Resume is very important document for anyone who is looking for a job.  It presents summary of your credentials to the hiring manager with the ultimate aim to get you shortlisted for recruitment process. 

For campus interviews, resume serves as a supplementary document as the short listing is done based on other criteria, nevertheless a good resume can enhance your chances in the interview.

Considering that for each entry level position, hiring managers get 10s (if not 100s) of resumes and then spend on an average 10 seconds on each candidate, it is important to write resume well.

In this article, we will talk about basic points to consider while making / visualizing a resume. 

Simple – Resume should be simple to read. Not too fancy, not too crowded.  Hiring manager shouldn’t have to struggle to read it.

Tip – Resume layout or appearance should be neat and readable. Unless you are applying for graphic design or creative positions, do not spend excessive time in trying to beautify resume and stand out.  Your content will make you stand out. 

Informative – It should provide meaningful information to hiring manager about your skills, experience, strengths to help him/her in the hiring decision.

Relevant – It shouldn’t contain any unnecessary details.  So keep only the relevant stuff. Ideally it should be between 1-2 pages.

Tip – Do not be obsessed with 1 page resume

Authentic – Do not lie in the resume.  Additionally, leave the jargon and complex words out 

Tip – Write your resume yourself. Do not copy-paste some other good looking resume. 

Formatting  – Ensure standardized font is used across the resume (i.e. no fancy unreadable fonts ,  not too many different fonts for different sections) and no spelling or grammatical errors

Your representative – It is your representative in front of hiring manager, thus it should reflect who you are and what you bring to table.  It shouldn’t be a copy-paste of all other resumes.

Tip – Think of it as a face to face meeting with limited time (say 30-45 seconds). If your message is exactly same as all others, you will most likely not be shortlisted. 

Specific, Crisp and Clear – Each point on your resume must be tangible and supported by factual information.  Use bullet points, not paragraphs. 

Language – Consider using power words in your resume. However avoid using words which are difficult to understand (hiring managers themselves might not have above average vocabulary)

In subsequent articles, we will talk about the content of different sections and what should be included in each section.