A good job hunter knows that a good resume is the key to an interview invite and ultimately, to employment. Aside from a summary of your abilities, work experience and education, a resume should reveal your unique selling points to entice a potential employer to BUY you. A tailored resume has infinitely more impact than a one-size-fits-all. To write such a resume below are the tips :-
- Know your objective
- What job do you want? What are the skills and requirements necessary for this job?
- Keep them in your mind as you write your resume so that the interviewer reading it will se that you are the person they are looking for.
- Compile all your information
- List down your personal particulars, education history, extra-curricular activities including position held, employment history, seminars attended, achievements, etc.
- Ensure the dates are correct. Leave out hobbies/interest, parent occupation, etc.
- Sort information under specific headings - Education, Work Experience, Achievements, Skills, Activities.
- Start with your name and contact details
- Write your full name, postal address, house and mobile numbers, email address.
- Leave out your marital status, sex, race, parents name and occupation, birth details, etc.
- Write your employment details
- Starting with your most recent work, list down all the jobs you have had, company names, dates of employment, position titles.
- Use bullet points, write the job description, nature of work and responsibilities held for each position.
- Use key words: responsible for, coordinating, prepared, managed, monitored, accomplished, achieved, delegate, etc.
- Highlight your achievements/job responsibilities.
- List education details
- Lead with your highest education level to the lowest, include grades like CGPA.
- State courses or paper studied, e.g. Contract Law, Multimedia
- List activities like societies/clubs, position held and accomplishments if they are relevant to the job you are applying to. Otherwise, leave them out.
- Include your skills
- List down your computer skills, language skills (and different dialects) including proficiency in reading and writing, and soft skills (public speaking, presentation, etc.).
- Reference
- Not totally essential but if you need to mention references, choose people who know you personally and can give a good impression of you to the potential employer.
- Give your reference's contact details
- Inform the referees that they may receive calls from your interviewers so that they can prepare.
- Miscellaneous
- Be short and concise
- Should be brief and straight forward
- Max 2 - 3 pages. Use font that is easy to read (Times New Roman or Garamont) size 12.
- Use italic or bold only to indicate important information or section breaks.
- No stray marks, splotches, uneven or blurred letters.
- Use only while A4 paper
- Be honest
- Do not inflate your resume. Make sure you can back up what you claim. Do not cheat/lie.
- Check your spelling or grammar mistakes
- Free from spelling or grammar mistake.
- Ask someone reliable to check it.
- Proof read until your resume is perfect.