How to create a good Resume 14.1 Introduction Objectives 14.2 Contents of Good Resume 14.3 Guidelines for Writing Resume 14.4 Different Types of Resumes 14.5 Reason for a Cover Letter to Apply for a Job Format of Cover Letter 14.6 Different Types of Cover Letters 14.7 Summary 14.1 Introduction >From the previous unit, we have seen that reading skill is an essential part of communication skills without which we are unable to communicate to the writer. This unit describes how communication in writing can be useful in getting the right job for the right person. It describes how to write a good cover letter, which informs the reader about the candidates profile, before viewing the resume. We have heard from our seniors and friends that, to apply for a job we need to write a resume and a covering letter. However, we either have a vague idea of it, or we still do not know the exact requirement of a recruiter. 14.2 Contents of Good Resume Employment communication involves a complex process that includes employment letters, job applications and resumes. In todays global competitive world where there is cut-throat competition among the job- seekers, it has become mandatory to have a good professional looking resume to increase your credibility in job market. No employer is under any obligation or compulsion to invite an applicant for the job interview without which he will not be able to judge the right candidate suitable for the right job. Before we experience what a resume contains, we need to know the meaning of a resume, and the difference between a resume and a curriculum vitae. Curriculum vitae describes the achievements of the candidate in detail, whereas a resume describes the same facts and figures in short. There is no such definite format for a resume, but surely there is a correct way to present it before the interviewer. The design of a resume largely depends on the individuals education, achievement, career goals, background check and professional experience. It is common that the contents of the resume prepared by the candidate maybe the same, but the format, structure and emphasis could be quite different. Thus, a good resume should answer the following questions: a. Did the candidate mention his contact number and mail address correctly? b. Is the candidate clear about his career objectives in life? c. Which institutions, courses both academically and professionally are required, and that you attended? d. What is your work experience, and whether you have done swot analysis of your own? e. Any career achievements or any special skill or capabilities acquired during the course of work? f. Any awards, honors received? g. Personal hobbies, interests, sports or any activities involved? h. Any references from the past employers, professors or any person who is not your relative. Answering to these questions provides the employer with relevant information required to see whether the applicant actually fits into the job profile. These information when integrated into one is termed as resume. It is generally two pages explaining the above points, whereas CV, is a longer (two or more pages), more detailed synopsis. The standard contents of a resume includes heading, position sought, career objective, education, work experience, specific skill, achievement, activities, interests and reference. Each of these is explained briefly as under: . Heading: It generally contains the name of the candidate, the contact information, email address and full contact address. Incase if the candidate is residing at his temporary residence, it is always advisable to give his permanent address . . Position sought: This is normally found that position sought is not included in the resume even though the employer has given the said position in the advertisement. It is generally given in the cover letter in the subject line, which is another form of business letter as discussed previously. . Career objective: This part is generally included before the work experience and the academic part. The career objective or goal is directly related to the job for which the candidate has applied. In other words, it should be highly focused, one sentence statement and should be related to the organization goal and objective. Example 1: To work as a system manager in a leading IT company where I will have opportunities to harness my skill, knowledge and experience with VB, Java, C++, .NET, SQL and Cobol. Example 2: A summer job as a research associate with an academic institute, which requires skill in conducting field study, research and preparing project reports. A general resume with no specific job position mentioned would express general career goals and tell the potential employers about the work you would be hoping to do or you are in absolute control of it. Example 3: Seeking a suitable position in project management, or challenging position in maintenance of heavy electrical machines, or sales position in different insurance schemes. . Professional summary: It is sometimes found that when a candidate is highly experienced, career objective becomes redundant and professional summary takes its place. It is because the candidate has to prove as per the experience he has gathered in the number of years on the job he has applied rather than his career objective, because he is aware of his career goal and to what extent he can reach. Career objective is normally used by freshers or with people with less than three years of experience. The following are some examples illustrated