THE MAGIC OF RESUME WRITING HOW TO GET AN INTERVIEW CALL EVERYTIME YOU APPLY FOR A SAP ROLE.

Published by Team of SAP Consultants at SAPTOPJOBS

Visit us at www.sap-topjobs.com
Copyright 2005@SAPTOPJOBS

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording or any information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from SAPTOPJOBS.

Do Not Forget to Read Pages 13 to 15

Few have strength of reason to overrule the perceptions of sense, and yet fewer have curiosity or benevolence to struggle long against the first impression: He who therefore fails to please in his salutation and address is at once rejected, and never obtains an opportunity of showing his latest excellences or essential qualities." Johnson: Rambler #166 (October 19, 1751) This quote written by Johnson Rambler still holds good in our technological age. How does it relate to Resume building you would ask? Resume Building is your first impression and contrary to what you think clients and consultants spend only 3-4 minutes or sometimes only one minute on every CV before they shortlist you for an interview. This is a true statistic as we also have recruitment experience of around 4 yrs. One glance and an experienced recruiter or client knows whether you fit in for an interview. So what are those critical elements, which a client or a recruiter glances through in a CV? I will address that in a few moments: But first certain baby concepts: Basic Objective of Resume The basic objective of Making resumes is to get Interview Calls I can hear you say Ya, Vish, I know all this.

But I will show you that more than 90% of the consultants might be aware of this objective but they really do not work on their CVs to ensure that they achieve this goal. Jim Rohn the noted philosopher says We major in minor things and this is true of resume building too. We waste lot of time and energy in unnecessary details while making our CV and overlook the critical elements. While every area in a resume needs to be addressed with care there are certain key areas which can work magic on your resume and help you get a 100% success rate in interview calls. Remember the first step is to get an interview call and the second to clear the interview. In our other bonus The FICO Questions and Answers your second step would be adequately addressed.

All right lets move on.

There are two simple yet critical parts to achieving the 100% success ratio of getting interview calls: 1) Strictly Follow the DOs and DONTs mentioned down below 2) Tailor make your CV to fit into the clients requirements, perfectly each and every time you send it to them. Very few consultants follow this, very few. Your success percentage would increase tremendously if you were able to follow this golden rule. I will show you how to do this in a moment. But first the Dos and Donts. I am sorry guys I actually hate the word Dos and Donts but they keep popping up and I have no option but to use it again). DOs: In the Sample Resumes we have attached you will find most of these Dos . They are only a guide and I am sure many of you can think of better Dos. FIRST PAGE OF YOUR RESUME Here is a list of certain definite things which every client looks for in the first 2 two lines of your resume: Ensure that all this are highlighted and in bold: 1) Your Core Module. 2) No of Yrs SAP Experience 3) Your Contact Number 4) Email Id

5) SAP certified (if you are) 6) Worked in Latest Version (Mention that) 7) Specific Industry Experience These seven things should be reflected in bold with large fonts in the first two lines of your resume. There are many people who mention their sap certification and versions somewhere inside their cv where clients find it difficult to locate. Mention all those right at the top. The client should be able to locate all the important information about you very easily without making any efforts. These are simple things but if done properly they increase your success ratio. Remember as I said our objective it to get an interview call, nothing else. Hot Tips: If the client is looking for Asset Management or Product costing mention that right at the top with your core module. The client loves that. Also in the summary below, if any education or training which you had undertaken earlier and are related to the role you are applying for,mention that liberally The next important thing is the Body of the First page: The First Para: Provide a Summary about your SAP experience paying particular attention to the Number of Full Implementations, Rollouts, Upgrades etc You can mention here any special skills and interfaces like Vertex, CIN etc you have worked in.

 Special Non-SAP qualifications like CPA,CIMA, ICWA,CA,MBA which will highlight your professional experience. Specific Industry experience if the client is relating to that industry. The Second Para: Mention All Your Core Skill sets in Brief: Refer to the Sample CVS attached Highlight those which the Client is looking for like say Asset Accounting, Tax Depreciation, Product Costing Make to Stock, Costing Based Profitability Analysis.

