Resume Writing Tips, Resume formatting tips and things to avoid in a Resume with sample - Practical 2 minute guide to create a Superstar Resume

In the professional field, your resume is the most relevant and important document. It is your identity in a professional field. A resume is something that we keep on building or updating throughout our life. Most of the students or even qualified professionals face problems building up a great resume. Even if some people build a resume the resume is not up to the mark or great enough for the companies to consider it. Here are some quick & practical Resume Writing Tips to create a resume that helps you bag the Job of your choice. The article also includes a quick guide to format resumes

One must know that a company has hundreds or thousands of resumes in front of it to select its employee. It is you who need to format your resume in the correct format and present it in a manner that it must stand out from the rest of the resumes.

3 critical things to keep in mind while creating a resume in Hindi – 2 mins

So how to build a great resume? How to make your resume be noticed by the employer? Below you would find some tips and suggestions that you may follow to make your resume stand out from the rest of them. Here are some tips for Making a resume that gets you the Job

7 Key Elements of your resume

Start with career objective: This is where you sell yourself. It should be crisp, clear, and inspiring. Ideally should not be more than 2 short lines. Make sure that it is in sync with the job you are applying for. Example: I am an enthusiastic HR generalist looking out for challenging roles that could bring out the best in me. If your objective matches the job profile then your chances of being hired increase. But try not to boast yourself or your objectives as this gives a negative impression. Always try and mention your objective as what is your motive in life.
Educational Background: An employer would be more concerned about your skills, than the college you come from unless you come from IIT’s, IIM’s or NITs. An ideal way to express this would be in a 4 X N table
Talk about skills: This would be a part which the employer is most concerned about. Write your skills in a concise way, ideally 3-5 Write skills that relate to the job you are applying for. “The more the merrier” does not hold correct here. Writing too many skills might weigh down the core skills you would want to shout out in your resume
Experience: Start objectively. Where? when? What was your role? Change line and Brag about your role here. End with your key takeaways from these assignments. What an employer is more interested in is what did you learn in these assignments and how have you grown as an individual during this. Learn the functional & behavioral skills you acquired during each role. Even better if you can give numbers here.Example:
Worked as Learning & Development-Lead at Tata Power.
Tata Power is the largest integrated power company in India. CGPL Mundra boasts itself of being India’s first 800MW supercritical unit. Being the first of its kind, the technology used is by far superior to other Power Plants in India. While the workforce is a specialist in what they do, it is necessary to grow that knowledge to upkeep with the best practices. Also, at the same time conserving the knowledge that we have and effectively passing the baton to the next breed of technocrats. I was responsible for single-handedly consulting, identifying, planning, analyzing, and executing training at CGPL. My role included Coordination with line managers & HOD’s to ensure maximum value of programs to participants. Training Need compliance Index of 91% (target 80%) was achieved while maintaining a Training Effectiveness Index of 83% (target 75%).
Key Takeaways: Resource Planning Skills and Execution Skills. My Negotiation & Interpersonal Skills across functions helped me over-deliver on my targets while helping others achieve theirs. Coordination with Top Management to formulate training needs in-line with the vision of the organization.
Futuristic Approach: Your academic expertise, work experience should outline a story and you should be able to explain why you did what you did. Nothing beats a narrative. They should also converge towards the current job opening that you are applying to. Underplay less relevant experiences, highlight more similar roles & achievements in that role.
Achievements: Write 1-2 achievements for each assignment you have undertaken. This shows that you have been a performer in each role you have undertaken and can deliver even in your next assignment. It is not about what you say, but how you say that makes all the difference
End with hobbies: Hobbies reflect that you are more than what you have done at the professional level. They add definite value to your personality. Ideally, between 2-3, a recruiter would not usually judge you on your hobbies. But here are 2-3 words in your resume that can help you build a personal repo with the recruiter. Use them wisely.

Resume Writing: Tips & Tricks

Don’t write what you don’t know or things you haven’t done. There are 2 things that can happen when you write things you haven’t done or said more than what you have done.
- The interviewer cross-questions you about your work-experience and sees right through it. Your interview ends here!!
- The worse that could happen is that they do not find out. Now, they would ever expect from you and hence you would under-deliver in your role. This is a loss-loss situation for everyone
Right keywords: Resumes these days are digitally managed and HR managers search through them as and when required. The right combination of keywords would ensure that your resume pops up right at the top whenever you want it to. Try to use keywords that appeared in the job description. By doing this the chances of you getting selected increase as preliminary screening in most cases is done by machine these days. But again do not boast.
Write only positives. We, as humans make more subconscious decisions than conscious ones. Using negatives in the resume might reduce your chances of making through the cut. For example: Don’t write, I did not do A; instead, write, I was more focused on B than A
Exclude personal details: Don’t include your personal details in your resume. An interviewer is concerned about the skills you have. He would be least interested in what your father did or brother does or if your mother is a home-maker. He is interviewing you for the skills you have and would like to understand more of what value do you bring to the table.
Mention your Objective: Always try and mention your objective as what is your motive in life. If your objective matches the job profile then your chances of being hired increase. But try not to boast yourself or your objectives as this gives a negative impression.
Prioritise your content: Try to focus and give emphasis on your special achievements so as these things are considered first. Keep your achievements mentioned at the top.
Last, but not least. As Ramit Sethi says “50-60% of the words are not at all required”. Make sure that every single word on your resume earns its place.
Canva.com is 1 place I would recommend to create visually appealing resumes
Sometimes, the recruiter you apply to gets bombarded with 50-60 resumes a day & making sure than your resume stands out is the most effective way of getting shortlisted. No recruiter ever thinks “Hey, look this resume looks different!! Let’s reject it”

