Your Resume is an AD to get you an interview call
In the current state of the world, the traditional approach of applying through a job portal and waiting for an interview call may not always work.
So I thought of sharing a few tips to help you with your job hunt.
In this mail, I will focus on tips to make your resume sharper and some common mistakes that should be avoided.
In my corporate career spanning over 23 years, I would have read 1000s of resumes and interviewed 100s (probably over 1000, I did not keep track!) of people.
Hence I can share a tip or two around this.
In case you are not actively looking for a job, please save this email for your future reference.
Like an advertisement, the resume should encourage the recruiter to schedule an interview with you.
1. One key thing I ask everyone to highlight is the specific role you are applying for.
Ideally, you should highlight this right at the top of the resume, in bold.
There are 1000s of VP – Engineering or Project Managers or Quality Engineers searching for new jobs.
How can you stand out from them?
What do you specialize in? What is the industry that you target?
For eg. VP – Engineering in …technology in Automotive Project Manager in the Operations Division of Manufacturing Companies Program Management in ERP (SAP, Oracle) Implementation Quality Engineer in Automation Testing in ….technology for Retail industry Communication Director in the FMCG sector
The more specific you can get, the more unique you will be and able to stand out from the competition.
You may ask, what if I lose the opportunity in other sectors?
My answers to this are:
What if you lose the opportunity in the sector you can perform the best just because the recruiters did not notice it?
If a recruiter notices someone who got 5 years experience in their specific sector, than 10 years in other, there is a good chance you may get the preference.
Morevoer, you will not lose other opportunities if you follow some of my other tips below.
2. The resume should ideally be no more than 2 pages.
If you have over 20 years of experience, highlight the last 2 or 3 or key companies and group the others and summarize them.
3. Do you really need an objective section? What purpose does it serve?
If you choose to include it, write something unique about you which would interest a prospective employer. But avoid using clichés or buzzwords to pad up your resume.
4. Instead of casually writing various buzzwords in your resume, write what you did in those areas or why you are such a person.
Here are some buzzwords that are often casually used: Innovative, Results-oriented, Team Player, Proven Track Record
Avoid those. In case you want to highlight something around those areas…
You need to highlight the innovative things you did.
Instead of writing just Results-Oriented, write, what results did you accomplish?
Team Player – Isn’t everyone expected to be one? So is this really required?
Proven Track Record – What is that track record? Highlight that.
5. Format your resume well.
A casually written resume may give the perception that the person is casual and not serious.
A well formatted resume will be pleasing to the eye.
The recommended fonts are Verdana, Arial, Calibri.
Space out the sections to make reading easier.
I personally like color in the resume. But it is advisable to stick to no more than 2 colors and use the second color (other than black) wisely.
6. Highlight your specific accomplishments and do not just write down your daily job description
Use metrics or numbers to highlight your accomplishments.
7. Research and read up on the Job Descriptions companies post for the type of job you are applying for
Use the keywords from the job descriptions in your resume if you have the capability or competency to do it. This can be very handy if shortlisting is done through an automated software.
More often than not, it would be the junior recruiters who are likely to be shortlisting the resumes and they will probably search by these keywords.
8. Create customized resumes highlighting critical accomplishments that the company might be looking for.
You may have those skills or competencies or achievements which this particular company or industry is looking for. Hence add them if you don’t have it in your regular resume.
9. Have a professional photograph if you feel comfortable adding it.
There are a couple of reasons why I say this.
a. It gives a human touch to your resume. b. When you are one of the many shortlisted candidates, it helps the hiring manager to recollect the conversations they had with you, ie, it helps you stand out.
10. Always represent the truth in your resume.
If you do not represent truth or if you it shows up on your face in your interview.
Author: Johncey George is an International Coaching Federation accredited Leadership and Life Coach. He is ICF PCC.
Johncey focuses on working with Introvert Professionals, helping them grow as leaders by unleashing their potential. He helps introverts celebrate their strengths and become successful as leaders. Being an introvert himself, he understands their thinking process. He combines this knowledge, his corporate leadership experience and his coaching experience to help create more leaders among the Introverts.
Johncey has 23 years of corporate leadership experience and done his BE and Management Education from IIM Bangalore, Harvard Business School, ISB Hyderabad.
His company, Johncey George Consulting Pvt Ltd, does Leadership Development through Coaching, under the brand Coach Johncey (https://www.coachjohncey.com). Follow Johncey: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johncey