Basic Resume writing Tips
Resume Format
Always have a .doc (Microsoft Word) format and .txt format of your resume with you. When you are filling your resume in websites, you need the text format and when you are sending resume through mail, it’s better to send the .doc format.
Resume Size: Try to see to it that the .doc resume fits into one or at most two pages, with average or 10 – 12 size easily readable fonts like, Verdana, Calibri, Times new Roman, Arial etc and the file size is less than 100 KB. Resume
File Name Don’t give some junk names as file name for the resume. If you keep using junk names, there is every possibility that your mail will travel to bulk/trash folder of recruiter. Your resume’s file name should ideally denote your name, experience, technology, years of experience and company name. Keep some valid name for your resume. Example: Romil_Jha.doc Example: Romil_Jha_B.Tech_Chemical.doc
Exclusive Mail IDs Use only one (or maximum of 2) mail Ids exclusively for the purpose of recruitments. Do NOT use those mail Ids for any other purpose. Use logical E-mail id’s that displays your name and not with some funny or unprofessional name. You must be careful about the service providers in which you open a mail account. Don’t use the mail Ids/accounts from non-standard service providers. If they disconnect services suddenly, your mail ID fails and you need to resend resumes with new mail Id to all the companies you have already applied. So, always try to create mail Ids with standard service providers like Yahoo, Rediff, Google etc. While sending the resume, preferably send it from the mail ID you have mentioned in your resume. While sending the resume, always keep a CC/BCC to your mail ID (or at least keep your sent items ON) so that you will know whether the resume is attached properly and/or whether it’s traveling to bulk mail folder.
Subject Line If the company mentions that a specific ‘Job Code’ has to be written in Subject Line, write that. If nothing specific, then give a proper subject line for your mail. Example: Resume – Chemical Engineer – 3 Years Experience – Herdillia Chemicals – Mumbai.
Covering Letter Always try to include a “short” covering letter just containing your experience, current location, contact details (address & phone number) current company name, technology you are working in. Don’t write too long covering letters. No HR will spend time on reading your long letters.
Sweet Resume Formatting Don’t make the resume too long. Keep it short & sweet. The HR will hardly have a few seconds glance at your resume before he decides to read any further. He won’t have the time to read story-like resume. So, be precise, clear and straight to the point. Better use bullets for mentioning important points.
Header & Footer! You can choose to have a header & footer in your resume. Header can contain a simple heading of your resume. Footer should preferably contain the page number.
First Page is the best page to convey all about you ! Typically the HR expects all the important details in the first page. He receives hundreds of resumes and hardly gets a few seconds to look at your resume and so he won’t bother to search your resume for the required details, if the details are not found in his first glance at your resume.
The first page of resume must contain the following things: Personal Details : Full Name, Date of Birth [optional], Current Contact Details : Full Contact Address, Contact Phone Numbers, Mail ID & / or Alternate Mail ID. Work Experience Summary : All the companies you have worked so far, Website, Dates of Duration in each Company. Don’t assume that everyone knows about your company. (You can highlight if your current company has any good quality levels like CMM/CMMI)
Job Responsibilities : Your job profile in your past companies. For example, you should highlight that you are working as ‘Module Leader leading a team of 6 people’ in your current company.
Skill Set Summary: Highlight your abilities and skills you have. Don’t include any fictitious or unjustified details. Summary should be a single and concise paragraph summarizing your achievements, proven abilities and expertise.
Certifications: Include any relevant certifications you have. That gives you an edge over others. Education Details Summary: Your Post Graduation, Graduation, Aggregate Percentage, Year of Pass out (Most important). Contact Details at the top, not at bottom ! Contact Details should be at the top of resume, not at the bottom. Never include the contact details in Header or Footer. They won’t be visible properly. Do NOT give more than 2 mail Ids in resume. The recruiters as well as you will get confused which mail Id to send/receive call letters.