Resume formatting TIPS & tricks

Choose the basic font: Before writing the resumes choose the correct format. One should avoid going for stylish fonts and characters. The resume looks best when it is in the basic format and style.
Include all your contact details: While making a resume you should try and mention all your contact details especially phone numbers, so that the company can get into touch with you as smoothly and quickly as possible. Your complete address should be mentioned including your zip code.
Choose the correct type of resume: Based on your need and job profile try and choose the best resume format to apply. Depending on your circumstances you can choose a chronological, functional, combination, or a targeted resume. Take the time to write your resume.
Try and go for templates: Try to use a resume template to prepare your resume incorrect format. You can afterward customize the resume to your required format. You can check out some free resume making websites for your convenience
Avoid Copying: There is nothing more boring for Recruiters than to find similar resumes. Try to intrigue recruiters’ interest when he reads through your resume. Avoid copying someone else’s and making changes to it. Rather go for typing your resume yourself as this helps you make the required changes and you will never leave any unedited part behind. This also helps you recall what all is there in your resume as this is the part from where the interviewers ask the most questions from.
Resume Format: PDF resumes are most professional while submitting a resume over an email OR over the internet. A4 sheets are most convenient pick when submitting a resume in person.

5 things to avoid in your resume

When preparing your resume, it is important to avoid a few common mistakes that could negatively impact your chances of being considered for a job or internship. Here are some things to avoid in your resume:

Inconsistent formatting: Make sure that your resume is visually appealing and easy to read by using consistent formatting, such as font size and type, headings, and margins.
Grammar and spelling errors: Proofread your resume carefully to ensure that it is free of spelling and grammar errors. Even a small mistake can make you appear careless or untrustworthy.
Vague or irrelevant information: Focus on including relevant and specific information on your resume, rather than listing general or vague responsibilities. Use concrete examples and quantify your achievements whenever possible.
Omitting important information: Make sure to include all relevant information on your resume, including your education, work experience, and skills. If you have relevant achievements or awards, be sure to include them as well.
Using a generic or unprofessional email address: Use a professional email address on your resume, rather than a personal or casual one. This could include your name or a combination of your name and a professional keyword.

Overall, it is important to present yourself in the best possible light on your resume. By avoiding these common mistakes, you can increase your chances of standing out as a strong candidate.

Sample Resume of Vaibhav Chouhan

Key elements to note in the sample resume

Profile Summary and Career Objective are written under the head “Profile Summary”. Kindly note that the impact in numbers (Example: 2.5Lakh Job-seekers) speaks of genuinity and has a positive impact on the reader. More numbers in terms of the impact the individual has had on organisations will make the resume even more attractive (Example: Number of clients onboarded, candidates placed for experience at Zigsaw, churn and growth numbers for the experience at Wooqer)
Testimonial Snapshots: These are individual recommendations that the resume creator has received and it serves as a wonderful reference for the reader. Although, a better idea would have been to also include the designation of the individuals who have written the recommendations.
Academic Background and Experience Summary: A succinct educational background and work-experience summary on the RHS provides necessary details of the individual. An AIR of 2430 in IIT JEE and an AIR of 1540 would have made the resume look better.
Contact Information: Contact email address, mobile number and LinkedIn profile link provide an easy access to the individual.

P.S. Zigsaw has decide to help 1 individual every week for improving their resume and provide a 1:1 consultation absolutely FREE. You can simply share this article about creating a superstar resume on LinkedIn and share an email at runika.bordia@zigsaw.in with the screenshot of your share. Our team would pick 1 individual for a personalised consultation every week

Some individuals go the extra mile and create a very creative resume for themselves. This definitely turns a lot of heads, grabs attention and in some cases even lands individuals great Jobs. Another creative resume by Aakash Neeraj Mittal grabbed a lot of attention earlier.

Conclusion

Resume writing is also an art that helps you get what you deserve. It is the first impression of you on the employer. Always write or build up your resume with ease and using sufficient time. Never work in haste. A good resume helps you to get a good job.

Other useful links

After you have built the right Resume, you can make use of Zigsaw’s social media reach to find the right Job for you