Will your resume get you the interview call?

10 must-dos for a sharper CV.

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by Careers360 - 13 hours ago
IT is an act in creating your personal brand image. Your resume reaches the inte
rviewer before you do. Yet, many people lose out on an interview opportunity tha
nks to a poorly written one. Your resume is the first step in projecting yoursel
f effectively to the recruiter.
So create an image that you genuinely identify with it is a sharp world out ther
e and no one is buying false niceties. We address ten important issues related t
o your resume.
1. Should your resume have a career goal/ objective statement? A resume that is
worthy of representing you, should clearly state your career objective. A career
objective is an indirect way of advertising what all you would bring to the com
pany/ role. It must display a giving attitude and not a taking attitude.
Take a look at this: To achieve an appreciable status in an organization that off
ers full scope for growth and where I can fulfill my aspiration of becoming a wo
rld class software professional.
And this: Be a part of an organization that recognises my skills and provides me
with suitable environment to perform to the best of my ability.
Do either of the above display a giving attitude? Your answer is correct. They don t
. So now you know how NOT to write an objective statement! It is advisable to ke
ep the objective statement simple and specific. Let it focus on the direct value
addition that you can provide.
Example: A certified Software Programmer seeking opportunity in the area of Softw
are Development in a competitive work environment to utilize my skills to delive
r robust and innovative software solutions.
2. What sequence should your story follow?
Be it work experience or education, always tell the story from the current/ most
recent to the first. NEVER write it the other way round.
3. Does your resume need to mention your marital status?
The new age resume does not require you to mention your marital status. However,
if the job advertisement clearly states this as a requirement, do fulfil it. Qu
ick Take
* Include a sharp Career Goal
* Choose the pdf format with discretion
* Fonts: Use Times New Roman, Calibri or Verdana
* Run a spell check
* Tweak to suit position and company of a potential employer
* Your latest work stint must appear first
4. How should you treat references?
Unless you have been specifically asked to provide references, it is acceptable
to state in your covering letter/ email that you will provide references on requ
est. Usually, two references are sufficient. Try to provide references from the
two most recent phases of your career.
It is a good idea to inform the referees that you are giving out their contact i
nformation. It will also help if they know what kind of jobs you are applying fo
r.
5. Should you send the resume as an MS Word document or a PDF? Some organisation
s ask you to upload your resume. Usually they ask for an MS Word document. If yo
u are mailing across your resume, you could choose either format.
A word of caution do not get carried away if you decide to make it a PDF. Keep i
t simple leave out visual histrionics. And whatever software you choose send the
resume in the most commonly used version.
The biggest advantage of using a pdf format is that it preserves the formatting
irrespective of the version of the Acrobat Reader version or user settings.
In MS word, however, the formatting can change based on the MS Office version an
d User Settings, leading to awkward situations like a two-page resume becoming a
3 -page document. Or a section title like Educational Background coming on Page
2 comes with the details going to Page 3.
However, if the company insists on a word document, please send the resume in wo
rd format only. Lot of organisations have tools to extract information from Word
documents and if you do not send your resume in Word document, your resume may
not get processed at all!
6. Should you incorporate links in the resume?
If you are an engineer who writes a technical blog, go ahead and incorporate the
link in your resume. If you are a website developer, the links to the pages cre
ated by you would certainly help. However, spare the recruiter from links of you
r personal blogs, photographs and anything and everything that you scatter on th
e World Wide Web. In fact, providing the link to your personal blog may even pro
ve fatal if you publish office gossip or crib about your job!
7. What sort of job profiles demand a portfolio?
Artists, designers, photographers, models and those from the performing arts def
initely need to provide a portfolio. An artist model/ photographer/ designer may
want to include a Power Point or PDF, while a dancer/ actor/ singer may want to
mention links from sites like YouTube. Irrespective of the type of portfolio, t
he intention is simply to showcase your best and most relevant work.
8. What fonts / presentation styles make sense?
Go easy on choosing fonts and presentation styles. The most acceptable ones are
the simpler ones. It is advisable to use fonts like Times New Roman , Calibri and Verd
ana . Do not get tempted by the fancier ones. The resume is not the platform to ex
hibit your artistic inclinations. Also, keep the fonts and font sizes uniform ac
ross different categories in the resume.
You should zero in on a presentation style with just one thing in mind it should
be extremely presentable. By creating minimum chaos, it should elicit the maxim
um attention.
Some people choose to give the resume a fancy header with their name and contact
information in bold. This gives it a letter head look. Some go for a more convent
ional style by listing out such information in bullet points. Either style is ab
solutely fine.
In writing about your project work, education and work experience, you could pro
vide a box format or a neatly tabulated one.
9. What are the worst resume gaffes? The worst thing you could do is to send in
a resume without running a grammar/ spelling check. In this age of MS Word, gram
mar/ spelling mistakes in a resume are just not tolerated. Needless to say, anyo
ne would straight away trash a resume that is saved as supersexy2010.doc or rock
star.doc. One gentleman I knew failed to get a single interview call after sendi
ng out more than 80 applications. I probed a little and was shocked to find out
why he had sent out group mails! Do not try to pass around your resume/ covering
letter without modifying it to suit the company / role you are applying for. It
is offending if your application reads like:
Dear _______, I am applying for the role of ___________________ at your esteemed
organisation _____________________.
It shows and it is NOT acceptable!!!
10. What is the difference in writing a resume for a BPO professional/ Engineer/
MBA? If you are a BPO aspirant, you need to highlight your ability to deal with
all kinds of people, chase targets and work in shifts. If you are an engineer,
your resume should clearly talk about your projects and internships. Expect a fa
ir number of questions from these areas in the interview. An MBA student would a
lso need to write about projects and training.
Amit Bansal is a Career Counsellor, Trainer and CEO of PurpleLeap.