RESUME WRITING

INSIGHT &

TIPS

DrRakhi Gupta

MBA,LLB,UGC NET,FDPM(IIM-A),Ph.D

PURPOSE OF RESUMEWhy resume?  What ‘s the use?

Here's an imaginary

scenario!!!You apply for a job . You send your resume prospective employer Plenty of other people too apply for the jobA few days later, the employer is staring at a pile of several hundred resumes. A job offer often attracts between 100 and 1000 resumes, so you are facing a great deal of competition. This person going through this pile of dry, boring documents & they dig in. After a few minutes, they are getting sleepy. They are not really focusing any more. 

On an average, • every resume gets a glance reading

for about 10 –15 secs max. • In this given time, the recruiters

decide, whether or not they should read your resume further,

• should call you for a face – to – face interview or not.

THE NUMBER ONE PURPOSE OF A RESUME

- to win an interviewo A resume is an advertisement. Nothing less, nothing more.

o A good resume does only tell what you have done so far.. But advertises you, in a more assertive way –

If you buy this product, you will get these

o specific, o direct benefits. o It presents you in the best light.

OTHER REASONS TO HAVE A RESUME

o To pass the employer's screening process

o provide contact information.o To establish you as a professional

person with high standards and excellent writing skills, based on the fact that the resume is so well done.

o To put in an employer's personnel files.o To help you clarify your direction.

WHAT IT ISN'T!!o A history of your pasto A personal statemento Sort of self expression

So,Do not write it keeping in mind that you are putting down all that you have done so far..

BUT YOU WILL WRITE IT SHOW CASE ALL THAT YOU ARE CAPABLE OF DOING NOW AND IN THE FUTURE

WHAT IF I'M NOT SURE OF MY JOB TARGET? 

o You are probably going to wind up doing something that doesn't fit you very well

o That you are not going to find fulfilling

o That you will most likely leave within five years.

HOW TO WRITE AN EFFECTIVE RESUME:

IMPORTANT THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE WRITING

RESUME:

Resume division

In the 1st, you make assertions about your abilities, qualities and achievements

o Your nameo Contact details,o The crux of your professional

achievements/ experience/ objective o Educational qualifications ( Basic

Academics)

Resume division - Contd.

The second section is the evidence section - elaborates the claims made

in the first section.o You list and describe the jobs you have held.o Your education (graduation & post Grat.)o Soft skills/ Area of expertise/ Professional

skillso Awards and achievements.o Projects and trainings.o Etc…

Resume Misconceptions

Resume is a professional document and, therefore,

o should not include any personal details except your name and contact details.

o Your date of birth, father’s occupation, age, marital status etc are unnecessary.

Resume Focus

FOCUS ON THE EMPLOYER'S NEEDS, NOT YOURS - Try to find

out what the organization is looking for, and match those traits with your

competences and offer the benefit.

HOW???

o Read the JD (job description), Job specification,

o talk to the company employees, recruiters.o Go through their mission, vision, value

statements.

MOST IMPORTANT PARTS OF RESUME:

CREATING THE RIGHT HEADER

o Designing a heading that makes your name stand out.

o Including the right contact information.o Writing a concise job objective statement

to get the job you want.o Substituting a professional title for the

job objective statement.

Designing a heading makes your name stand out & including the right information

Writing a concise job objective statement to get the job you want.

By starting your resume with a statement of your Job Objective, you

immediately tell your potential employer:

o What position you’re looking for.o Who needs to get  your resumeo How to interpret your resume.

It demonstrates the clarity of direction in you.

Example scenario!!

Suppose the owner of a small software company puts an ad in the paper

seeking an experienced software sales person. A week later they have

received 500 resumes. The applicants have a bewildering variety of

backgrounds. The employer has no way of knowing whether any of them

are really interested in selling software.

Few example objectives: scenario!!

i. Looking forward to work with an organization, where I can utilize my skills and abilities and grow with the organization.

ii. To work with a reputed organization where I can explore and in the HR field while still effectively contributing to the organization’s development.

iii.A software sales position in an organization seeking an extraordinary record of generating new accounts, exceeding sales targets and enthusiastic customer relations.