below: Example 1: Eight years of rich experience in customer support to users in networking, routing, switching and security as System Security Analyst at Convergent. Example 2: Twenty three years of experience in human resource department as Sr. Manager-HR, dealing with training, compensation, recruitment at IBM. . Education: This part of the resume deals with the academic qualification of the candidate. It includes the name of the school/ college/ university you attended, board you passed from, the dates you passed, the degree you achieved, subject you studied (major ones only), marks you obtained and the division acquired. If the marks are not standard or the division is low, try to omit either of them. Any training programme, workshops and seminar the candidate has attended should be included. Reverse chronological order is used to list educational information, that is, starting from the recent one to the first one. . Work experience: This is the most important part of the resume where the candidate should detail down his experience and an overview about his work. Prior work profile is a vital part of hiring the applicant. This part should be carefully drafted in the resume highlighting the areas of competencies the candidate has acquired during his tenure of service with the organization. This is also done in the reverse chronological order with the recent employment at first. It includes date of joining and leaving, position held, name of the organization, job responsibilities handled, location and any other particular accomplishments during the period of service. . Special skills: It includes any specific skills the applicant has achieved during his course of employment, and its relevance to the job he has applied for. Examples such as computer programming, computer processing, hardware maintenance, learning skills, specific machine handling, safety regulations and latest operational techniques. . Extra Curricular Activities: It is included to show that the applicant is fast, has a friendly attitude, dynamic, participative and has the capability to lead from the front. . Achievements: Here, the applicant registers his achievements and accomplishments from his school/ college days and workplace trying to distinguish him from the rest of the group. It actually talks about his awards, special certificates, distinctions or any recognition he has received till date. . References: This is not a mandatory disclosure for the applicant. It is on the request of the employer that applicant is required to give the name of the referees who should not be a relative at all. It is to be noted that the names, occupation, designation, contact number of the referees are clearly mentioned in the resume. People included in the reference position can be previous boss, professor, research guide, immediate supervisor, subordinates and so on. Self Assessment Questions 1. You may have to rewrite your resume for every new job you apply for because every job has its own specific requirements. (True or False). True 2. Employment communication is an important part of the communication process because of ________________. Global competition. 3. A resume is drafted with an objective to highly your to experience employer. Highlight, experience, potential. 14.3 Guidelines for Writing Resume In the previous section, we have seen the different contents that a resume should contain. In this section, we would know on what parameters the resume stands. In other words, it is basically a guideline regarding font, size, line spacing, how it should appear professionally and many other things. Let us see them one by one: . Give the resume a professional look: A resume should be clean, and giving a professional look with the style chosen according to the background of the applicant. It should be designed to meet the requirements of the prospective employer, and hence should highlight and focus on the main sections, which the applicant has achieved. Do not have decorative design or use such typography, which will make the work of the employer difficult. . Readable: A resume should be neat and readable. Well defined headings and white space to demarcate each one of them may be used. It is always recommended to use standard Times New Roman font and size 12 throughout the resume. Avoid using graphs or any type of figures in the resume. . Computer friendly: The file in which the resume is saved should be in normal word - 2003 because till now it is mostly used by every one. Avoid saving it in PDF format or any other format. . Be factual, complete and objective: Fact used in the resume should be checked twice, avoiding any type of misinformation being passed to the employer. Academic qualification, percentage of marks, date of joining and leaving an organization, email-id, postal address, fathers name, telephone numbers should be verified before the copy is sent to the employer. The information should be in a logical, easy-to-read sequence. . Take care of grammar, spelling, vocabulary and punctuation: It is to be noted that a good resume is the one, which does not contain any mistakes as long as English is concerned. Try to maintain British English in terms of language used. Usage of simple vocabulary is always advised. . Appropriate writing style: Avoid using the pronouns like I and my in the objective part. Instead, use it as shown in the example. Responsible for advertisement and marketing of the product (include the product name) nationally and globally rather to say I was responsible