How to Write a Resume: The Complete Guide

It takes just 7 seconds for a recruiter to sort your resume into the “interview” or “rejected” pile – that’s less time than it takes to finish your burger, send a text message, or tell someone you love them. Even forwarded whatsapp messages have a longer time span to grab your attention.  Making a resume is a tactful exercise. With right keywords and accurate past job responsibilities, everyone can create an attention-grabbing CV, sometimes better than professional resume writers, that becomes the stepping-stone of your next job interview.   

A resume profile summary is a short introduction placed at the top of a CV. It lists key strengths, major projects undertaken, and most relevant experience. It can be anything between 1-5 sentences and comes below job seeker’s contact information. Some job seekers, especially freshers choose to write a CV personal statement instead of a resume summary as they do not have much experience to show in their CV. 

“References available on request!” 

You may have seen this written on many CVs. Many executives use references as a part of their CV personal statement. However, this line does not serve much purpose. Today, a job seeker is expected to be active on various social media platforms, especially Linkedin. Professional CV writing builds an individual’s profile in such a way that references are automatically collected on the online pages. You can present the list of your references if asked. Some companies require reference letters if the line of work is personal or attaches a very significant value to the business or its owner. To make sure you have enough references in your biodata format, keep collecting/printing a copy of appreciation emails and reference letters from supervisors and coworkers. 

This is the most overlooked aspect of CV writing. Most people do not realize that typos or seemingly small grammatical errors make or break their CV. Imagine applying for Manager Customer Service job and not being able to distinguish between “you’re” and “your”. Writing a professional resume isn’t enough. Every vacancy gets tons of job applications, and if you are unwilling to put your 100% in your CV preparation, then you’ll never be successful in getting your dream job. Professional resume writers advise on not disregarding CV as just a piece of paper. It is your personal advertisement that markets you to the outside world, most of which does not know you. It creates their perception about you, so better watch those avoidable mistakes that can result in getting disqualified from an interview.

How to proofread your CV? 

• Print your resume. 
• Take help of a trusted friend/co-worker to ensure you’ve written everything correctly. 
• Edit out the unnecessary information
• Go through it line by line.
• Read it backwards. 
• Use spellchecks software.  

According to HR directors and career coaches, the top reasons why many student resumes fail to generate interviews is that they are not written for industry-specific roles. Too many resumes are weakly generated, with students copying the format and skills from each other. Writing the CV for specific audience is a major preparation tool. Cover letters can help you connect your education with the job, but they can’t do so without the support from a persuasively written audience-oriented resume. 

To begin your resume writing process for the first time, do one of the following:

• Go through at least five job postings similar to the one that you are applying for. Note done the skills that they have demanded. Use online search to find relevant keywords to begin writing your student resume. 
• Speak to at least 4-5 people who have relevant industry experience in the field in which you want to apply. Request writing tips from them to understand what the most sought-after skills are. Some of the common ones include attention to detail, desire to learn, computer language, responsible, self-starter, etc.

Executive resume is part of high-impact career program, and when written accurately, can yield unmatched results. It focusses on accomplishments, branding, uniqueness, keywords and appearance. An executive resume must have a future-oriented flavour, with an emphasise on results, outcomes and career-shaping performance indicators.  

Only measurable accomplishments help you to set a tone of branding and leverage the strength of all the past job experiences. Most professional resume writers do the mistake of making a responsibility-drive CV instead of accomplishments-driven resume. Another common misconception is that when someone is applying for a senior post, the resume must be crammed with every bit of information. On the contrary, recruiters love CVs that have neatly written information and a lot of white spaces in between. It gives them enough of time to go through details without their eyes getting confused at all the crammed information.