SECOND PAGE OF YOUR RESUME

The Second Page should highlight the snap shot of all your implementations in a Table form. This is liked by all the clients and is a virtual winner. The Table should carry the following details: Consulting Employer Name of the Client or Employer

Your Role in the Project :

Version Worked in Modules Implemented Date of Go Live Nature of Implementation: Whether Rollout, Upgrade Etc I have attached a snap shot of how a Table could look like in the next page. You can of course make it look better: This table is a birds eye view of the various implementations you have done and will help a client get all the information at one glance. If you follow the guidelines mentioned in the first two pages your success ratio will increase significantly Hot Tips: 1) In the last Column where you mention your role be creative mention roles like Integration, Co-ordinator and any new terms which will make your resume stand out.

2) If you have worked only on one rollout project so far, lets say 3 yrs or so then do the following: Break that up into 5 parts stating Japan Rollout, Europe Rollout, etc or you could say First Phase, Second Phase Etc. You need to think creatively how you can put atleast 4 entries in the Table below even if you are new and have only one project. Be creative when you are short of experience. People need quality and quantity both remember.

Consulting Employer Dystar GMBH

Client Name/ Industry Dystar India (Textile Dyes. Chemical Ind) AMI DUDOCO (Engineering Industry) Tamimi Foods (IS Retail)

Location of Project INDIA

Duration

Modules/Nat ure FI/CO Cons Ver 3.1 H

1 year Jun 96April 97 4 yrs May 97 to March 2001 3 months March 2001 to May 2001 5 months June 2001 to Oct2001

Intelligroup USA(SAP Partner across the world) Atos Origin(French & Dutch Company) Atos Origin

USA

FI/Co Lead Cons Ver 4.0 FI/Co Lead Cons Ver 4.5 Support/Trng FI/CO Lead Cons Ver 4.6 Global Roll-out

SAUDI ARABIA

Vantico Polymers (Process Indstry/Swiss Company

Singapore

Atos Origin

Atos Origin

Proctor*& Gamble (Consumer GoodsPharm a SASREF (Oil Industry)

Singapore /Asia Pacific

5 months Nov 2001 To March02 April02 to Dec02

FI/CO Lead Cons/SAP Trainer Ver 4.5 FI/CO Cons Ver 4.6

Saudi Arabia

Deloitte Consulting UK

Rohm and Haas(Speciali ty Chemicals)

Uk, Europe

Feb 03 to Dec 03

FI/CO Lead Cons/Knowledg e Transition Incharge Ver 4.6 FI/CO Lead Cons/Integratio n Coordinator/SAP Trainer

GE ENERGY USA

Panametrics

US

June 03 to Dec 2004

You will notice that this table basically covers your entire experience in one snap shot. It is loved by employers so dont forget to do that.

3. Project Details Next comes the Project Details and as mentioned in the Table Each project individually should also contain the following Modules Implemented Version Go Live Date Your Major Contributions.- This is significant for it highlights your role in the project. This piece should be tailor made to fit into the project you want to get into. Hot Tips: Mention and highlight the Sub-Modules which the employer is looking for by stating at least 4-5 points in that sub-module. This would sure shot give you an interview call.

These are the Basic Dos and if you get this right your conversion rates of getting interviews would increase substantially. Now lets quickly cover the Donts before we zero in on how to tailor make your resume to fit the project.

DONTS
There are various Donts while making your resume but the most important ones are listed down below: Never Mention the following in your CV unless it is really needed: Your Date of Birth Your Correspondence Home Address especially for consultants from Asian Regions Your Nationality more so in case of Consultants from Asian Regions Your Passport Details Your Educational Qualifications which are nonprofessional. There are various other Donts but the important factor you should keep in mind is you should never hurt the Ego of the employer or client and should do everything to present your case in a humble and pleasing manner. It works guys , big time. I and thousands of others are testimonials to it. If you got a little bored, I suggest you grab a cup of coffee and listen to music before we move on the simple yet overlooked part of tailoring your resume to fit into the clients needs.

