed, coached, enforced and planned. Here you can find a complete list of action verbs divided by skill category. 34. Use a good printer: If you are going to use a paper version of your resume, make sure to use a decent printer. Laser printers usually get the job done. Plain white paper is the preferred one as well. 35. No hobbies: Unless you are 100% sure that some of your hobbies will support you candidacy, avoid mentioning them. I know you are proud of your swimming team, but share it with your friends and not with potential employers. 36. Update your resume regularly: It is a good idea to update your resume on a regular basis. Add all the new information that you think is relevant, as well 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. 37. Mention who you worked with: If you have reported or worked with someone that is well known in your industry, it could be a good idea to mention it on the resume. The same thing applies to presidents and CEOs. If you reported to or worked directly with highly ranked executives, add it to the resume. 38. No scattered information: Your resume must have a clear focus. If would cause a negative impression if you mentioned that one year you were studying drama, and the next you were working as an accountant. Make sure that all the information you will include will work towards a unified image. Employers like decided people. 39. Make the design flow with white space: Do not jam your resume with text. Sure we said that you should make your resume as short and concise as possible, but that refers to the overall amount of information and not to how much text you can pack in a single sheet of paper. White space between the words, lines and paragraphs can improve the legibility of your resume. 40. Lists all your positions: If you have worked a long time for the same company (over 10 years) it could be a good idea to list all the different positions and roles that you had during this time separately. You probably had different responsibilities and developed different skills on each role, so the employer will like to know it.

41. No jargon or slang: It should be common sense, but believe me, it is not. Slang should never be present in a resume. As for technical jargon, do not assume that the employer will know what you are talking about. Even if you are sending your resume to a company in the same segment, the person who will read it for the first time might not have any technical expertise. 42. Careful with sample resume templates: There are many websites that offer free resume templates. While they can help you to get an idea of what you are looking for, do not just copy and paste one of the most used ones. You certainly dont want to look just like any other candidate, do you? 43. Create an email proof formatting: It is very likely that you will end up sending your resume via email to most companies. Apart from having a Word document ready to go as an attachment, you should also have a text version of your resume that does not look disfigured in the body of the email or in online forms. Attachments might get blocked by spam filters, and many people just prefer having the resume on the body of the email itself. 44. Remove your older work experiences: If you have been working for 20 years or more, there is no need to have 2 pages of your resume listing all your work experiences, starting with the job at the local coffee shop at the age of 17! Most experts agree that the last 15 years of your career are enough. 45. No fancy design details: Do not use a colored background, fancy fonts or images on your resume. Sure, you might think that the little flowers will cheer up the document, but other people might just throw it away at the sight. 46. No pronouns: Your resume should not contain the pronouns I or me. That is how we normally structure sentences, but since your resume is a document about your person, using these pronouns is actually redundant. 47. Dont forget the basics: The first thing on your resume should be your name. It should be bold and with a larger font than the rest of the text. Make sure that your contact details are clearly listed. Secondly, both the name and contact details should be included on all the pages of the resume (if you have more than one). 48. Consider getting professional help: If you are having a hard time to create your resume or if you are receiving no response whatsoever from companies, you could consider hiring a professional resume writing service. There are both local and online options are available, and usually the investment will be worth the money.