When you are applying for a job, your resume creates the first impression. But it is quite challenging to make the HR recruiter go through your CV.
One of the main reasons being that he has already gone through 500 such CVs already, so if there is nothing effective or interesting on your CV then it is another piece of garbage for them.
They don’t have much time to spend on your resume, at the most they will dedicate 10 seconds for you because there are hundreds of others waiting in the queue to be read. That is why it is important that you ensure your CV has highlighted the main points, but that doesn’t mean you use all kinds of colors to emphasize the important points.
Instead, you have to ensure that you come up with something new or appealing which will grab the attention of the hiring manager instantaneously.
The most important thing that you have to ensure is that your CV is completely error free. Not a single spelling mistake or number should be missing in there. It will lead to a bad impression and even before you realize the CV will be recycled into something else.
Here we have tried to help you with some tips to write an effective resume which will ensure that you do not commit these mistakes and make your resume interesting.
15 Tips to Write an Effective Resume:
1. Avoid using empty words:
There are several words and phrases that really annoy the hiring manager, so it is better you avoid their use.
Words like go getter, strategic thinker and something like the best of the breed must be strictly avoided. If you incorporate these words in your resume then the chances of your resume getting cancelled increases manifold.
If you are a follower of old school, then you would have included these words in your resume, but you will be surprised to know that once a popular choice of a word has turned into a sore eye for the HR department now. They don’t carry any meaning in today’s world, it is more of a distraction now.
Instead, you can make use of the keywords that will help you enhance the look of your resume. For example, if you like to join the web designing profession then you must include words HTML, Script, mobile design or Java Script, etc.
2. Proper formatting:
When you are trying to impress the recruiter with your resume, then it becomes very important that you concentrate on the ornamentation of your resume. If your CV looks good overall, then accessorizing it will make it look even better.
Formatting is the ornamentation of your resume. So when you are preparing it, you must look into the font size, style and layout properly. This is a professional matter so here you cannot use Comic Sans instead Times New Roman will be the perfect choice for you.
You will be surprised to know how popular infographics resume has become within the last few years.
It provides all the information starting from your name, educational qualification, prior experience as well as your scores but all in an interesting manner. If you want your CV to draw in all the attention then you can try it out for sure.
3. Impactful introduction:
If you want the hiring manager to take notice of your resume then come up with an impactful introduction, but it doesn’t mean that you have to write down a whole paragraph about yourself.
Instead, you must think of an impressive sentence that will best describe you and your ability and also hints at the years of experience you have. You have to highlight yourself professionally, but the only thing is that you have to customize your CV according to the job you are applying, otherwise the job requirements and your talent won’t match.
Think about the one thing that you have which will highlight you professionally and will also provide an edge over others and display it right in the front so that the hiring manager is able to view it right away.
4. Number it out:
While jotting down the best skills of yours, do remember to highlight them with numbers or points. It will help in drawing the attention of the hiring manager towards your experiences and skills.
You must not make use of the soft languages instead you must come out in open with all your achievements starting from your college to previous office where you have either won the best student’s trophy or employee of the month award.
You can also share those achievements where you have helped in bringing down the cost or increased profit and sales. Your resume is the key to bag the interview call so you must make sure that you tell all your accomplishment out there.
It will make sure that the hiring manager knows what you are capable of even before they have spoken to you. But here the most important thing is that you have to back up the facts with proper numbers otherwise it will backfire completely.
5. Qualification highlighted properly:
When you are writing down the list of your educational qualifications or the license or other qualifications, then you have to make sure that they are pretty specific to the job position that you have applied for.
Mention the certification courses that you have cleared and the professional courses that you have completed. You must also mention the designation that you have occupied till date in previous jobs.
6. Being trustworthy is the key:
It is very important that you come up with a true account of yourself. It is surprising to see how many people lie on their CV; the most disgracing part is that when you will get caught it will put you in bad lights.
If you have aimed to join a dream company of yours, then one small lie can ruin your chances of a lifetime.
