Job Search Tips – Writing a high impact resume
Tarun Matta -
Monday, August 03, 2009 3:10 PM
Most people don't give enough importance to writing their resume. An effective resume can greatly improve the chances of getting that dream job. The quality of resume determines the number interview calls, offers and salary you get at the end of the process. Stronger resume leads to more interview calls and higher chances of getting a good job.
In today’s job market, recruiters get hundreds of resume for every position that is advertised. The only way to stand out is to have a high impact resume that highlights your strengths, skill-sets and background.
Objective – Start with your career objective describing what you are looking for. You must use it as an opportunity to state why you are best fit for the job. Make sure it is not weak, cliché, unclear, or vague. It must be relevant to the advertised position and your academic and/or professional background.
Highlight your strengths – According to certain estimates, on an average recruiters do not spend more than 30 seconds reviewing a resume. Make sure you identify and highlight your strengths. If you have any specific accomplishments or work experience that makes you better fit for the job, make sure that’s highlighted. If you are a fresher (or with lesser work experience) but better academic background, make sure you highlight that.
Focus on Accomplishments – A vast majority of candidates consider resume as a list of job history in chronological order. Resume is like a marketing tool that’ll help you get a job. It’s like a business proposal RELEVANT to the advertised position.
Lot of people talk about tasks or duties performed in various roles in the past. That is never as effective as talking about some of your accomplishments in every role. Use numbers, percentages to highlight your contribution in growing your employers business. For example – implemented <something> which lead to reduced <business parameter> by <some percentage>. These types of statements have more impact than just listing down the responsibilities or tasks.
Hygiene Factors – This is the most important point. Nothing puts off a recruiter more than a spelling mistake that could have been easily avoided. Make sure there are no spelling or grammatical errors. Get it proofread by friends & family before you start sending it to recruiters.
Do not try fancy designs. Stick to simple & professional resume layout and use an easy to read font – Times New Roman or Arial. Do not highlight or underline too much. Make sure basic facts (dates, qualifications, score/marks) mentioned in the resume are absolutely correct.
Most recruiters search for resume by certain keywords. Make sure you include the right keywords in your resume. Don’t overdo it though.
The list isn’t exhaustive. What do you think?
--------------------
Tarun Matta is the founder of
iimjobs.com – an exclusive job portal for MBAs from IIMs and other premier business schools in India.