Modernization and technology are something that is rapidly changing and growing in today’s world. To cope with the changes and growth that’s happening, one has to hustle in some way or another. In the modern world, every other person has to do something for a living. They need a job, a workplace that can help them build a living they expect. The days are long gone where walk-in-interviews were a common thing to get a job. Today, the company requires a biodata of your skills and qualifications, which would decide if you’d be a suitable candidate for the company. A resume or a CV (Curriculum Vitae) is what stands between you and your dream job/company.
If you have a strong resume game, you’re a step closer to getting the job.
What Is A CV?
The word resume originally comes from the French word ‘résumé’ meaning ‘summary.’
A CV or a resume is a document that presents an outline of a person’s educational and professional qualifications, along with skills and work experience. It helps in giving a brief about your abilities and convince the company if you’re hirable and match the company’s qualifications as an employee.
The primary importance of a resume is to convince the panel members if you’re worth interviewing.
Importance Of CV For Job Seekers
A CV gives a clear idea of your career objectives and skills along with communication in a crisp. A resume/cv is like a professional advertisement about you that advertises your uniqueness and the differentiating factor from other employees, which could benefit you and the company to meet their respective goals.
The fundamental part of the hiring process of the company is your resume/cv (sometimes along with your statement of purpose or a cover letter). In today’s world, it is a requirement requested by a potential employer. If you present a good resume, the employer can make an informed decision about hiring you.
A cv can help counter the unprecedented surge in unemployment. The employers check you in and out through your cv to see if you have a personality that matches the company’s profile.
Preparing a cv enables you to think deeply about your skills. It not only prepares you for the interview but also gives you a sense of security as a job seeker. Keeping your resume handy is always helpful if you’re a fresher or if you want to work in a different company.
It is ultimately the interview that gets you the job, but to reach the interview round, step one is to build a strong cv.
Types Of Resumes
You might have already seen or heard about the standard resume format; it is a prevalent fallacy. There are numerous types of resume formats, and each comes with its strengths and weaknesses. You have an option to select a type of resume which matches and highlights your qualifications and strengths for the applied job.
There are majorly four types of resumes: chronological, functional/ skill-based, targeted, and the combination of the first two types.
Let’s take a brief idea about the types of resumes
1. Chronological Resumes
This is the most popular format, which opens with an introduction and then your professional history with your most recent position mentioned at the top, followed by the rest, i.e., in reverse chronological order.
It is an ideal format for people with a variety of work experiences.
2. Functional or Skill-based Resumes
If you are a fresher or a student, or a recent graduate and are looking for a career, this type of resume is recommended for you. This kind of resume focuses more on skills, abilities, and achievements and less on traditional work experience. This resume provides longer details about you to the employer, and it emphasizes your skills in a detailed manner.
If you are someone who has had significant gaps in your work life, or if there’s a career change, this type of resume is preferred.
3. Targeted Resumes
This is a type of resume meant for all types of job positions. This highlights both your skills and work experience. To write this type of resume, you need to first take into account the job listing that you wish to apply for. Highlight the qualities such as responsibilities and traits in such kinds of resumes.
4. Combination Resumes
Combination resumes, as the name indicates it is the combination of chronological and functional resumes. It highly focuses on the work experience and skill set of an individual.
This type of resume is ideal for people with high skills and qualifications to showcase along with plenty of work experience.
How To Build A Resume – Tips To Build A Stunning Resume
The very first step to make a resume is choosing the format, deciding what type of job you want and what all qualities do you need to mention.
You need to focus on minute details and present them professionally in a unique way that could highlight your data to the employer in one go.
The very first thing that catches the eye of the recruiter is the layout of your resume.
Keeping it clear and uncomplicated is the key.
Here are some tips to improvise on your resume layout
1. Resume Should Be One Page In Length
On average, HR recruiters get around 500+ resumes in a month. They don’t have time to read stories on a resume! Keep your resume short of the minimum 1 page and maximum of 2 pages (only if you have additional information that could add significant value to your resume).