NOW, that’s a wake up call. They are now interested to read your resume further.

What do you actually do?o Find out what are the two or three qualities, abilities or

achievements that would make candidate stand out as truly exceptional for that specific job.

o Find out what product demand they are looking for, and sell the benefits."a position where I can hone my skill as a scissors sharpener."

or something similar. –

The employer is interested in hiring you for what you can do for them,

not for fulfilling your private goals and agenda.

Objective of objective - The point of using an Objective is to create a specific

psychological response in the mind of the reader.

Objective dos & don'ts

o Be sure the objective is to the point. Not more than 2 to 2 – half lines.

o Do not use fluffy phrases that are obvious or do not mean anything.“allowing the ability to enhance potential and utilize

experience in new challenges.”

o An objective may be broad but cannot be undefined."a mid-level management position in the hospitality or

entertainment industry.“ – it is a wish statement, not an objective – objective will be clear on what exactly you want, how/ when/ what you offer/ benefit (core competency, skill).

Substituting a professional title for the Job Objective statement

o Less is more! You need to say everything as concisely as possible, starting with your Job Objective statement.

o Putting your Job Objective statement near the top of your resume is the clearest way to tell the reader what you want for your immediate future.

o statements like “challenging position,” “room for advancement,” and “opportunity to grow.” are good. But they are not clear…

o It pitches on what you want AND NOT WHAT YOU CAN GIVE.

Stick to what’s important!!o The job title you’d like next, if you know it (for

example, Manager or Sales Representative).o The area of work you want to be in (for example,

Marketing or Sales). o You might include an area of specialization (for

example, “with an emphasis on new business development” or “focusing on graphic design”).

o If you clearly understand the demand of the organization, focus on those competences as benefits to offer in the objective – may as traits you have/ or as looking forward to develop etc.

o If you know the exact title of the job you’re applying for, by all means use that in your Job Objective.

exampleNot so good: A challenging position that will utilize

my skills and experience as Director of Marketing.WHY - Everyone wants to be challenged, and of

course you’ll be using your skills and experience.Much better: Director of Marketing

Not so good: An administrative position in a growth oriented company where I

can use my background in finance to promote the firm.

WHY - This statement sounds like you’re judging the company’s ability to

provide for your future.Much better: Administrative position with a focus

on finance

not very clear on what you exactly want!!! ….

a title effectively says:o “This is what my profession is.”o “This is what I want to be.”o “and this what I can offer now

and what I am capable of offering in the future.”

all of this / most of this whichever is appropriate.

RESUME CONTENTSUsually, after the objective, many people follow

many different formats to write resume. Experienced people might

follow formats likeo EDUCATIONo SKILLS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTSo ACCOMPLISHMENTS/ RECENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS/

INITIATIVES TAKEN/ ACHIEVEMENTSo AREAS OF EXPERTISE/ PROFESSIONAL SKILLSo CAREER HIGHLIGHTS/ PROFESSIONAL

HIGHLIGHTS/ SUMMARY/ PROFESSIONAL SUMMARYo AWARDS & ACHIEVEMENTSo RESEARCH PAPERS/ BOOKS/ COMMUNITYo PERSONAL DETAILS

Sometimes, the order might differ to project the most critical quality.

For EG. o If the I feel that I have skills that best suit the

company requirement, and my job Work experiences not very relevant or if I am looking for a career change, then I project my skills and academics first, then my achievements, then my work experience, finally the summary.

o If I feel that my work experience is a perfect match to the company’s requirement, then I might want to project my professional summary first, then my work experience, achievements, educations, skills etc.

Fresher’s resume formats/ contents

Since there is no work experience and so no career summary or work

initiatives.. ideally, a fresher’s resume will have the following in its

structure.

oCONTACT INFORMATIONoOBJECTIVEoEDUCATION

contd/..

o INTERNSHIP/ SUMMER TRAINING/ ON-JOB TRAININGS. Internship or summer training details should be as precise as possible. They will only include the following details.

