By Debasish Dutta; Managing Partner & CEO; Orange Corp, Global

 

A topic that repeatedly bothers both fresh graduates and experienced professionals is how to write a resume or CV (curriculum vitae). While the two of them are differently meant but in order to apply for a job a straight cut resume is always preferred.

 

Why it matters

 

While applying for a job you have to keep in mind that your resume is the first stage of evaluation. There’s no point in being qualified and well suited for a job if you are not even asked to come for the interview. Therefore, writing an attractive resume is a no-brainer.

 

When a company announces a vacancy and asks for job applications, they end up with hundreds, if not thousands, of CVs. There’s no way an HR personnel or hiring authority is going to be spending his or her precious time in reading each and every resume word by word. By the time your potential employer has read the first paragraph, he has already decided whether it is worth his while to continue reading or not. You must know how to grab the reader’s attention so that he will continue to read your profile (obviously if you suit the job role).

 

How you can write a perfect Resume

 

Many professionals pay a good amount to get their resumes written by professionals. However, that is not required if you know the rules and you know what to write. These rules have changed with progressive times. Some of the key points to remember are the following:

 

Short summary

 

Even a few years back the rule was to write an objective first and then plunge into all your details since the day you started school. However, these details are now irrelevant at the beginning. A potential employer needs to know if you are a candidate worth pursuing. Therefore, the first thing you need to write about yourself is a short summary of your skills, qualifications and experience (if any) which gives a clear picture of what to expect from you as an asset to the company. If you summarise your suitability properly, there are high chances that the reader is then going to dig into your profile further to decide if you are indeed suitable.

 

Start from your latest experience

 

Previously, resume used to have the oldest details first, for instance, school first, followed by college and then experience. That has become redundant. People are more concerned about what you do now and have been doing recently. Therefore, start with your latest experience and go back in time. Detail out what is relevant for the job and shorten what might not be relevant or interesting for the job you’re applying.

 

Freshers enlist activity outside degrees

 

For a fresher with no experience, it is still possible to show your capacity as an employee by mentioning any activity outside syllabus study that you might have participated in. Students often leave out these details thinking they are unnecessary but these might be the very things that show you to have better potential than others. Anything that has given you a valuable experience can be included, a debate competition or running a students’ club or organizing college function or handling a school event or participating in a quiz competition or sports tournament – everything counts. These details demonstrate your capacity to work under pressure, to be a team player and become target oriented.

 

Make it short, crisp, to the point

 

Last but not the least, ensure that your resume is short, crisp, to the point and not repetitive. Ideally, it shouldn’t be more than 2 pages for a freshman or 3-4 pages for a highly experienced professional (say for the folks with 10+ years of experience). If you are experienced, elaborate on your strength and where you have built your expertise over the years rather than trying to prove that you are a multi-tasker.

 

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