2. Readable Font Size
The data on your resume should be visible to the reader, and as a thumb rule, font size of 14-16 pt. for sectional headings and 11-12 pt. for under heading details.
Choose a professional font and not cursive and other designer custom fonts.
3. Sufficient Spacing
Your resume shouldn’t be too filled or too spacious. It should have ample spacing, especially around the margins, so that it presents a clean layout and it becomes easy for the reader to categorize and read under each heading.
Make sure you use a clear section heading.
Headings To Include On Your Resume
Your resume should include the point given below (at a minimum)
1. Personal Details And Contact Information
A job seeker knows the correct information which should be given and which to hold back. This is one of the most critical sections because you’ve to provide your contact details, and even a small mistake might create a communication problem between you and the company’s HR.
Personal details include full name, phone number, address, email id. Optional information such as your LinkedIn URL and your professional title can also be added.
2. Career Objective Or Summary
Under this heading, you have to mention your career objective, i.e., what kind of career or job you are looking for, etc. It is a resume objective. The length of this should be approx. 2-3 lines. This gives an idea of your job perspective to the employer.
3. Educational Qualification
You can either mention educational details in a tabular format or point. It included your recent/highest degree earned followed by schooling details, university details under each course, year of passing, and percentage or GPA obtained in a particular course.
Additionally, you can add a course name that you’re currently pursuing (if any).
4. Work Experience
This section included your designation at the current/previous company, company name, working years under a title. Additionally, you can mention the key role under each title along with success achieved during that post.
You can skip this section if you’re a fresher.
5. Skills
This is a “must-have” section in your resume. Here you can describe all the qualities that make you a perfect candidate for the applied job.
There are two types of skills:
A. Hard/technical skills
These are your measurable abilities—for example, Java coding, C++, Python, PHP, HTML, etc. You can also add about cooking skills with different cuisines.
B. Soft skills
This includes all the personal skills. Personal traits, social and communication skills, leadership qualities, critical thinking, management, etc., are to be mentioned here.
Overall, in this section, there should be a mix of soft skills and hard skills. You can add some of your strengths here.
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Some other important sections that you can add to your resume would be,
1. Languages
You can mention if you’re bilingual or multilingual. You should mention this in the following order, that is, start by your native language, fluency, proficiency, and basic.
2. Awards and certificates
Under this heading, you should mention the awards and certificates received by you in the particular field that you’ve applied for. If you have a certification in some technical field, you can add that only if it is relevant to your current domain.
3. Internships and projects
You might have done some of the other projects or an internship during your graduation year. You can mention it in your resume. Also, you can mention the learnings that you got after working on the project or any volunteering experience.
Adding your projects and volunteering experiences will make your resume look effective and different from the common ones.
These were some essential requirements that HR expects you to present on your resume. There are some things that you should avoid adding to your resume.
Don’ts in your resume
- You should never mention your birth date on the resume unless asked by the firm. The company doesn’t have to know your age; it rather might lead to a discriminating factor.
- Never add an unprofessional email address. Make sure to keep your email in the format ‘name.surname@website’. Do not use a format like ‘blogger40@gmail.com’ etc.
- Do not mention fake skills or projects in your resume. The recruiters are always a step ahead of you, and they might cross-check your data. Any lie in your resume, and you’re rejected.
- Do not mention the languages that you can’t speak or write. It might turn against you if the HR is known to that language.
You might have often felt that you could’ve convinced the employer better in person if you just had that one more thing added to your resume. Your only chance to impress the recruiter is by presenting a perfect good-to-go resume.
Before you finalize your resume, make sure to check small details such as spelling. You can take help from a grammar correction app.
Double-check your CV before sending it out. Always keep your resume handy and save it in MS Word. You can make immediate changes if required and as a PDF file.
Now you’re ready to go! Just email your resume and get a step closer to getting that dream job! Ace it all!
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