How To Write An Effective Resume

First of all you should know that what is resume writing?

A resume is the formal presentation of a job applicant’s education, knowledge, work experience and his ultimate skills. In a resume, we mention our study background and our experiences and skills related to the particular job for which we are applying.

Why Resume Is Important?

There is not only one vacancy for the particular job for which you are applying. There are several vacancies and hundreds of people apply to that job. so if u want to capture the employer’s attention then you must write an effective resume. A resume is very important to prove that you are the best choice candidate for the prospective employer and you can do that job.Most employer spends only a few seconds looking at the resume so an effective resume can help you a lot to grab that job. So, i hope you understood why an effective resume writing is so important when you are applying a job.

Difference between resume and CV (curriculum vitae):

Most people think that Resume and CV is same thing, but here i am going to explain that both of these are different and are not same thing. Below i am going to write some of the main differences between resume and CV:

There are three major differences between resume and CV:

1. The Length
2. Purpose
3. layout

A resume is a brief summary of your skills and knowledge and experience and it should be of 1 or 2 pages. It should be brief and not so lengthy and boring.

A CV is more detailed and it is lengthy and it is usually stretched over more than 2 pages.

The resume and its purpose:

A resume is a short descriptive document.

It is an account of work experience, qualification, objectives, personal qualities and special skills.

It is usually the first item an employer sees about you and therefore it is very important.

The resume main purpose is to get you an interview.

The resume is used in the job search process in the following ways:

• To network with others, including at job fairs.
• To be submitted along with an employer job application form.
• To respond to job ads online and in newspaper, often teamed with a cover letter.
• To be taken to a job interview.

Standard resume formats:

There are three standard resume formats.

1. Functional
2. chronological
3. combination

1:Functional resume:

This type of resume avoid lengthy descriptions of each individual job. in this type of resume we concentrates on writing our general specialized skills and abilities. In this resume, dates can be deleted and so in this type of resume we can hide the gaps between jobs. Those job candidates who are entering new fields and who have that type of experience which i unrelated to the job for which they are applying, might choose this type of resume i.e functional resume.

2:Chronological resume:

This type of resume work focuses on your work experience, listing your current job first and going back in time chronologically. this type of resume highlights steady employment and progression in job responsibility. In this type of resume the gap between jobs can not be hide and dates can not be deleted and you have to write all your previous job history along with dates.

3:Combination resume;

The combination resume brings together features of the reverse chronological and functional resumes.

Formatting tips;

• Length – for most one page is best.
• use one font throughout.
• use Bold  to emphasize only the most important features of your resume.
• acceptable type sizes are 10, 11 and 12 pt.
• Be consistent with tabs, dates and other formatting features.
• Decide an overall design scheme, Bullets or paragraphs.
• aim for neatness and readability.
• Is the resume professional looking and inviting to read.

Resume sections:

• Personal info
• Objectives
• summary
• Education
• Work experience
• special skills
• Memberships honors/ awards
• Volunteer experience
• References

Personal information:

• Name should stand out
• can vary the placement of name, address, phone number and email address.
• List only one phone number.
• Professional sounding voice message.
• Professional email address.

Objectives:

• Short and sweet is preferred. For example”Seeking position as a Physiotherapist”.
• Specific vs general objectives.
• It can be phrase or a sentence.

Summary:

Could also be called; profile, qualifications, highlights.

Should be tailored to the job in question via the job description.

Education:

• Most recent degree or current study first.
• List expected date of graduation.
• list options, minors and certificates.
• Spell out College name correctly and abbreviations are not allowed.
• No high school.
• List graduations with honors or high GPA.

Educational related headings;

• Senior or special projects/ thesis topics/ papers presented/ Professional development.
• special certificates.
• Test completion( IELT and TEFL etc) important to certain profession.

Work experience/ work history:

• current or most recent job experience first.
• Not all jobs need to be listed.
• List job title first.
• Include employer name and city.
• Use bullets or paragraphs to detail job duties.
• Each descriptive phrase should begin with an action verb.
• If using bullet format no more that 5 bullet items per job.
• Prioritize the order in which you describe the job duties, with the most impressive-sounding ones listed first.
• Consider dividing your work experience into Related experience and other experience.
• Remember to list internships if they are related to your field . it does not matter if you are paid or not, good experience is good experience.

Special skills:

Skills could be featured in summary sections or in a separate section that highlights special areas most usually.

Computer skills: Listing known computer programs.

Language skills:Example Bilingual English/ Korean etc.

Membership/ Honors awards:

• Includes memberships in campus and community organisations.
• Make special note if you held an office.
• Dates are not required.
• If listing a scholarship, indicate its name and who awarded it to you.
• Don’t forget to list national association.
• No high school stuff please.

Volunteer experience:

volunteer experience can be listed if it is meaningful and appropriate.Social work, Psycology, Sociology students will find this an especially important part of their resume. No dates are required here.

References:

References are available upon request.

• You should have at least three people to be your referees.
• Do not ask family or friends, but consider professional employers, professors who know you well enough to address your work and talents and attributes as an employee, students or good citizens.
• Give your referees a copy of your resume and keep then updated on your job hunt.
• Employers may ask for your referees list.
• Never list your reference list on the resume.
• The list should include your reference name, job title, place of employment, phone number and email address.

Special considerations:

• Your resume should be targeted to the specific job you are applying for.
• Use generous margins.
• Use pt 12.
• Never ever include false information in your resume.

How to submit your resume:

• It can be mailed.
• It can be faxed.
• It can be given to someone in person.
• it can be emailed as an attachment.
• It can be copied in the body of email.