No one can save you if your Mail ID fails ! Check the mail Ids you provided in CV by sending a trial mail. (I have seen people giving Yahoo.com instead of Yahoo.co.in. If the mail Id fails when HR sends you call letter, no one can save you in this world. No HR will resend the call letter if your mail ID fails.)
Spell Check! Always perform a spell check and grammar check on the resume. You don’t deserve a job if you can’t write your resume without mistakes. There is nothing wrong in getting your resume reviewed by someone else. They might catch the mistakes that your eyes can never detect.
Educational details are important ! People (especially experienced people) think that they don’t need to give the educational details. But they are important. Provide at least give the highest qualification, college/university name and aggregate percentage. (Some HR people simply delete the resumes without educational details.)
Reverse Chronological order! Your latest job profile is more important than your first one. So, always write the details in reverse chronological order (start with the latest) especially when you are listing previous company details or educational qualification details.
Avoid Irrelevant Details! Write straight to the point and only the details relevant to the job. (You don’t need to include your family tree or how many children you have or what your wife does.) Do not write stereotype sentences like ‘I am sincere, intelligent, and hardworking’ etc. That’s childish. Who in this world is not hardworking by the way?
Use simple Language! Use simple English. You don’t need to write complex jargon in the resume.
Experience! Project Training done in your final academic year does not come under professional work experience. You can mention it, but not under ‘Work Experience’ section. Always highlight your onsite (customer interaction experience) in your resume. That gives you an edge over others.
Salary Details Better not to include current & expected compensation details in resume. You can convey them when you are asked to provide them during interview. You are not submitting the application for matrimonial! Do not include any photos in the resume unless specifically asked by the company. You are not writing a love letter! Avoid unwanted graphics: Either in resume or the covering letter avoid jazzy graphic images, emoticons or multiple colors. Avoid jazzy fonts: Preferably use some professional font (Arial or Times or Verdana) and use the same across. Use same font size across the resume (except for headings). Don’t write each line in a different font and size. However, you can use some decent shades (preferably gray color), to highlight important information. That makes the resume to look good when a printout is taken.
Take a print and see! Take a printout of your resume and see. If you do not like it in the first look, the same will be with recruiters. (I know HR people who called candidates based on attractive resume.) So, revise it again.
Categories: Tips for writing resume Tags: CV expert, free resume samples, great resume, professional resume writers, resume builder, resume creator, resume examples, resume online, resume writers in Mumbai, resume writing tips
Creating a resume is a crucial skill to master.
As you consider entering into the market in search of your first job (or if you have decided to take the plunge and switch jobs), you need a powerful resume to open doors for you in your job search. In order for you to be in a position to build an effective and meaningful resume, here are a few pointers for producing an effective resume.
By following these tips on writing a resume, you will be in a far better position to start your job search on the proper foot. These free tips on resume writing have been tested and proven effective time and time again. Because of the importance of crafting an ideal resume, we strongly suggest that you take the time to review and consider these tips for writing a resume before you begin your on process of building or writing your resume.
One necessary thing to make sure that you enter when composing a resume is your contact details. Make sure to provide details where you can be easily contacted, such as a daytime phone number. If you are including an e-mail address, ensure that it is a professional sounding address.
Be honest in your resume.
Unfortunately, when it comes to writing a resume, this particular pointer on our list or resume writing tips free is perhaps the most important. In this day and age, when it does come to resume writing tips free, this tip oftentimes is overlooked or ignored. You need to keep in mind that in this high tech age, false information on a resume can be detected easily.
List your educational background.
Another important pointer on out free resume writing tips list is that you should list out your educational background within your resume. Include institutions from which you obtained a degree, any special certifications that you may have received and any other noteworthy educational or training achievements.
List your work experience.
Make certain that you provide a thorough listing of your prior employment experiences. You also want to make certain that there are no unexplained gaps in your employment history. A good quality resume outline will include relevant information about your education, experience, and skills.
