18/09/2015
Get that resume right track
I NEED A JOB!
TIPS TO BUILDING EFFECTIVE RÉSUMÉS
Your résumé is often your first introduction to a potential employer, and the difference between a stellar resume and a lackluster one could make or break your chances at landing that dream job.
Whether you’re putting together your first résumé or trying to polish up one you already have, the following points are worth considering.
First, a quick look at the difference between a resume and a curriculum vitae.
A résumé is typically not more than a page long, and contains a summary of a person's relevant job experience and education. A curriculum vitae - which means "course of life" in Latin - is a longer document that includes details of important but relatively less relevant things, like a more detailed description of education, publications, awards, affiliations and other academic accomplishments.
Most companies prefer a résumé due to its brevity, considering the volumes of applications they receive.
First things first
The first thing on your resume should be your name. It should be bold and with a larger font than the rest of the text. Make sure that your contact details are clearly listed. Secondly, both the name and contact details should be included on all the pages of the resume (if you have more than one). For the records, giving your resume or CV a title such as "Résumé" or "Curriculum Vitae", is archaic (try that in the 80's), redundant and unnecessary.
Get the purpose right
Some people write a resume as if the purpose of the document was to land a job. As a result they end up with a really long and boring piece that makes them look like desperate job hunters. Here’s the truth– it is rare to get hired by simply submitting a résumé –the purpose of the résumé is to help get you an interview. The objective of your resume is to land an interview, and the interview will land you the job (hopefully!).
Use the right keywords
These days most companies make use of the Applicant Tracking System (ATS), to search for candidates. This means that the HR department will run search queries based on specific keywords. Guess what, if your resume doesn’t have the keywords related to the job you are applying for, you will be out even before the game starts.
These keywords will usually be nouns. Check the job description and related job ads for a clue on what the employer might be looking for. Keywords should also appear in the rest of your resume beyond the profile or summary section. The ATS not only looks for keywords but also ranks them on a weighted basis according to the importance of the word to the job criteria, with some keywords considered mandatory and others that are merely desirable. The keywords can also be weighted and your resume ranked according to how many times mandatory words appear in your resume. If your document contains no mandatory keywords, the keyword search obviously will overlook your resume. Those with the greatest "keyword density" will be chosen for the next round of screening, this time by a human. Generally, the more specific a keyword is to a particular job or industry, the more heavily it will be weighted. Skills that apply to many jobs and industries tend to be less weighty.
You can check out this link to determine how your resume keywords compare to the job you are applying for. https://www.jobscan.co
Put the most important information first
This point is valid both to the overall order of your resume, as well as to the individual sections. Most of the times your previous work experience will be the most important part of the resume, so put it at the top. When describing your experiences or skills, list the most important ones first.
.. to be continued.
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