The perfect applicant for any job profile is required to have a certain set of skills and qualifications as required by the profile to get shortlisted by the recruiters. And you need the perfect resume to communicate your potential to the recruiters.
Would you be surprised to know that only 2% of job applicants get shortlisted for an interview? So an ordinary resume will get you nowhere!
Draft a killer resume that will help you land your dream job with these 5 essentials of curating the perfect resume:
Choose a suitable resume format
Every applicant has different professional experiences and history that needs to be curated in a suitable resume format according to their needs.
Whether you need a resume format to effectively list your extensive work experience or you need one that will cover-up your career gaps without being deceptive, you can choose from the resume formats given below and pick out the one that works the best for you.
- Reverse Chronological Resume Format: This format is the most preferred resume format wherein you need to mention your professional experience, internships, education, certifications, etc. in the reverse chronology. It means you need to start by mentioning the most recent profile/education, dating back to the oldest one. Use this format only if you have no career gaps and extensive years in work experience.
- Functional Resume Format: However, this format is the least preferred but it is suitable for those who frequently switch from job to job as it is ideal for covering career gaps. It emphasizes your skills instead of your professional roles making it more skill-based. In this format, all your contributions across your profiles need to be clubbed together under relevant functions.
- Combination Resume Format: This format can be used in place of the reverse chronological resume format. It is a combination of both the functional and reverse-chronological formats where equal importance is given to both your skills and professional experience.
Create a master resume
A master resume is a must-have for everyone who needs to create or update a resume. It is the master folder wherein you can gather every piece of information that may be needed to curate a resume.
Before you start drafting your killer resume, create a master folder and simply drop down any information related to your professional experience, internships, certifications, education, awards or recognitions, etc. here.
Doing so will not only save your precious time but help avoid missing out on any important details that can help enhance your resume.
And the best part is that it can be used not only in your current timeline but also when you need to update your resume in the future. So do not worry about listing only the details required in your current resume but simply compile every information that you deem necessary to be used in the future updates of your resume as well.
Frame one-liners and use bucketing and bolding
An average recruiter spends 6 seconds analyzing a resume which is a very short time window for them to recognize every aspect of your potential but you can make them recognize all the highlights of your career by framing effective professional experience points.
Use bullet points to frame one-liners and make it easier for the recruiters to read your professional experience statements.
Make the recruiters easily see what they are looking for by creating different headings and list out all the similar points under these relevant buckets. You can also bold the highlights of your career in a well-organized manner to make it easier for the recruiters to read and comprehend your points.
While framing your professional experience points, you need to communicate the backdrop of your work and make them recognize your potential by creating a relation between your work and the task you performed to emphasize the positive outcomes your work led to.
You can refer to the action-oriented accomplishment statements espoused by Princeton University to understand more.
Provide only the required personal information
You need to provide your contact number, email address, and current address on resume in the personal information section.
Provide your active contact number for the recruiters to get in touch with you for any likely shortlist or they may even need to interview you over the phone.
Avoid giving out email IDs that have fancy or fictitious names because it can make the recruiters take you as unprofessional which may lead to the rejection of your resume.
It may seem like a minor issue in a resume but when it comes to professional affairs you must always maintain a professional approach and the same implies to your email address.
Mention your state and country if you are willing to move to other countries for the sake of your job else simply mention your current city and state of residence.
Always check the hiring guidelines of the organization that you are applying to because the hiring requirements might be different for each organization you apply to.
Compose your resume summary
Compose the resume summary at the last step of the resume-writing process as it is easier to decide what to write and what to skip at the end.
Scan through your professional experience section and pick out the most significant highlights of your career and write them in your resume summary. Then pick the most relevant skills from the key skills on resume and add them in your resume summary.
A resume summary needs to be composed if you have extensive years of work experience to make the recruiters recognize your potential.
Your resume summary should give the recruiters an insight into your professional achievements and contributions and make them recognize your skills and potential to deem you as a suitable applicant.
Conclusion
We have come to the end of our article wherein we have listed the 5 essentials of a killer resume that can help you curate the perfect resume in 2020.
Here are some key takeaways for you to remember while framing a killer resume:
- Make sure to use only the suitable resume format that suits your professional experience.
- Always create a master resume to gather all your information and details.
- Avoid writing lengthy paragraphs and stick to one-liner points to state your professional experience.
- Do not mention unnecessary personal details unless specifically asked for.
- Compose your resume summary at the last step of resume-writing.