for advertisement and marketing of the product (include the product name) nationally and globally. . Specific details to be mentioned: It is always advisable to mention any achievements, accomplishments, training, new skill acquired or any type of problem solved single-handedly. . Copies: A resume should be neatly typed in an A4 size bond paper without any errors. It should be checked before sending it to the employer. Note that a resume should always contain a cover letter, which would be discussed in detail in the latter part of this unit. It should not be typed on the back of the first page. Use separate A4 paper to complete it. Use 1.25 lines spacing after each line to make it clearly visible to the employer. . Length of a resume: A typical resume of a graduate with no work experience should not be more that one page. Remember that a lengthy resume has a higher rate of rejection if relevant or important information are not given in it. For post graduates with work experience, it can go up to three pages maximum, but not more than that at all. . Closure: It is always said that every resume should contain the signature of the applicant with the date on the left hand corner, otherwise the resume stands cancelled. Self Assessment Questions 4. A resume should maintain certain standards. Tick the correct one. a) Computer friendly and reference check. b) Extra-curricular activities and heading to be clear. c) Readable and professional outlook. d) Tenure, punctuation, line spacing. c) Readable and professional outlook. 5. A resume should be written in ____________ font and saved in _____________format. 5. Times New Roman, word - 2003. 14.4 Different Types of Resumes >From the above section we conclude that when writing a resume certain guidelines and patterns are to be maintained so that it gives a professional touch when the interviewer goes through the lines. Now, choosing the appropriate type or style of the resume is the most important task an applicant faces while writing the resume. It is because he should know exactly which type of resume he needs to use to enhance his job prospect. After all, it is the interviewer who has to be pleased with the format and the information placed in front of him. Personal checklist is included within the resume to let the interviewer know about the candidates family background and confirmation of his age. The three acceptable resume types are: . Chronological Resume . Functional Resume . Combination Resume Let us explain each one of them in brief to have an idea about how it looks like: . Chronological Resume: Generally, this is the most common style adopted by applicants where the focus is on education and work experience. It tries to define clearly the past employment records, the job profile and education in the chronological order, starting with the latest work experience or the highest qualification the applicant has last attended. An example of a chronological resume is described in Fig 1. Chronological Resume Vinod Bhave 115, Andheri West Mumbai - 0225 Position Sought: Manager- Project. Career Objective: Seeking an opportunity as a project manager where I would like to utilize my skill and experience in the most judicious manner. I would like to learn new methods and techniques to equip myself to the latest technology and implement it to the betterment of the organization in future. Work Experience: Working as Team Leader - Metro Projects for Larsen& Turbo, Delhi from June, 2001 till date. Job description briefly summarized as under: . Supervision of the total laying of railway track from Connaught Place to Rohini- sector 5. . Liaison with the vendors and suppliers of sand and other materials. . Completed the civil project of overhead construction from Daryagunj to Punjabi Bagh. . Laying of drainage pipe, electricity cabling and other utility services. Worked as Assistant Manager- Project for Subhas Project, Calcutta from January 1995 to May, 2001. Job responsibilities undertaken: . Assisted in project management in civil at a number of sites around Kolkata, under Mani Group. . Was in-charge of procurement of civil & electrical materials from registered vendors. . Was responsible in planning, monitoring and maintaining the best construction as per standards. Education: Academic Qualification . Passed Bachelor of Engineering from Delhi Engineering College in1994 securing 65% marks . Passed class XII from Raisana High School, Delhi in 1992 securing 75% marks . Passed class X from St. Joseph School, Varanasi in 1990 securing 80% marks. Professional Qualification: Passed Advanced Diploma in System Management from Indian Institute of Computer Application, Delhi in 1994. Special Skills: Proficient in using MS- Project and Ms-Office. Was responsible in solving some critical labour problem at site. Is an active member of the Crisis Management team Able to take decisions and implement it when required. Possess excellent communication and interpersonal skill both in English and local language (Hindi). Activities: Member of Indian Institute of Engineers, Delhi Member of Mountain Dew Trekkers, Shimla. Achievement: National Talent Search Scholarship, 1988 National Mathematics Olympiad champion, 1989 Interests & Sports: Took part in football, cricket and badminton. Actively learnt hip-hop dance and classical(vocal). Participated in debate and extempore. Personal Checklist Fathers name: Mr. U.S. Bhave Date of birth: 01.01.1959 Marital Status: Married Language: English, Hindi, Guajarati Nationality: Indian Reference: