Writing Resumes

Most students when asked to write resumes write bio datas. The resume (re-syoo-may) unlike a bio data is not a comprehensive chronological account of everything you have ever done that might be significant in some way. It is a short, tightly focussed document that aims at selling your skills, e perience and abilities for a specific position. Differences between Resumes and Bio Datas !io "atas $unction like a data bank %ll inclusive 'ritten chronologically #esumes $unction more like an advertisement &nly core relevant information included 'ritten in reverse chronology

(our resume is written with two ob)ectives in mind* firstly it presents your +ualifications for a research assistantship or a teaching assistantship. $or this purpose you include your resume in your application packet and mention in a covering letter that you would appreciate it if the resume were circulated to interested professors. ,econdly the resume provides the relevant details of any important information (pro)ects, seminars, industrial training etc.) that you could not include in your ,&- because of the word limit. 'hile the information you provide in the resume must cover all the important points it must be relevant and it must !. !#I.$. #emember your readers are very busy professors who do not have the time or patience to go through pages of materials and sift out the few details that will tell them whether you would be a good research assistant or not. (ou can choose to irritate them by giving them pages of useless information to wade through (your /0 th standard marks and the fact that your are unmarried and speak 1indi and Marathi). &r you can score points with them by sifting through the details yourself and giving them precisely what they need to know. This makes the resume reader-friendly for them and shows courtesy and consideration on your part. 'hat they want to find out, with as little effort as possible, is what you are interested in and whether you are +ualified for a research or teaching assistantship with them. ,o, after details of the address, your ob)ective is the first thing you write (see the resume gurus). The ob)ective gives the resume its focus 2 the only details included are those that will strengthen your application. "ate of birth, height, languages spoken, se , nationality will therefore be e cluded. 3o one grants research or teaching assistantships on the basis of these. %nd while your address, e-mail I" and phone number are important they will not win you an assistantship either. ,o keep them visible but small. "o not use tables to give redundant details (your performance in all four years of your !.). 4#. and T&.$5 scores may not be re+uired by some professors, which is why they have been left out of the format we provide you. 6eep your resume to a page or two at most. $ocus is also why the resume is written in reverse chronology (with the latest things first and the earlier ones later). The assumption is that your most recent achievements are your most significant ones. #everse chronology allows you to highlight them. (ou can also highlight your achievements by providing specific details and +uantifying them. 7se numbers to indicate percentages, ranks, and strength of class in speaking of your academic performance. In speaking of work e perience or pro)ects talk of percentages of increase in efficiency. 3umbers make an impact. The way you state what you did is important. To +uote an %merican e pert on ,&-8s and resumes* 98(ou didn:t ;take some classes.8 (ou completed over <= hours of upper-level creative writing with a <.> average. (ou designed and successfully completed a graduate-level independent research pro)ect in -leistocene plant fossil records. (ou didn:t ;have some )obs,8 nor were you ;a clerk in an office twice.8 (ou updated and managed filing systems for a small, hometown newspaper for two summers9. ,ome other tips. 'rite all the sentences in the same way, preferably in the past tense in an abbreviated form. -resent tense should be used in writing about )obs you are presently doing. 7se numerals when possible. !e brief. 'rite ?/st pri@e, $ante 8>> for final year pro)ect. Technical e cellence pri@e, . po 8>> for mini-pro)ect9. "on8t write* ?I was awarded the first pri@e in $ante 8>> for my final year pro)ect. I also won a pri@e for technical e cellence in . po 8>> for my mini-pro)ect.9 "on8t use short forms (write ;!achelor of .ngineering8 and not ;!.8, ;Master8s program inA ; rather than ;M, inA ;, ;.ngineering8 rather than ;.ngg.8 and ;and8 rather than ;B8). ,hort forms irritate %merican professors.

Resume 1

Capitali@e uniformly. 'rite ;Chemical .ngineering8 or preferably ;chemical engineering8 and not ;Chemical engineering8. 'rite ;% ,tudy of -athologies in the !rain8 not ;% study of -athologies in the brain8. In titles words like ;and8, ;of8, ;to8 and ;in8 are usually uncaptitali@ed. The first words of nouns, ad)ectives, verbs etc. in titles are usually capital. !ut different fields have different rules for capitali@ation. ,ome capitali@e on the first word of the title, some italici@e the title, etc. Check out a research )ournal for your field to find out the system. If you are not sure what the system is used, use the system suggested at the beginning of this bullet point. $or parts other than titles, even for the sub)ects under electives non-capitali@ed words are preferable. Therefore under e tracurricular activities write* ;camping outdoors, trekking, skiing8 not ;Camping &utdoors, Trekking, ,kiing8 or ;Camping outdoors, Trekking, skiing8. Check punctuation and spelling. !ad punctuation and incorrect spellings will not impress your prospective teachers. 7se bullet points only when there is more than one point to be covered under a heading.

3ow get an appointment to write your resume using one of the &ak8s resume gurus.

The Oaks Resume Gurus

The &ak8s #esume 4urus are software resumes that have been preformatted to produce professional looking resumes for a variety of backgrounds and goals. ,i are available. &ak8s Computer .ngineering #esume 4uru &ak8s 4eneral .ngineering #esume 4uru &ak8s M" to -h.". #esume 4uru &ak8s Medical !ackground #esume 4uru &ak8s -harmacy #esume 4uru &ak8s %rt8s-,ciences #esume 4uru

,elect the one that suits you. .ven if you don8t find one that e actly fit your needs you can easily modify the e isting formats. The resume gurus will automatically format the te t you enter and set the font si@e and will automatically contract or e pand to accommodate the te t you type in.

Resume 2