Depending on the particular job you’re applying for, your resume may be weighted more in direction of one of these than the others. As an example, a recent graduate will probably emphasize recent skills and knowledge over career experience. In contrast, an experienced worker applying for a senior position will be more likely to give a detailed summary of their pertinent professional history than details of a bachelor’s degree received many years past. These are key things to mull over when writing a resume.
Make sure you include special skills.
Another of our tips for writing resume is that you should make certain that you include and list any special skills that you do have. For example, if you are talented with computers on one level or another, you will want to make certain that you list out these special skills on your resume.
Keep your contact information current.
When it comes to tips on resume writing one of the most common mistakes that people make is found in the fact that they do not maintain current contact information on their resumes. As surprising as that sounds, people will move or change their phone numbers and they will not make appropriate changes on their resumes.
Include both a telephone number and an email address.
Another of our resume writing tips free focuses on the necessity of including both a telephone number and an email address on your resume. Some potential employers in this day and age prefer contacting people via telephone while others rely exclusively on the Internet and email to deal with job applicants.
Well-written resumes employing the rules used from the best resume guide, can even contain not only information about your previous positions, but concerning your achievements in those roles. Think about your duties and responsibilities in your prior role, and list them, ensuring to highlight any key abilities. If you contributed in a valuable way, make a note of that, also. For instance, if you found a way to simplify a process, or to increase profits, you should enter these particulars when writing your resume.
Including additional information when composing your resume
Including these facts can help demonstrate that you are a well-rounded person in addition to being well-suited to the position you will be applying for a few positive things to include in this section include extra languages that you speak, or first-aid qualifications.
Do not list references.
In considering tips on writing a resume, it is important that you NOT include your references on your resume. You should include a phrase such as References Furnished upon Request. But, again, do not include a listing of your references.
Do not overkill … keep your resume short
Unfortunately, one of the tips for writing resume that oftentimes is overlooked is the need to keep a resume at an appropriate length. People oftentimes drone on and on and prepare unduly long resumes. Oftentimes a potential employer simply will not read or review a resume that comes into the office with too many pages.
Don’t use unusual colored paper or ink
One of the tips for writing resume that you should always bear in mind is that you should not use any unusually colored paper or ink on your resume. Truly, white paper and black print is the best. In some instances, it might be acceptable to move to a light gray paper and a dark blue ink. However, when all is said and done, when it comes to our tips for writing resume, you are best served by sticking with white paper and black ink.
Ensure your spelling and grammar is correct.
In considering our free resume writing tips, don’t make yet another common mistake that frequently is made when it comes to a resume. Do not submit a resume that contains spelling or grammatical errors. Nothing will prevent you from obtaining an interview for a job than submitting a resume that contains spelling errors, grammatical problems or typos. As one of our tips for writing resume, you are advised that it is imperative for you to proof your resume and then proof it again. Indeed, have someone else proof your resume as well.
In summary, you need to remember that your resume is your calling card. With a well prepared resume, a resume that follows these free tips on resume writing, you will have a far better chance of getting the job you seek.
Lastly, here are a few presentation tips and hints to consider when preparing your resume. Make certain that your resume is neatly presented and easy to understand. Use high quality white paper in a standard size, and print it with high contrast ink. Steer clear of using graphics or fancy fonts. These will only clutter up the page and detract from the important information about your talents and history. Ensure that you use broad margins, and that your text is neatly aligned.
Ensure that your font size is large enough to be easily read. If e-mailing your document, ensure that it is sent in a standard file format such as a .doc or .pdf file or whatever online printable resume is specified. Always e-mail the file to yourself and print a test version prior to e-mailing your file to make sure that the document won’t be garbled upon receipt.
By including these features when writing your resume, you’re assured to end up with a strong finished product. Coupled with a reflective and targeted cover letter, your resume should do the trick in getting you that position.
Best of luck, for happy and successful job hunting!