If you were to meet superstar Amitabh Bachchan, all he is likely to say is 'Hi, I am Amitabh Bachchan.' He won't go on to say the number of movies he has made and the awards he has collected, not to mention the money he has earned. Are you a bigger entity than him? Then why is it that when you send a resume to prospective employers, it seems never-ending, detailing your every move from cradle till now?
It is only natural to describe oneself in a very detailed manner while applying for a job. But one tends to forget that while he might be the most important person to himself, for the HR department he is just one out of the many candidates.
The attractiveness of a product always depends on its visual impact and that depends on the package it comes in. So while presenting yourself to the HR, always consider yourself a product and the resume as the packaging you need to sell yourself in the marketplace. So write your resume in such a manner that will maximise its chances of being noticed.
"Your resume differs with the changing phases of your professional life." says Payal Dhar ,Group Manager - Operations, Naukri.com, Noida. The portal provides facility for "resume development."
Sharing her tricks she says, "While developing the resume of a fresher first of all we gather all the details of his academics, extra-curricular activities and personal traits as during this phase he has attained no milestone worth mentioning (career wise). The basic target is to portray the candidate as one who is ready face the competitive scenario."
The situation is different for an experienced candidate. ,Says Dhar: "For a person with experience, the resume is developed in a manner which highlights his achievements and credibility. Also, if he is working in a highly reputed company, stress is given on the achievements made by the company. It is a natural understanding that if the organisation is doing well, his inputs must have been positive in nature. However, if he belongs to a medium or below-medium grade organisation, his personal inputs are stressed upon."
A resume should have between one and three pages. For a fresher, one page is enough, but in the later stages experience has to be mentioned and as such two to three pages are enough.
Resumes Can Differ with Professions
However, it also varies from profession to profession. Say, a person has been working for seven years in the IT field. He has worked on various projects worth mentioning. If he goes on to explain each and every project he has worked on, it may end up with him creating a fifteen-page resume. In such a case, it is advisable that he just mentions the titles of the project he has worked on over the years, with may be an annexure, providing the details of the projects.
This method should be practiced because the HR usually just goes through the broad areas while short-listing the candidates. In the later stages, the resume is sent to the technical head for further rounds and he can have a detailed idea from the annexure attached.
Vandana Mehra, assistant manager, Training and Development, Bharti Cellular, Delhi, says, "The HR prefers not more than a two-page resume which contains a synopsis of the candidate's past experience. The resume should be written in a lay man's language if one is applying in an industry which is of a different nature than his present one as the HR personnel are not experts with the know-how of multiple industries."
Mehra adds that when asked for, a candidate should take care to include good references. The feedback given by them really matter while making the final selection. The language mentioned in the resume should be addressed to the third party, rather than addressing to oneself using 'I or me'.
One should not use short forms and it is always advisable to do that final spelling check. Your communication skills can be very good but that one spelling mistake on your resume can leave a really bad first impression.
Take Care of That E-mail ID
Mehra adds that an aspect always ignored while sending resumes is the e mail ID one uses on the resume. One should use a sober ID rather than the overtly funky ones which one creates for general day-to-day use.
Plan out your resume properly. Remember the job for which you are applying and accordingly create the resume. Mentioning an objective which is pointed toward conveying why you are the perfect candidate for that specific job or job title is a good idea. Briefly explain your past experience in such a manner that it presents you as a suitable candidate for this vacancy. There is no need to go into providing too much personal details.
Adopt an honest approach while mentioning facts. Also, don't come across as a self-obsessed person highlighting any and every aspect. Leave some room for queries.
Never give a title to your resume. Also, however much you are in the need of a job, don't mention that. It makes you come across a an object of pity, decreases you saleability and bargaining power. Why you have left or are planning to leave your present profile should also not be mentioned. If the employer is curious to know, he will ask for it in the later stages.
Adding your picture is another bad idea. Your abilities fetch you a job, not your looks. Unless, you belong to the glamour industry or are applying for the position of an air hostess. Mentioning the references is also not needed. Provide it when you are asked for it. You can add a line mentioning 'references are available upon request.' at the very end of your resume.
Keep the words simple and to the point. Avoid fancy language or such words which you yourself aren't very sure about.
