Resumes still matter!
But there are only a handful of resumes which stand out and catch my attention! And I am quite certain that it would be the same for the hiring managers and executives who are reviewing these candidates for various roles.
I have listed out a few pointers which could help you make your resume 'stand out' and get noticed. (These are ideas based on my own observations as well as suggestions I have borrowed from other experienced fellow professionals.)
1. First impressions count. Format it well. Keep it clean, elegant & professional. Ask a friend to help if you are not good at formatting yourself. (Send your resume as a PDF document and not as a Word document. This ensures that the recipient sees your resume the way you intended.)
2. Spell-check. Nothing is a bigger turn-off than spelling mistakes in your resume. Sounds obvious doesn't it? But it still amazes me how people send me resumes with spelling mistakes in them! And I don't mean the 'rogue apostrophes' which slip through the spell-check. Get 2-3 people to go through your resume and help identify such problems.
3. Customise. If you have enough information about the role then make the resume read like a 'sales proposal' where you are addressing the specific requirements listed by the company.
- Prioritise your skill-sets based on the company and the role
- List your experience based on the relevance and not necessarily by chronology
4. Remember that most people looking at your resume don't have time to read everything you are saying. So what do you do?
- List accomplishments & not responsibilities
- Knock off the objective and hobbies and references, unless they are relevant to the role
- Don't use long sentences or paragraphs. Bullet points work best.
- Keep your resume to 2-3 pages max. Anything more than that, people will only be searching for information they want to see and you stand the risk of their missing out something important.
5. Avoid hyperbole and buzz-words! Instead provide facts & examples of what you have achieved. Its so much more credible to know you are a problem-solver when you give an example than stating that you are one!
6. Nobody is interested in you! The people who are hiring you are interested in themselves and what you can do for them and the company. Let your resume communicate how you are not only relevant, but someone they should definitely be talking to! And communicate this in the first half page of your resume.
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One of the biggest mistakes people make is to pick up the 'perfect' resumes from various online resources and then just fill in some data. It sticks out like a 'wolf in sheep's clothing'!
Before writing your resume, start with a blank sheet (or a new document on your laptop) and list out what are the 3 key marketable skills that you would like highlight to the company. And then have a list of examples, successes, awards, etc. which help establish these skills.
And then make sure these come through clearly in your resume.
I've been in the search industry for only a year, but I would already have received and gone through a few hundred resumes till date. And given the industry I am in, I receive resumes of some very seasoned executives from a wide gamut of companies.
But there are only a handful of resumes which stand out and catch my attention! And I am quite certain that it would be the same for the hiring managers and executives who are reviewing these candidates for various roles.I have listed out a few pointers which could help you make your resume 'stand out' and get noticed. (These are ideas based on my own observations as well as suggestions I have borrowed from other experienced fellow professionals.)
1. First impressions count. Format it well. Keep it clean, elegant & professional. Ask a friend to help if you are not good at formatting yourself. (Send your resume as a PDF document and not as a Word document. This ensures that the recipient sees your resume the way you intended.)
2. Spell-check. Nothing is a bigger turn-off than spelling mistakes in your resume. Sounds obvious doesn't it? But it still amazes me how people send me resumes with spelling mistakes in them! And I don't mean the 'rogue apostrophes' which slip through the spell-check. Get 2-3 people to go through your resume and help identify such problems.
3. Customise. If you have enough information about the role then make the resume read like a 'sales proposal' where you are addressing the specific requirements listed by the company.
- Prioritise your skill-sets based on the company and the role
- List your experience based on the relevance and not necessarily by chronology
4. Remember that most people looking at your resume don't have time to read everything you are saying. So what do you do?
- List accomplishments & not responsibilities
- Knock off the objective and hobbies and references, unless they are relevant to the role
- Don't use long sentences or paragraphs. Bullet points work best.
- Keep your resume to 2-3 pages max. Anything more than that, people will only be searching for information they want to see and you stand the risk of their missing out something important.
5. Avoid hyperbole and buzz-words! Instead provide facts & examples of what you have achieved. Its so much more credible to know you are a problem-solver when you give an example than stating that you are one!
6. Nobody is interested in you! The people who are hiring you are interested in themselves and what you can do for them and the company. Let your resume communicate how you are not only relevant, but someone they should definitely be talking to! And communicate this in the first half page of your resume.
----------------
One of the biggest mistakes people make is to pick up the 'perfect' resumes from various online resources and then just fill in some data. It sticks out like a 'wolf in sheep's clothing'!
Before writing your resume, start with a blank sheet (or a new document on your laptop) and list out what are the 3 key marketable skills that you would like highlight to the company. And then have a list of examples, successes, awards, etc. which help establish these skills.
And then make sure these come through clearly in your resume.
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