The Do’s and Dont’s of Writing a Winning Resume

Gone are the days when a resume carried only the basic information about the job applicant: name, address, educational qualifications and work experience. Today, a resume is a professional marketing tool for the job seeker, where at a quick glance, the prospective employer can know the existing skill sets of the candidate, how keen he or she is to adapt to the available systems or technologies of the new company and what additional value they can add to the company in general. Today’s job market, in any field, is as competitive as ever and to stand out from the crowd, the first impression matters a lot and that is carried by your resume!

The musts for every resume: There is some mandatory information which a resume must carry. These include:

• Name, address and contact phone number.
• Job titles or the name of the designation that you are applying for. Different companies have different standards but make sure that you give a brief explanation of the job you are applying for, if the title does not do this explanation.
• The names of companies where you have worked earlier and their addresses.
• Job responsibilities/duties: What kind of jobs do you have experience in?
• Licenses and certifications.
• Educational qualifications.
• Professional memberships.
• Mention any special skills which you think might add value to the position that you are applying for or, the organization in general. Remember, this is one of your unique selling points and can differentiate you from the rest of applicants.

Now that you have incorporated the basic information, you can now showcase your talents and past achievements in such a way that it sounds interesting to the reader. There should be one good reason why the company should hire you – and do not forget to mention that.

What you must omit in a resume: Just like there are musts for every resume, there are many points, which, according to experts are best if omitted. These include:

• The compensation package which you were used to or desire from this company. When an employer asks an applicant about salary, they have one of the two things in mind: can they afford you or how cheap are your services?
• Never write the word ‘resume’ or ‘bio data’ on top. It is really irrelevant. Both of you know what piece of information this paper contains.
• Mention the names of references on a separate sheet to make the job of the recruiter faster and easier. Writing a sentence like “can be provided upon request’ unnecessarily delays the process of recruitment.
• It is not necessary to write the reasons why you left your past job. If needed, they themselves will ask you.
• Your religious or political affiliations are in no way a matter of concern for the future employer. Mentioning this may jeopardize your chances of employment. In any case, by law such information can not be a criterion for judging a candidate for recruitment.
• Any negative feeling, comment or apprehension about any topic. After all, this is your first medium of interacting with the future employer and you want to build a positive environment around and about you.

Once you have carefully removed any no-no’s from your resume and have included all the must-have information it is time to seriously think of the points which will make you in a class your own and set you apart from the crowd of aspirants. Points like any record of military service, or any achievement in the field of your hobby or favorite pastime can be mentioned as these attributes or achievements reveal the ‘person’ that you are and employers would also like to see that side of you. There could even be indirect skills which can be used within the organization. Some resume writers like to include a personal mission statement which puts across your personal goals and ambitions in your professional life. These types of short sentences throw up your focus in life which many employers like to read. Whatever you write, avoid using vague and ambiguous language; be brief, simple and direct.

The format or style in which you present your resume is also a point of consideration. While the chronological format (latest information to oldest or the reverse) is by far the popular, it can get very boring to read. This type of format also may not give you the opportunity to highlight any special or attention-grabbing information about yourself or your achievements.

Then there is the functional format which many job seekers use, which summarizes their job experience, highlighting some key points of achievement or uniqueness about themselves. People often use this format for hide some critical information like a break in their job, or any particular functional weakness which they may have.

According to experts, one of the best formats where you can ably highlight your personal achievements both in the professional as well as personal fields is to take the best of both the above formats and combine them to make your own resume. For instance take the achievement highlighting portion of the functional format and combine it with the work history of the chronological format. This will make the resume, easy to read, and can bring out the strengths of the aspirant in a smoother way, without sounding jerky or boisterous.

Writing a resume that sells is not that tough, provided you follow these simple don’s and don’ts as listed above. Remember, the whole purpose of writing a winning resume is to make the resume stand out in a crowd. Be brief, honest, precise and assertive so that the future employer realizes what they are missing out, if they do not hire you!