In the earlier days, it was common practice to send a bio data to a prospective employer and since there was a dearth of talent combined with experience in a particular area, it became necessary for the employer to suit the candidate closest to his requirement and train him. With time, specialization in core areas brought about a radical change in HR practices. This brought in resumes and Curriculum Vitae. Then came the economic downturn and even people perfectly matched skills lost their jobs due to want of market and lack of liquidity in the market. HR practices changed and so did the concept of the resume.
Earlier it was considered that a resume is meant for a fresher, a CV for an experienced person and a bio-data giving biological information about the person along with his professional capabilities. In today’s world, people have multiple resumes. Each resume is tailor made to give the prospective employer a perspective in a single page about the ideal suitability of the candidate to his or her requirements as an employer. A resume is generally never more than a single A4 page, maximum exceeding to the second. A resume at a glance allows the employer to shortlist a set of candidates. So, the art of how to write a resume became an art and a skill, (in good parlance, a method of hoodwinking the reader and enticing him to call you for an interview).
There are many professional companies springing up by the day who claim capabilities of being able to teach you how to write a resume. It is not quite sure how good or how bad they are as there is no yardstick available to measure the quality of such individuals and companies. The concept of how to write a resume has changed over time, like this:
• Keep the resume short and crisp.
• Attack with information highly relevant to the need of the job.
• Focus on relevant strengths to make the reader consider you at first glance.
• Also provide additional strengths and capabilities forcing the reader to find more value than advertised for the job.
• Keep personal information at a minimum. Do not provide more personal information than is required, raising the probability of the reader to ask for information, thus giving you an insight into the probable acceptance by the employer to some of the information provided by you.
The resume is mostly written with in bullet format as also in the third person. This makes the addressing formal and objective. So, what one can do to make the resume look good is to put in first a concise summation of qualification. It should be brief and precise. Follow it up with a brief on areas of your strength or expertise in the industry. Make a reverse list of your professional experience, keeping in mind to mention the recent work first.
The resume is aimed at putting together content to give the reader an impression of the responsibilities in balance with the candidate’s accomplishments. List any affiliations of the professional kind and skills in computing as well as education. A resume gives the prospective employer a summation of highlights while letting them scan visually or maybe electronically to determine if skills listed match the requirements under positions that are available. Consequently, a well written resume can do this job. Also, a bio-data can still fulfill this task in case it has been crafted or written as per the employer’s recommendations.
The resume is also sometimes called the bio-data specifying details of a person. When a resume is being prepared, the aspects it captures relate to this person’s abilities on a professional basis to the extent that what abilities this person has to do work. Therefore, in a resume you will find qualification details, experience details as well a few personal details.
Tailor your qualifications as well as experience for the job that you require. A relative connectivity is evolved in the type of requirements and what way you can fit it. Keeping to the listing, you can mention your accomplishments in relation to the qualifications. So, this may need several versions of the resume you create.
For the format bit on the resume, only make references to your qualifications, your capabilities and the possibilities of success. All other info may be left out of the resume and reserved for the actual interview. All the same since you must maintain a level giving the interviewer the chance to call you over!
Primarily, a resume is crafted to fetch the prize which is an interview and not a job. Since it is initially required and not the ultimate requirement, any employer would wish for a flavor first before tasting the fruit. So your resume must be consistent and put in the order of a brief executive summary which is more formal than elaborate. In it ensure crisp words and a descriptive presentation of education, your achievements, labeling and highlighting achievements.
It may be noted that one must never provide wrong information of oneself or any info that cannot be backed with substantial proof. Telling lies about yourself can be highly risky and can put you in danger especially if it is documented in a resume. Also, one should project any small strength that one possesses in a way that it appeals to proposed employer, catching his eye. Never use words that are flowery; try and make it crisp. Always remember that a one page resume has to put forth an impressive gist of your capabilities.
