TIPS FOR AN EFFECTIVE RESUME

A Resume, as we all know is the first point of contact between you and your potential recruiter. Hence, for obvious reasons, it’s important to have an effective Resume.

Recruiters spend countless hours screening Resumes and in the process, come across thousands of Resumes. Unless you have an effective resume, there is a high probability that your CV will end up in the Rejection stack.

Having being on both sides of the table for multiple years, here are some tips that I can share with you to ensure that you can draft a Resume that makes a good first impression.

Make it short

I’ve seen Resumes of fresh graduates which run into three pages or even more. Your CV is not meant to be an exhaustive list of every award you’ve ever received of a detailed list of every position you’ve ever held or every training program or activity you have ever attended.  At best, restrict your CV to a page. Do not exceed a page. Even you have 30 years of experience. If the recruiters have questions, let them ask you during an interview. (Tip- you may go ahead with reducing your font size, reduce line spacing and reducing margins to fit in the text – albeit to an acceptable level only).

Tailor it for every position you’re applying

One size doesn’t fit all. Tailor your resume to mention the key highlights that make sense to the position you’re applying to. Taking a few minutes to tailor your resume to the specific job requirements ensure that

So a Spell Check

This is a must for all of your writings. But for some reason, I have seen spelling errors in at least 50% of the resumes I have come across. Do a detailed review of the resume you have drafted and preferably, get it reviewed by someone else. Psychologically, for some reason we tend to miss the blunder in our writings in spite of multiple reviews.

Make it result oriented – Highlight your contribution

While you may highlight your job responsibilities in previous organisations, make sure you highlight your contribution to the organisation. This is a must as recruiters would be able to distinguish you as a result oriented person as compared to others.

Use a cover letter

Especially for people with a variety of experience, a cover letter is a must to tell the story. This helps you personalise the application as opposed to general bulk applications and helps you stand apart wherein you have specified your resume outline and shown keen interest in the position.