HOW TO TAILOR MAKE YOUR CV TO FIT IT INTO THE CLIENTS REQUIREMENTS PERFECTLY SO THAT YOU GET AN INTERVIEW CALL EVERY TIME YOU SEND YOUR RESUME Ok Now getting an interview call is no rocket science. Lets say for example your shoe size is No 10. So when you go out shopping, what size would you ask for? No 10 or No 9. No 10 of course, right. Why? Simple because it fits in perfectly on your feet.What would happen if the shop keeper gives you a No 9 size? You would instantly reject it saying my shoe size is No 10. The same case applies to SAP jobs. The client is the buyer who wants a No 10 and you as a shopkeeper or a job hunter has to provide him with a No 10 Resume every time he asks for it. Every client would have different requirements, so how do we ensure that we send the perfect resume which fits in to the clients needs? Very simple. This is what I was taught 6 yrs ago and I am going to reveal this simple yet overlooked aspect. I still use it and so do many consultants and it works big time. After you have finished making an attractive resume using the steps outlined above here is what you need to do: Let me give you an example: Lets say you are looking for a break and want a change of your SAP job or you are a fresher looking out for SAP roles: So what do you do first thing.You go into various job sites say for eg: www.jobserve.com, www.dice.com, or www.seek.com and type fico in the search term. You get around 50 to 60 jobs pertaining to your module. Out of that you pick up 10 or 15

which you feel are relevant and then you send your resume to each of them. This is what 95% of the consultants do.And I hate to say that this is one of the main reasons why you do not land up with an interview call. Now this is what I did and many other consultants who got lucrative jobs did and it works. 1. After I had zeroed in on the 15-20 jobs, I looked for those jobs where there is less competition . If you are not able to do that dont worry but if you can that is wonderful. For eg: Very few consultants know material ledger,product costing. (Also read my article How to Get Six Figure Salaries) 2. Instead of sending the same resume to all the recruiters I read each of their specific job requirements and ensured that my first two pages reflected that requirement in totality So say: A client is looking for Asset accounting and you do have it in your resume but is not so apparent. Now the client is seeking desperately for an Asset Accounting guy. So make it known to the client that you are a specialist in Asset Accounting. Spend 10 minutes

changing your resume to reflect the same by highlighting various points which will make your resume stand out.

So I had a version 0 which was my main resume and then everday I would send 10 resumes which I would alter based on the needs of the clients and send it to them.So in a day I would spend around an hour doing so. But within a week or in some case a month I would get the job of my choice. Guaranteed it works.

Hot Tips: NEVER EVER SEND YOUR SAME RESUME TO 100 CLIENTS. IT JUST DOES NOT WORK. PICK AND CHOOSE AND MODIFY YOUR RESUME TO FIT INTO THEIR NEEDS. It is quite simple you see. All you need to remember is the Story of the No. 10 Shoe. You as a job hunter have to offer your client the Perfect resume they are looking for. If you make haste and send the same resumes to 100 recruiters or clients it just does not work. Imagine if 100 people come to the store and the shopkeeper had only No 10 to offer what would have happened? . He would have lost 90% of his clients. But if he had all the different sizes of shoes to cater to the needs of the various customers, he would have generated excellent sales. Same holds true in your case too. Package your CV differently everytime you send it out. Tweak in one or two sentences, modify few lines, highlight some of them. You will be surprised to see the difference . I bet on you. We do not do the basics right and hence we do not get the results. Starting today change your approach. To summarize: 1. Follow the DOs and Donts 2. Spend an hour everyday and send your resumes to only 8-10 consultants by knowing what their exact requirements are and ensuring that your CV reflects that in totality. Resume writing is never a one time process . You can have a version 0 but you need to alter that version everytime you send to the client. If you do that you will definitely get an interview call. My ratio is 100% of getting interview calls even when I did

not have any experience in SAP.(How I did that you can read more of it in the article How to Get Six Figure Salaries Remember the objective of writing resumes is to get an interview call. At this stage you do not have to worry about how you clear the interview. Be creative,bold and daring in your resume. It should reflect your personality. So give it your best shot. Dont make it just for the sake of making so. That way you will end up getting ordinary projects. Jumpstart your SAP career by throwing in your personality in your resume, be creative and you will see that very soon you will land up with lucrative roles. Nowadays a latest trend is to make the CVs in Pdf as it looks very presentable. You can easily make PDF documents of your word files. Go to http://createpdf.adobe.com/. They allow you to create 5 PDF files for free. You can also have a look at the 5 SAMPLE Resumes which are there in this CD. You can use them as a template for making your resume. You need not even follow any of them. The important point is to understand what Clients look for in a Resume and to provide those details. Remember your objective is to get an interview call first. You can land up with a top paying assignment only after you get an interview call. Take care and Good day Thanks Vish