• Company name AND position held.• Time worked – either in days/ months or from – to format (always use one specified format through the resume. If you use only dates, use only dates every where. – eg. 06/17/2011 – 02/01/2012).• Very brief description of job role/ responsibilities: use power words like recruitment and selection, automation of engineering tools, research of microprocessor tools, quality testing of the electronic division, etc. than story telling.

o PROJECT DETAILS – live projects & desk projects.

• final year project, workshops conducted, researched projects, demonstrated projects are all live projects. • Paper presentations, seminars, lectures given and I.V are desk projects.

o SUMMARY OF SKILLS/ AREA OF EXPERTISE/ COMPUTER PROFICIENCY – either soft skills (communication skills,

analytical, creative), technical skills (computer efficiency, other

technical knowledge), work essential skills (focus on details, management

skills, team skills, presentation skills etc.),

SOFT SKILLS - exampleo Do not use big jargons/ complicated terms –

- “excellent in written and oral communication skills” ; - “hard working nature” - “positive thinking attitude” ; - “Good analytical skills for problem solving and excellent decision making skills”

o Use smart and short words to describe your potential/ and use power words- “Analytical skills”; - “Communication skills” ;- “creative skills” etc

o For all the skills that you put in the resume, make sure you have a skill statement to back up/ proof statement. (but in the resume, you will highlight only the skill, not the skill statement, unless, it is one of your achievements.) – contd.

EG FOR MAKING PROOF STATEMENTS:

Skill: Analytical SkillsSkill Statement: Analyzed programming code for Microprocessor

8085 for the functioning of the traffic signals and improvised it to be used for motors too.

Skill: Creative SkillsSkill Statement: Wrote mechanical procedure support scripts that

decreased experiment lab time by 51%.

Skill: Communication SkillsSkill Statement: Expert in technical and business communication

writing. Participated and won in many nation and international level debating competitions.

Skill: Organizing & scheduling SkillsSkill Statement: Scheduled, organized national level technical

symposium on behalf of Department initiatives as President of the Technical Club.

Skill: Profit Oriented ThinkingSkill Statement: Saved 52% of the investment cost for symposium by

replacing the traditional stage decoration & food arrangement methods to unconventional and more appropriate ways.

o SPECIFIC SKILLS/ RESEARCH INTEREST/ AREA OF INTEREST

• Nanotechnology• Microprocessor design• Pipes and structures• Automation etc

• Make sure that the area of interest/ research interest that you quote is in alignment with company’s interest.

• E.g.. You cannot apply for a software engineers role and project that you research interest is in Equipment and hardware engineering.

• Also make sure you have reasons to like the field. You will be questioned.

o AWARDS AND ACHIEVEMENTS.

o ASSOCIATIONS - CIVIC / COMMUNITY/ LEADERSHIP

o HOBBIES AND PERSONAL INTEREST – Hobbies are not something that you do in your free

time. They are things that you want to do coz your passionate about doing it.

– Please do not write chatting, talking with friends, sleeping, watching TV, roaming around as hobbies.

– Probably – networking instead of chatting, travelling instead of roaming around etc

– Use power words.– Please be prepared for questions – might be

asked to explain about your hobbies. Don’t jus write anything.

A FEW GUIDELINES FOR A BETTER PRESENTATION

o The resume is visually enticing - Simple clean structure. Very easy to read. Symmetrical. Balanced, uncrowned.

o There is uniformity and consistency in the use of italics, capital letters, bullets, boldface, and underlining - Absolute parallelism in design decisions.

o There are absolutely no errors. No typographical errors. No spelling errors. No grammar, syntax, or punctuation errors. No errors of fact.

• All the basic, expected information is included - key information: – your name, address, phone number, and your

email address at the top of the first page, – listing of jobs held in reverse chronological order, – educational degrees including the highest

degree received in reverse chronological order. – Additional, targeted information.

• Jobs listed – include a title, the name of the firm, the city and

state of the firm, and the years. – expected to include some mention of education

(professional study or training, partial study toward a degree, etc.) acquired after high school.

• It is targeted. – A resume should be targeted to your goal, to the

ideal next step in your career.– First you should get clear what your job goal is– Then you should figure out what key skills, areas

of expertise or body of experience the employer will be looking for

– Gear the resume structure and content around this target, proving these key qualifications.