Furnished on request Date: Signature Name of the candidate . Functional Resume: From the previous resume, we see that it is more concerned with educational and work experience, whereas a functional resume highlights the applicants achievement, accomplishments and the skill he has acquired during the course of his employment. This resume is best suited for an employer who wants to know what the applicant has done during his course of employment, experience and would he be able to work under pressure. An example of a functional resume is described in Fig 2. Functional Resume Vinod Bhave 115, Andheri West, Mumbai - 0225 Position Sought: Manager- Project. Career Objective: Seeking an opportunity as a project manager where I would like to utilize my skill and experience in the most judicious manner. I would like to learn new methods and techniques to equip myself with the latest technology and implement it to the betterment of the organization in future. Project Management: . Supervision of the total laying of railway track from Connaught Place to Rohini- sector 5. . Liaison with the vendors and suppliers. . Completed the civil project of overhead construction from Daryagunj to Punjabi Bagh. . Laying of drainage pipe, electricity cabling and other utility services. . Completed the project ahead of the schedule time. Coordination and Customer Relations: Assisted in civil construction at a number of sites around Kolkata, under Subhas Group. . Was in-charge of procurement of civil & electrical materials from registered vendors . Was responsible in planning, monitoring and maintaining the best construction as per standards. . Was responsible in giving technical presentation to the clients about the progress. Special Skills: . Proficient in using MS- Project and Ms-Office. . Was responsible in solving some critical labour problem at site. . Is an active member of the Crisis Management team. . Able to take decisions and implement it when required . Possess excellent communication and interpersonal skill, both in English and local language (Hindi). . Took part in 2 week training in sustainable development programme. Education . Passed Bachelor of Engineering from Delhi Engineering College in 1994 securing 65% marks . Passed class XII from Raisana High School, Delhi in 1992 securing 75% marks . Passed class X from St. Joseph School, Varanasi in 1990 securing 80% marks. Professional Qualification . Passed Advanced Diploma in System Management from Indian Institute of Computer Application, Delhi in 1994. Employment Records . June, 2001 till date - presently working as Team Leader with Larsen& Tubro at Delhi. . Jan,1995 to May,2001 Assistant Manager - Project with Subhas Projects at Kolkata. Activities . Member of Indian Institute of Engineers, Delhi . Member of Mountain Dew Trekkers, Shimla. Interest & Sports: Took part in football, cricket and badminton. Actively learnt hip-hop dance and classical(vocal). Participated in debate and extempore. Personal Checklist Fathers name: Mr. U.S. Bhave Date of birth: 01.01.1959 Marital Status: Married Language: English, Hindi, Gujrati Nationality: Indian Reference: Furnished on request Date: Signature Name of the candidate . Combination Resume: As the name suggests, it is a combination of both the functional and the chronological resume. This type contains both the detailed study of the applicants work experience and the educational qualification as well as the skills or training he has achieved. An example of a functional resume is described in Fig 3. Combination Resume Vinod Bhave 115, Andheri West, Mumbai - 0225 Position Sought: Manager- Project. Special Skills: . Proficient in using MS- Project and Ms-Office. . Was responsible in solving some critical labour problem at site. . Is an active member of the Crisis Management team. . Able to take decisions and implement it when required. . Possesses excellent communication and interpersonal skill both in English and local language (Hindi). . Conversant in structural design and fabrication. Education . Passed Bachelor of Engineering from Delhi Engineering College in 1994 securing 65% marks . Passed class XII from Raisana High School, Delhi in 1992 securing 75% marks . Passed class X from St. Joseph School, Varanasi in 1990 securing 80% marks. Professional Qualification . Passed Advanced Diploma in System Management from Indian Institute of Computer Application, Delhi in 1994. Employment Records . June, 2001 till date presently working as Team Leader with Larsen & Tubro at Delhi. . Jan,1995 to May,2001 Assistant Manager - Project with Subhas Projects at Kolkata. Work Experience . Supervision of the total laying of railway track from Connaught Place to Rohini - sector 5. . Liaison with the vendors and suppliers. . Completed the civil project of overhead construction from Daryagunj to Punjabi Bagh. . Laying of drainage pipe, electricity cabling and other utility services. . Completed the project ahead of the schedule time. . Assisted in civil construction at a number of sites around Kolkata, under Subhas Group. . Was in-charge of procurement of civil & electrical materials from registered vendors. . Was responsible in planning, monitoring and maintaining the best construction as per standards. . Was responsible in giving technical presentation to the clients about the progress. Activities . Member of Indian Institute of Engineers, Delhi . Member of Mountain Dew Trekkers, Shimla. Interest & Sports: Took part in football, cricket and badminton. Actively learnt hip-hop dance and classical (vocal). Participated in debate and extempore. Personal checklist Fathers name: Mr. U.S. Bhave Date of birth: 01.01.1959 Marital Status: Married Language: English, Hindi, Gujrati Nationality: Indian Reference: Furnished on request Date: Signature Name of the candidate Self-Assessment Questions 6. A chronological resume differs from a functional resume because it focuses more on ____________ rather than skill and _____________. 