So it is good to come up with nothing but the truth. Starting from your work history to educational qualification, everything must be accurate with the proper documents to back up the information that you are typing in there in your resume.
7. The importance of initial section:
The hiring manager goes through so many CVs that if you do not present him with the important points at the beginning, then you might lose out the chance of getting selected for the interview.
In the resume’s initial section that is the top most part of the resume you have to provide the important bullet points concisely but in an impactful manner.
8. A Statement stating the career objective:
When you are writing your career objective, then you have to mention the long-term and the short-term goals as well. The goals must be at par with the career you have chosen. When you are mentioning your goals, try to align them with the company’s goal as well.
Be honest about the career objective and try to summarize everything in short.
In case you haven’t thought of a career objective, then it is better to leave this step behind rather than creating up something.
9. Avoid text heavy resume:
After the creation of your resume go through it once, if you feel that it is text heavy then you will have to take the pain to modify it again.
Try formatting it in a different way when you find that the present formatting is not working out for you. Making use of proper white space is important in order to ease out the reading process.
If you are trying to fill up the whole page, then it is a completely wrong approach. Many people have this notion that if they leave out white space, then it will go against them but that is not the fact.
Instead, it will get noticed due to that, moreover, if you can use bullet points rather than long sentences, then it will be highly appreciated.
10. Cover it up with a cover letter:
The cover letter is not an application letter so you must emphasize more on your talent and accomplishments.
Provide a sneak peek into what exactly you are professionally and mention all the unique skills that you have which will set you apart from the others.
Even when you are sending an email along with the resume attached to it you must make the most of it by coming up with something that will grab the attention of the hiring manager.
11. Double-check to ensure:
Once you are done with your CV you must proofread it repeatedly. Go through it yourself once and then ask your friends and families to do the same.
Sometimes when someone else reads it, they are able to point out the mistakes better.
Though you might feel that one spelling mistake is forgivable, but the hiring manager might think otherwise, so why take chances? It is better that you proofread and edit properly.
12. Ask for help:
If you are not sure that you will be able to prepare the perfect CV for yourself with all the right words and formatting, then it is better that you seek expert help.
There are plenty put there who will be more than happy to prepare you a professional resume.
Yes, they will charge you a price, but if you are not ready to do it yourself, then you have to pay out something from your pocket to make your CV look noticeable in front of the hiring manager.
13. Extend your presence:
Now that you have prepared your CV, it is time to go beyond that and come up with something interesting like a site of your own which will explain everything about you. There are various tools online that will help you to create a visually beautiful resume which are to an extent interactive too.
It is not necessary that you will have to create a website that has your description only, instead you can prepare the site based on the job preference you have or your professional skills as well.
You will have several options with the help of which you will be able to come up with the site of your own. If you have something to say and are also good with words then you can come up with blogs to show your interest in the industry.
14. Update your Linkedin profile:
Never forget to keep the educational qualification and professional achievements updated in your LinkedIn profile.
In today’s world, everybody goes online to view the employees profile to see how much they are making up and how they are personally.
So now the social media are also part of your resume and you have to take enough care of your social media accounts as well while applying for any job.
15. Work experience:
Emphasize on the responsibilities you have shared in your previous job and you must also specify the job titles, briefly describing the company’s size that you have worked to till date.
You can also include the service that the previous company provides along with the number of staffs that were working under your leadership if you held any leadership position.
Make sure that you have incorporated the right keywords, so that when the resume gets scanned by any computer your resume is selected.
Emphasize on the responsibilities you have shared in your previous job and you must also specify the job titles, briefly be describing the company’s size that you have worked to till date. You can also include the service that the previous company provides along with the number of staffs that were working under your leadership if you held any leadership position. Make sure that you have incorporated the right keywords so that when the resume gets scanned by any computer your resume is selected.
Hey Krishna, thanks for addressing this very common problem among freshers. Resume writing is a very important step towards getting a job. A mistake here could often affect the procedure. Great post.