• Strengths are highlighted / weaknesses de-emphasized– Focus on whatever is strongest and most

impressive.–Make careful and strategic choices as to how to

organize, order, and convey your skills and background

• It has focus– Don't make the reader go through the whole

resume to figure out what your profession is and what you can do.

• Use power words• Show you are results-oriented. –Wherever possible, prove that you have the

desired qualifications through clear strong statement of accomplishments, rather than a statement of potentials, talents, or responsibilities.

• Writing is concise and to the point. – Keep sentences as short and direct as possible.– Eliminate any extraneous information and any

repetitions.– Don’t use many examples. One would suffice.

• Vary long sentences (if these are really necessary) with short punchy sentences. – Use phrases rather than full sentences– start sentences with verbs, eliminating pronouns ("I",

"he" or "she").– Vary words: Don't repeat a "power" verb or adjective

in the same paragraph.– Use commas to clarify meaning.– Remain consistent in writing such as use of

abbreviations and capitalizations.

• Make it look great. – Use a laser printer or an ink jet printer that produces

high- quality results

• Include Telephone number, email ID that will be answered

• Shorter is usually better. –Most Fortune 500 prefer have a one- or two-page resume.– The larger your accomplishments, easier to communicate

them in few words. – Resume - ad to market you, not life history. Don't bore them

with the details.

• Watch your verb tense.- Verb tenses are based on accurate reporting.

– Use either the first person ("I") or the third person (''he," "she") point of view, but use whichever you choose consistently.

– Accomplishment completed - past tense. Task is still underway - present tense.

– If the skill has been used in the past and will continue to be used, use present tense ("conduct presentations on member recruitment and trade associations").

– A way of "smoothing out" transitions is to use the past continuous ("have conducted more than 20 presentations...").

• Break it up. – summary, skill section, accomplishment statement,

job description, etc.

• Experience before education...usually - because you have more qualifications developed from your experience than from your education. – Exceptions

1) if you have just received or are completing a degree in a new professional field.

2) if you are a lawyer, with the peculiar professional tradition of listing your law degrees first.

3) if you are an undergraduate student.

4) if you have just completed a particularly impressive degree from a particularly impressive school, even if you are staying in the same field, for example, an MBA from Harvard.

WHAT NOT TO PUT ON A RESUME

• The word "Resume" at the top of the resume

• Fluffy rambling "objective" statements

• Salary information• Full addresses of former employers• Reasons for leaving jobs• A "Personal" section, or personal

statistics (except in special cases)• Names of supervisors• References

QUESTIONS YOU WOULD ASK YOU WRITING RESUME –

ANSWER ALL!!!• What key qualifications will the employer be looking for?• What qualifications will be most important to them that

you possess?• Which of these are your greatest strengths?• What are the highlights of your career to date that

should be emphasized?• What should be de-emphasized?• What things about you and your background make you

stand out?• What are your strongest areas of skill and expertise?

Knowledge? Experience?• What are some other skills you possess--perhaps more

auxiliary skills?

• What are characteristics you possess that make you a strong candidate? (Like "innovative, hard-working, strong interpersonal skills, ability to handle multiple projects simultaneously under tight deadlines")

• What are the three or four things you feel have been your greatest accomplishments?

• What was produced as a result of your greatest accomplishments?

• Can you quantify the results you produced in numerical or other specific terms?

• What were the two or three accomplishments of that particular job?

• What were the key skills you used in that job?• What did you do in each of those skill areas?• What sorts of results are particularly impressive to

people in your field?• What results have you produced in these areas?• What are the "buzz words" that people in your field

expect you to use in lieu of a secret club handshake, which should be included in your resume?

Can be still improvised by o Bulleting the profession summary.

o Organizing the internship details better.

o Projecting the strength – skills and accomplishments.

o Including project details

o Avoiding details like DOB, Language (optional), location preference etc and including personal site like professional LinkedIn site/ personal website.

Also refer to the power

words for skill sets and for

overall resume writing.