7. Every type of resume includes information in respect to the age, family and nationality. Name the section which describes it. 8. Reference when given, should be ___________ and __________ to the referee before it is included in the resume. It should not contain any names of ___________. Activity 1: Refer to an advertisement given in The Telegraph dated 15th March, 2004 for the post of Software Engineer with 3 yrs of experience in Java, Dot Net, J2EE and Cobol. Draft a resume in the combination format. 14.5 Reason for a Cover Letter to Apply for a Job Prospective job seekers need to draft a good cover letter to get an interview call from the employers. It is an acceptance of the invitation of the employer who has advertised so generously through newspaper or hoardings or job portals, and you are interested in participating in it. Its basic purpose is to prompt the employer to read your resume. The covering letter should not exceed one typed page and it should not have the same points as already described in the resume. Like a business letter, it consists of three parts such as - the introductory part, the body and the concluding part. It should be short, simple and attractive, which gives the summary of the resume to the employer. The main idea behind it is to stimulate the recruiters interest and justify why you are the best candidate for the said job. 14.5.1 Format of cover letter We have already seen in the above paragraph the reason for a cover letter; we shall now discuss the format in which a covering letter should be written. As mentioned earlier, it consists of an introductory part, a body and finally the concluding part. Let us now discuss them one by one: Introductory paragraph: It is the most important part of the covering letter because; it sets the tone and the focus of the application letter. It is to find out whether the applicant is writing in response to any of the advertisement to the employer or is exploring any possible openings in the firm/organization, department. One needs to convince the employer what USP or unique selling points he has to prove, which is worthy in contributing to accomplish the organization goals. If the applicant is writing in response to an advertisement, he needs to focus on his experience and his qualifications which perfectly match the requirement of the employer and whether he has some reference of a known person who is also known to the employer. It is because nowadays employers prefer to have known people rather than absolute strangers, though this is not always mandatory. If the applicant is writing a forced application and is trying to explore any possible openings in the organization, more persuasive style is adopted in the introduction part. Body: After the applicant has introduced himself to the employer, he needs to highlight his strong areas where the employer can differentiate him from the rest of the applicant. He validates his claims given in the resume by giving short description of his experience he has undertaken or the training he has attended. However, it is important to note that the description should be brief, to the point and direct. It gives a clue to the employer how eligible the applicant is for the said post as advertised and how he/she can be of great value / asset to the organization. Concluding paragraph: This part states the closing of the letter. The applicant actually conveys to the recruiter how motivating it would be if he gets an interview call. He should be able to convey his interest towards the job and that he needs to meet him for a face-to face interaction as soon as possible at the prescribed time and venue as advertised. If it is a forced application, then the applicant should give his own preference for the interview and should keep himself open and flexible to the choice of the employer also. Incase the applicant has any time constraint or any preference with valid reason, he/she needs to mention it in his/her cover letter. This is because the employer gets the information and passes it on to the recruitment manager for further processing in the selection process. 14.6 Different Types of Cover letter We have discussed the contents of the cover letter in the previous section. We will now see how a covering letter for a sales job, and how a forced job application is written to an employer. Sales covering letter Introductory part: As I am a B.Tech in Chemical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur with ten years of experience in selling Filtration and Fluid Purification Products and Equipment covering applications such as Hydraulic fluids, Process fluids, I have got the requisite qualification as advertised in your advertisement for the post of Sales and Application Engineer at the filtration division of your company. OR In response to your advertisement in Times of India, dated 19th March 2010, I would like to put forward my candidature for the position of Sales and Application Engineer in your esteemed organization. I am a B.Tech in Chemical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur and have ten years of experience in selling Filtration and Fluid Purification Products and Equipment covering applications such as Hydraulic fluids, Process fluids. Body: During my tenure of ten years, I was involved in developing marketing strategies and programme to address key issues such analyzing market competition, conducting a market survey, developing market plan for launching of new products and exploring new markets as Sales Engineer at Larsen & Tubro. Concluding Part: I am confident that I possess all the necessary qualifications for the above position and would be able to contribute to the growth of your company turnover. OR I am excited by the opportunity you have advertised, and I believe that I would prove to be an asset and increase your volume of sales in the forthcoming year. I look forward to having an opportunity to meet and discuss with you at the earliest as per your convenience, about Sales and Application Engineer position. OR I would appreciate meeting with you to discuss how my experience of Sales in Hydraulic Fluid and Process fluid could contribute to your company. I can be contacted at (011) 22244551. / You can reach me at (011) 22244551 after 6.00 p.m. or contact me via email: pratul.singh@ gmail. Forced job application Introductory part: Is your well diversified infrastructure industrial conglomerate on the lookout for dynamic sales engineer with relevant years of experience in Hydraulics and Process fluid for your firm, which is distinctive in its commitment to become the leader in this industry? OR Are you looking for dynamic and enthusiastic professionals who have sufficient hands-on experience in developing marketing strategies for hydraulics and after sales service for gaining greater product viability in the northern part of India? Body: During the past ten years of my experience, I have gained hands-on experience in brand sales and advertisement as Sr. Sales Engineer (northern division). My track record in the resume reflects outstanding success in building and maintaining customer relationship, effective pricing strategies, developing marketing strategies according to local customers requirements and appointment of agents and small distributors in remote areas. With excellent client level relationship, communication, management skills and the ability to make customers realize the importance of its usage, I would like to put my professional knowledge and experience before you and make things achievable to meet the targets at end. Concluding part: I am confident that I possess all the necessary qualifications for the above position and would be able to contribute to the growth of your company turnover. OR I look forward to having an opportunity to meet and discuss with you at the earliest as per your convenience, about Sales and Application Engineer position. OR I can be contacted at (011) 22244551. / You can reach me at (011) 22244551 after 6.00 p.m. or contact me via email: pratul.singh@ gmail. Some important points need to be reviewed before we draft a job application letter. . Give the letter a professional look. It should be a standard business letter and easily readable. Avoid the using of jargons or extensive vocabulary. . Line spacing should be 1.5 inch and it should be always in New Times Roman font with font size as 12. . Use positive tone and be focused on the actual objective, the most important thing in the cover letter. . Show genuine interest and use specific details whereever required. . Organize the letter well. Consistency of grammar, spelling and punctuations wherever required, should be maintained throughout the letter. Self Assessment Questions 9. A cover letter is required to be written to gain attention of the recruiter. 10. The body of the cover letter describes the employees Strong areas. to differ him from other applicants. 11. Concluding paragraph is to thank the employer that he has advertised his requirement in the newspaper. (True / False). 12. Every cover letter has one thing in common. Name it. Activity 2: ABB Company has advertised for the post of Chief Manager (Sales- North-Eastern region) in the January 23rd 2005 issue of the Hindu. There are several skills that are being looked into for this position. The skills include motivating and leading a dynamic sales force, planning and implementing promotional activities and setting and achieving targets. You are required to give training program to 10 sales executives who have been newly recruited by the company. 14.7 Summary >From the following sub units we are able to learn certain important points such as: . The applicant should maintain the standard guidelines as described for constructing a resume. . The applicant should review the resume twice in order to see that it is free from spelling mistakes, uncommon jargons, difficult vocabulary and punctuations. . The resume should not be very lengthy and should maintain simple form of English language. . It should be easily communicable so that the reader is able to understand it. . The cover letter should also follow the same rules as the resume, but it should not be very elaborative. . The style and the format in which it is written should be concise, simple and easily understandable. Positive tone should be maintained throughout the letter to make it attractive for the employer. . Proper address, salutations, enclosures should be included in both the resume as well as the cover letter.
Posted on: Mon, 15 Sep 2014 14:24:42 +0000
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