The Curriculum Vitae or the Resume is the first virtual impression that you create as a prospective student of higher learning in an educational institution or an employee of an organization. It is a summary of your qualification, experience, skills and achievements, and objectives in life. It is what attracts one to your profile to provide you a chance to prove your mettle and be a part of that establishment. Many take it quite casually and failed to understand that you will get the chance to present yourself only if you are able to intrigue the authorities with your resume. Thus it should be a power advertisement. Here are a few tips that should help better it.
- Always recheck, at least a couple of times, to avoid any spelling mistakes and grammatical errors and improper sentence formations.
- Whatever you write should follow a pattern. That means if you are using first person, continue with it. Maintain the same tense throughout as required, but if mention your present studies or job in the present. Also avoid stark statements; make it formal and humble, rather than loud and too bold.
- More than presenting everything you have done in points, highlight the achievements during that experience, and the key responsibilities and learning. The pointers are to make a note but people are interested in how you have used the opportunities in life to achieve something extraordinary.
- Try to avoid cliches, jargon, and commonly and widely used phrases and quotations. Do not be a commoner; stand out. You do not need the aid of such crutches to prove your caliber. But if you are in the technical field, where certain knowledge is essential, then do not forget the use of terminologies that form an inseparable part of the field of work.
- Put to use power verbs though wherever needed, but not overtly and unnecessarily. Words such as accelerated, accomplished, achieved, orchestrated, optimized, reviewed, revised, reinforced, surpassed, etc, add an aristocratic touch to your resume.
- Do not go into too much details. Leave that for the interview round. Remember the rule of ‘KISS’, that is keep it short and simple. The average length should be about one to two pages.
- The most preferred font is Arial or Times New Roman, and the font size should ideally be between 10-12 points. Avoid too much of bold and italic words and lines. And also graphics.
- And be honest. Do not fake it as it will only add to your negative points in future. Even if you have minimal to present, do so gracefully and without pretense. Not everyone is the same, so just be truthful.
