How to write a Resume

Before you write a Resume, one should have some basic knowledge. Firstly, one should know what a Resume actually means; it can be defined as a short written description of one’s educational and professional experiences for job applications. Secondly, how is it different form Curriculum Vitae? Well, the main difference is in their length: Resume is a brief description while CV is a long and detailed description of your achievements.

Resume Content:

• Contact Information
• Professional summary and title
• Education
• Skills
• Work experience

An ideal Resume should scream “Hire Me” on the first look as the recruiters don’t really spend much time reviewing a resume. That’s why what to include in your resume is very important. The following are some tips that you need to keep in mind while you write a resume:

1. It must be organized with sufficient white spaces, especially around the margins.
2. You should list your skills and experiences in bullets or numbering to make it easy to read.
3. It shouldn’t be too short or too long, just the perfect amount to list all your skills and experiences relevant for the job. You should not go on writing about your achievements in details or the responsibilities you had or how good a person you are. Also, while writing achievements, it is better to quantify them. For example, “increased sales by $10,000”.
4. You should only focus on the key points and filter the information as per your job profile, including keywords that the recruiters want to see and will have a positive impact on their minds.

Again, a majority have the confusion whether to include hobbies and interests or not. The answer is that it depends. If your hobbies or interests are relevant to your job position, then you should create a separate section for them, otherwise, it is better to not mention them.

Also, one should know that there is no ‘correct’ resume format. The format will mainly depend on the company or the position you are applying to. For a cool new start-up, you may use a new modern approach, but most of the times it is better to use the conservative method.

In the beginning, you should also look at some professional resumes as examples or use sites that offer to build your resume to get an insight on how to write a resume.

Lastly, some points to keep in mind:

The DO’s:

• Making it concise (one page in length if not highly experienced)
• Adequate white space
• Simple and readable font
• Using bullet points
• Include a link to your website (if you have one)
• Proofreading before submission

The DON’Ts

• Including personal information (like date of birth)
• Making long unnecessary sentences
• Creating a unique resume structure
• Using unprofessional email addresses (like coolpriya@gmail.com)
• Using the same resume for every job application