A resume is like the Holy Grail of your life. You either get that phone call back or you don’t – based on how impressive or unimpressive your resume is. If you’ve looked at every other resume sample on Google and still haven’t been able to make one that you’re happy with, this is your guide to writing a resume that’s great. You’ll have a killer resume in no time!
1. Keep it short and simple
Employers spend on an average only about 10 seconds going through a CV, so make sure that it isn’t more than two pages. Everything has to be concise. If you feel like two pages don’t do justice to who you are as a person, reconsider what really needs to go into it. Your resume can either make or break your chance at your dream job!
2. Do not spend time making it look attractive beyond measure
This is not a school project nor is it an arts and crafts assignment. Keep it clean, classy and professional looking. Don’t use fonts like Comic Sans even if you think it’s really cute. Your resume is going to speak volumes about you, so make sure you set a good first impression.
3. Mention all your details
Your date of birth, your nationality, your place of residence, your contact number, your email address, your blog or website (if you have one) and even a disability if you have one.
Also read: 13 Useful Tips For Writing A Great Cover Letter With Your CV!
4. Always start with a personal statement
Your degree can only do so much for you, so put in a few lines about who you are as a person. What your interests are, your strengths and what you see yourself doing in the future. Don’t lie about yourself and try using simple English. Don’t try to make yourself appear smarter by using complicated and sophisticated words that you just googled. Stick to the basics, play safe. Remember that this should be different from your cover letter!
5. Follow it up with your educational qualification
This shouldn’t be so hard, right? Put down your scores, where you passed out from, the name of your University, starting from 10th grade. Below that add in another line that shows what subjects/ courses you excelled at. You can call it ‘Favoured Courses’ or ‘Subject/ Papers of Interest’ or something similar. Add another line where you can write about your extracurricular activities. Again, make sure this is crisp and concise. If the employer wants to know more, they will personally ask you.
6. Work experience
After your educational qualification you need to add in your work experience (if you have any) along with the duration you’ve spent there. Clearly mention your designation and give in bullet points for what role you played at the organization. These bullet points should clearly show what work you did and what your responsibilities were. And internships count, so those deserve bullet points too! If you’ve freelanced for an organization, don’t forget to mention it here. Even a short stint somewhere could actually help you.
7. Other achievements
This is where you put in achievements that are not necessarily work related. It could be published work, volunteering stints, prizes won (however, we hate to break it to you but, no one cares that you won the second prize in a dance competition in third grade). You should not boast about achievements that happened too many years ago though. The more recent it is, the better it looks.
Also read: 10 College-Time Activities That Actually Look GREAT On Your CV!
8. Other courses
If you have attended courses, workshops, language classes outside of your college, this space is where you should mention it. Again, use bullet points, keep it short!
9. Skills
Here is where you mention how many languages you can speak and how well-versed you are at them. If you have computer related skills, like Photoshop or Excel, this is where it should go. Anything that you think is legitimate skill should be added in here.
10. Hobbies and interests
Although your resume would already have an introduction of yourself in the beginning, this space gives you an informal opportunity to show who you are. Note down your hobbies and interests here like singing, dancing, playing an instrument, travelling, martial arts, reading books etc. This space allows the employer to see how cool you are as a person!
All the best! Here’s to hoping you bag your dream job!
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