Resume Requisites You Cannot Avoid

By Kinjal Moyal | Times Ascent

A resume consists of qualifications, skills, experiences, achievements, projects undertaken, Courses and Certifications. It is generally accompanied by a cover letter wherein the applicant elaborates about the job he is interested in and tells HR about their skillset. A resume is important if someone wants to enter the corporate world. This is the first step undertaken by the companies during the recruitment process. 

A resume is made by:
A Fresher: It is a crucial step in getting a job without corporate experience. In this, a candidate has to mention everything carefully. If a person does not have good job experience, they should ensure that the other points included in the resume are strong. For instance, if a student wants to sit for College placements, they can strengthen their resume by participating in competitions, courses, and projects and can develop some good skills(technical or non-technical).

An Experienced person: Generally, HR sets high expectations when a company hires for a high post(which requires experience). HR panel wants everything to be perfect in their resume. So, the resume of an experienced person is more critical. 

Resume DOs and DON’Ts

DOs

1. Coherent: Everything in a resume should be coherent and orderly. The most impactful things must be represented on the top, whereas the least important things should be presented at the bottom. Applicant should be clear about what he needs to include in his resume. 

2. Highlight most relevant experiences: Candidate should highlight the most pertinent points so that whoever screens the resume can see your skillset at a glance. Large companies spend 20 seconds on a resume, so a person needs to tell the recruiter their specialization in just 20 seconds. A resume with highlighted points is more pleasing. 

3. Optimize for Applicant Tracking System(ATS): Applicant Tracking system is software which helps recruiters in the recruitment process. A candidate should optimize their resume through ATS. It tells the applicant whether their resume is fulfilling the demand of the recruiter or not. 

DON’Ts

1. Don’t misrepresent your education and experience:  A candidate should not misrepresent anything in their resume, whether it is related to their qualification or experience. Falsification of any information in your resume could lead your application being declared void. It may also happen that your interview part will be more grilling, and there are chances you might get caught in an interview that you don’t possess any particular skill. 

2. Don’t use text or chat abbreviations:- Beware that you don’t use short forms or abbreviations in your resume. This may annoy the recruiter, and they might reject your resume. Also, don’t use any emojis as well in your resume. This can be seen as very unprofessional. Don’t extend your resume over two pages. Try to keep it to one page only, but if you have more experience, you can go for two pages. 

3. Don’t use negative phrases:- Be careful that you don’t use negative terms in your resume. It gives a negative impression of you. For example, don’t say tackled aggressive clients but tackled ‘n’ number of clients. Thus, using positive phrases will make a positive impact on the recruiter.

Resume plays a crucial role in getting a dream job and hence, requires extra attention. Before applying to any job, one should match their skills with the company's requirements and should adjust their resume according to that.