Remember, on an average an HR person spend 10 to 20 seconds to scan a resume. Out of 100 resumes received, hardly 10 qualify for the initial round. Don't you want to be amongst those 10? Why don't you spend some time in revamping your resume then?
Source:ET
It is only natural to describe oneself in a very detailed manner while applying for a job. But one tends to forget that while he might be the most important person to himself, for the HR department he is just one out of the many candidates.
The attractiveness of a product always depends on its visual impact and that depends on the package it comes in. So while presenting yourself to the HR, always consider yourself a product and the resume as the packaging you need to sell yourself in the marketplace. So write your resume in such a manner that will maximise its chances of being noticed.
"Your resume differs with the changing phases of your professional life." says Payal Dhar ,Group Manager - Operations, Naukri.com, Noida. The portal provides facility for "resume development."
Sharing her tricks she says, "While developing the resume of a fresher first of all we gather all the details of his academics, extra-curricular activities and personal traits as during this phase he has attained no milestone worth mentioning (career wise). The basic target is to portray the candidate as one who is ready face the competitive scenario."
The situation is different for an experienced candidate. ,Says Dhar: "For a person with experience, the resume is developed in a manner which highlights his achievements and credibility. Also, if he is working in a highly reputed company, stress is given on the achievements made by the company. It is a natural understanding that if the organisation is doing well, his inputs must have been positive in nature. However, if he belongs to a medium or below-medium grade organisation, his personal inputs are stressed upon."
A resume should have between one and three pages. For a fresher, one page is enough, but in the later stages experience has to be mentioned and as such two to three pages are enough.
Resumes Can Differ with Professions
However, it also varies from profession to profession. Say, a person has been working for seven years in the IT field. He has worked on various projects worth mentioning. If he goes on to explain each and every project he has worked on, it may end up with him creating a fifteen-page resume. In such a case, it is advisable that he just mentions the titles of the project he has worked on over the years, with may be an annexure, providing the details of the projects.
This method should be practiced because the HR usually just goes through the broad areas while short-listing the candidates. In the later stages, the resume is sent to the technical head for further rounds and he can have a detailed idea from the annexure attached.
Vandana Mehra, assistant manager, Training and Development, Bharti Cellular, Delhi, says, "The HR prefers not more than a two-page resume which contains a synopsis of the candidate's past experience. The resume should be written in a lay man's language if one is applying in an industry which is of a different nature than his present one as the HR personnel are not experts with the know-how of multiple industries."
Mehra adds that when asked for, a candidate should take care to include good references. The feedback given by them really matter while making the final selection. The language mentioned in the resume should be addressed to the third party, rather than addressing to oneself using 'I or me'.
One should not use short forms and it is always advisable to do that final spelling check. Your communication skills can be very good but that one spelling mistake on your resume can leave a really bad first impression.
Take Care of That E-mail ID
Mehra adds that an aspect always ignored while sending resumes is the e mail ID one uses on the resume. One should use a sober ID rather than the overtly funky ones which one creates for general day-to-day use.
Plan out your resume properly. Remember the job for which you are applying and accordingly create the resume. Mentioning an objective which is pointed toward conveying why you are the perfect candidate for that specific job or job title is a good idea. Briefly explain your past experience in such a manner that it presents you as a suitable candidate for this vacancy. There is no need to go into providing too much personal details.
Adopt an honest approach while mentioning facts. Also, don't come across as a self-obsessed person highlighting any and every aspect. Leave some room for queries.
Never give a title to your resume. Also, however much you are in the need of a job, don't mention that. It makes you come across a an object of pity, decreases you saleability and bargaining power. Why you have left or are planning to leave your present profile should also not be mentioned. If the employer is curious to know, he will ask for it in the later stages.
Adding your picture is another bad idea. Your abilities fetch you a job, not your looks. Unless, you belong to the glamour industry or are applying for the position of an air hostess. Mentioning the references is also not needed. Provide it when you are asked for it. You can add a line mentioning 'references are available upon request.' at the very end of your resume.
Keep the words simple and to the point. Avoid fancy language or such words which you yourself aren't very sure about.
Remember, on an average an HR person spend 10 to 20 seconds to scan a resume. Out of 100 resumes received, hardly 10 qualify for the initial round. Don't you want to be amongst those 10? Why don't you spend some time in revamping your resume then?
Source:ET