Resume - The First Step

The starting point in the recruitment process requires sourcing prospective candidates' profiles. This is done by advertising the vacant positions on various channels or media like Newspapers, Internet sites, Radio, Billboards and mobility services. Interested candidates reply to the advertisement by sending their applications with their profile. These profiles are generally called Resume, Bio-data or Curriculum Vitae.
Technically speaking, every one of the above three has different meanings. A Resume, that's of French origin, indicates a chronological set of jobs whereas a Curriculum Vitae of Latin, focuses on academic credentials and is also more comprehensive. The term bio-data traces its origins to Industrial age each time a definite format with a specific quantity of fields were utilized to capture a candidate's details. Since the format was uniform for all those candidates, it absolutely was easier to compare these skills and predict suitability for any position. However, nowadays these terms are used interchangeably and any profile works on the combination of the three definitions.
Resume-Purpose
People wrongly feel that the purpose of a resume is getting a job. Far from it! If a resume might get you a job, there can be no demand for interviews, group discussions, presentations and so on. Again, if the resume cannot fetch work, one could wonder about involve a resume!! One could simply send names and make contact with numbers for registering for a job interview or presentation. That would be ideal but pragmatic only for any small pool of applicants. In a country with a 61% employable workforce from 1 billion people (the absolute girls number for friendship itself is a staggering 610 million and is also expected to grow year on year).
As per a UN division report, the amount of people in the workforce is anticipated to rise to 64% in the population.
Considering the large populace, you can imagine the amount of people looking for any job vacancy that is advertised. Of course this may not hold beneficial to areas which can be relatively niche but such requirements are also not common. Again, the quantity of applications received is higher at lower levels and decreases once we move up the hierarchy. However, that is certainly a relative comparison and the complete numbers remain high. A view of the recruiter's desk or email inbox will better demonstrate this. So it's practically impossible/un-economical to fulfill every candidate. The better option then is to short-list relevant profiles for an interview.
An average recruiter will not spend more when compared to a minute on any resume. The time spent is usually inversely proportional to the amount of applications/resumes received. So it is essential to trap the recruiter's attention at his first glance. The role of an resume is just to fetch an interview call. Since there can be numerous profiles with the exact same backgrounds, the resume that makes the best impression has got the call.
One For All?
Does a sales representative use the same sales page with all his potential customers? No way! He changes his pitch as outlined by his prospect's background and requirements. Similarly employment application attempts to convince the prospective customer .i.e. the employer that you will be the right product (candidate). Applying and interviewing is like a sales process. Hence it is very important align one's resume to complement the advertised position. Aligning will not mean fudging. It rather means emphasizing skills which are more relevant for your advertised position. For example, teaching/research positions lean heavily on academic credentials, publications and research inclination. However, a company development job requires much more of networking and communicating skills.
Switching careers might require an all-together different resume to exhibit how the existing skills and experience can be useful within the new position.
Major Resume Gaffes
1. Several spelling errors
2. No information on experience (time duration, work profiles etc). Only company names mentioned
3. No paragraph alignment thus giving a very illegible look
4. Lots of blank spaces between paragraphs
5. Punctuation errors thus making the statement incomprehensible
6. No contact information
Essentials
It is widely believed, specifically in India, that a resume must be very long to make an impression. Lengthy resumes supposedly indicate "more" experience. So it is not uncommon to see people who have 10 years experience carrying resumes that run up to 10 pages or maybe more. Of course, sheer organization with the same text itself can reduce the size to a minimum of 7 pages. So what's meant by a good resume? What do recruiters expect? Why some profiles get short-listed whereas others (similar background) usually do not? This article will give that you simply "scoop" with the secret behind this selection. Fatalists always resign to their fate and blame it on the L-factor. But some serious home work can beat the L-factor with a considerable extent.
1. Length of a Resume
Entry level to middle level candidates should NOT have resumes exceeding a website. You doubt that it's going to fit? It will. Yes it will-provided you make use of the space as efficiently as possible and make use of powerful compact words as opposed to long sentences. For example: Instead of writing "Extremely good performance" you can write "Stellar Performance". Senior level applicants' resumes may run as much as a maximum of 2-3 pages. In case of project experience, the identical should be appended being an annexure rather than including in the main body in the resume. In no case, however, if the resume encounter dozens of pages.
2. Content at Top of Resume
Does one need to follow a standard format of mentioning Objective, Education, Employment, References and after that perhaps the age-old kind of ending the resume with a signature? When you approach the cute girl across the street, would you start of using your weaknesses and tell her you are a short-tempered guy without education plus a worthwhile job? Not really! Rather you add your best foot forward and tell her about every one of the great qualities you've got. You also tell her something that will impress her. The resume works in the same fashion. You write what is most important around the top and the inconvenient stuff goes towards the bottom. So persons by having an exemplary professional career but poor academic credentials may want to de-emphasize on education and talk much more about their professional achievements. If you are applying for any teaching job with the experience in Marketing, you try to align your wording to demonstrate how your experience could be useful in pedagogy.
This is especially important because, the recruiter will read all of your profile provided that he "feels" you are the best fit for his requirements. Else your resume goes directly into the bin or perhaps into a folder waiting being picked up various other time (but also in majority cases it's forgotten there)
3. Contact Details
Of what use is an aptly matching profile, if it won't carry valid contact details. There are candidates who provide contact information but don't check their email accounts for months. Worst still, they feature mobile numbers then change their numbers. It is always easier to provide multiple contact info (like 2 mobile numbers, postal address and 2 email addresses).
What a goof-up it will be, in the event you realize that you are sent interviews intimation email that you just checked 15 days as soon as the interview.
4. Grammar
This could be the saddest section of any profile-even senior executives overlook this aspect. No one expects Wren & Martin's use of perfect grammar, but, adherence with a few important rules is quintessential. Improper or lack of punctuation can provide a sentence an altogether different meaning. Usage of wrong verbs, tenses and adjectives not simply spoils the impression but also makes reading difficult and boring. End Result: Resume is rejected halfway itself-sometimes the recruiter may miss out important areas of your career which may have been described in the latter parts with the profile. Moreover, improper usage can even be offensive.
5. Layout & Flow
Any presentation features a flow which grasps the audience's attention and keeps it glued till the end. Similarly, a resume should go ahead and take reader through his background without abrupt changes. For example, beginning the resume with a synopsis or even a summary is a great idea. So this way your reader has already a framed a photo about the candidate's background. This picture gets clearer as they reads a little more about the employment history, education etc. If some report on hobbies crops up among the summary and employment details, the flow is shattered.
6. Standard Abbreviations
People hardly understand that the reader could be the one who should really understand the matter mentioned within the resume. But majority in the candidates write from other own viewpoint thus assuming that the various readers will understand just about any abbreviations. Of course, generally accepted and standard abbreviations are fine but non-standard ones can cause misunderstandings and possible rejections.
Standard Format
It is really a myth there's some "standard format" that's to be accustomed to draft a profile. So we have job-seekers always chasing these "standard formats". These formats can be found at the neighborhood book-store or with the photocopy shop around the corner. Students obtain copies off their placement offices and others get their hands on it through the friendly placement agent.
In reality, there's nothing called a "standard format". What we do have is really a set of guidelines that may be followed while preparing an account. These are industry accepted standards and hence may be considered sacrosanct. But otherwise it's possible to always be creative to come up having a beautifully developed resume.