While it doesn’t take an Einstein to write one, resume is a formidable document that sums up all that has been, is and can be. A good resume represents the candidate to the fullest and brings out the best for the recruiter to take notice and maybe get in touch for another round.
Photographer - Alfred Eisenstaedt
Writing a resume is an art form. It takes a lot of time and introspection to encapsulate everything that has been your career up till now and putting it forth in a manner that is best understood by the recruiter. Time and again we ignore the basics and risk the chance of getting overlooked. It must be understood that companies receive scores of applications and the temptation to “trash” the unremarkable ones is usually higher.
No one expects you to do design work on your resume. Except of course if you are applying for a profile that requires you to show your design chops. However, it is essential that one tailors their resume according to the job opening or description advertised by the company. A lot of companies especially the progressive ones create comprehensive job description sheets for the benefit of the candidate so they can prepare as well as understand what they are getting into.
It is a gross mistake to send across a generic or “what-I-have-is-good-enough” kind of resume. The disparity in the resume content and what the job requires shows up more strongly. While I am no recruiter, the first thing I am sure that flashes across recruiter’s mind is “Hasn’t he/she prepared or bothered to read through the JD?”. It reflects poorly on the candidate and their approach toward the job.
Here are some links to help you get started on building/writing a resume and job hunting in particular:
(I) Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) Articles <Recommended>
(II) Job hunting basics
(III) How to articles
- Build a resume – 3 Quick Tips
- Build a resume – Squidoo
- The Proper Way to Write a Resume – Quick Tips
(IV) Tailoring your resume (PDF)
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This is so useful!!!! Nice of you to consolidate this…..I shall put these tips to use soon
Posted by Richa Malhotra | July 20, 2011, 9:52 pmHello Richa,
Thanks a lot for stopping by. How have you been? I am currently posting openings in IBM and will start doing it for US and Europe regions for people interested in moving out of their current roles. For now I am getting some response too. This post was just a written to address the callousness that creeps in when we make our resumes shoddily. We need to understand that it is a frontline document comprising only of text that is expected to represent. Since it is one-dimensional in nature we need to make sure that we do the right thing and put in the best information rather than coming across as professionals not concerned with representing themselves well. Recruiters look for a lot of cues when they scan resumes. Formatting, Organization of information, relevance and layout. What say?
Posted by Salil Lawande | July 21, 2011, 5:32 pmHey Salil,
I am doing good
Have started looking out fr jobs here in Austin, US. Found this article very relevant especially because I am into job hunting now. The points you have mentioned make lot of sense to me. I specifically liked what you said about “what-I-have-is-good-enough” kind of resume. When we pen down a Resume we maintain a generic form & write things which are important to us. There are so many times when I have to tailor my Resume & cover letter according to the JD because they are looking for some special qualities, which I may possess but I fail to highlight them in the CV.
Really admire the efforts you have taken to consolidate all the useful links up here. And its great to see that you post about the jobs so actively. Its a great help to the job seekers
Do let me know when you come to know of any IBM opportunities in US.
Posted by Richa Malhotra | July 22, 2011, 3:11 amHello Richa,
Thanks a lot for stopping by. Currently I am posting IBM openings for APAC markets (India as of now, Bangalore in particular). I will slowly do it for US and other countries in APAC markets once I see sufficient interest in these postings.I will however let you know of IBM openings in Austin if there are any. Do pass on the blog url to others who might find it useful.
Best regards,
Salil
Posted by Salil Lawande | July 31, 2011, 2:40 pmI’m very new to having a blog – did you “ping” to draw attention to your blog? Trying to gain a following from my readers? Interesting – hadn’t thought of that. I’ll let it go this time – but you should have picked a better article – my readers are more sophisticated and would look for actual help or advice in writing a resume not a bunch of links that they can find on their own.
Being a recruiter for 22 years, I find your blog on resume writing best practices vague and not something I would consider very helpful. You suggest that people should write their resume to match what a company is looking for – how about a resume that tells what the prospective candidate did and can do? That would be far more useful and honest and a cover letter ties their experience to the position they are applying for.
Resume tells what you’ve done and thus what you can do; cover letter transforms resume info quickly into how it fits for each position.
Posted by Cora Mae Lengeman | January 20, 2012, 6:38 pmHello Cora,
Thanks a lot for the comment and for reading the post on “Resume Writing Best Practices”. My blog quickly tells readers what they need to know and where they can get information related to the topic. I do not claim an expertise of any sort. That is for my readers to decide. However, the point I tried to make in my post is the callous way people treat their resumes and the “one size fits it all” logic/formula which normally scuttles their chance of ever making it to the next level of interview round. While I agree when you say that “a resume that tells what the prospective candidate did and can do”, I think that should be the first objective of any candidate writing his/her resume. However, what should be thought about is what can it represent over and above and that can be done only when a candidate takes time to read the job description available and understands if the job is a good fit.
In such a scenario, matching a resume according to what a company requires isn’t such a bad idea. In this era of multi-skilled workers and “master of some and jack of all” it only takes a creative approach toward understanding how one can be a fit and matching skills accordingly. Then again, when I say this it does not mean one should misrepresent their credentials. That’s unethical to begin with.
With the advent of the Internet industry, in the past 10-15 years there have come about jobs that do not have any precedent or were never mainstream to begin with. I have been blogging for the past 5 years on the WordPress platform and have a solid experience when it comes to social media marketing. And I can even claim that experience in my resume although my current job might not require that particular skill. But it makes me eligible if there is a company that requires a blogger who also can take care of their social media bit.
It is not about dishonesty. It is about showing your potential and there are no rules. If the claims are tall, I suppose an experienced recruiter will always see through. However if a candidate has what he claims on his resume, and is able to defend and prove his capability then what’s wrong with that approach and how is that dishonest.
About trying to draw attention to your blog or gaining a following from your readers:
I use the Zemanta plugin (look it up on WordPress support) in my WordPress account which automatically pulls up relevant articles and content that has been posted online. It can be from sources like Wikipedia to other authoritative blogs.
Gaining a following from your readers:
I really cannot tap into your following because I have no visibility on who or where they are. However having your link on my blog, helps “you” get traffic in case someone reading my blog decides to go to your posts. Hence, it’s the other way round and you get to benefit if my blog draws in a lot of visitors and its not vice versa because your readers have no way of knowing your link is on my blog. Its only visible to the blog owner.
Letting it pass:
I had no intention of causing any harm. Neither do I wish to as long as I am around and online. I believe one should be civil and polite and I do not like to be condescending to anyone no matter what quality their output might be.
I congratulate you on having a sophisticated reader following since the past 3-4 months since you started a blog and I have no desire of getting them to my work unless they see value and come by their own choice. However, as the current scenario suggests (Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and Google+) sharing links is a good way of letting people know what good content lies out there.
Just my two cents:
I used to write long posts way back when I was new on the blogging scene. It might look good and authoritative, but frankly speaking people do not have time. They like it short, to the point and of relevance. I keep my work short, useful and break it into series where a short post might not suffice. Just my two cents.
Kindly let me know if you want your link removed from my blog post. I will do so at the earliest possible time.
Thanks again for the comment.
Best regards,
Salil
Posted by Salil Lawande | January 20, 2012, 8:35 pmSalil,
Thanks for the wealth of information! I really am new to this and not sure ecactly how to go about it.
I agree if I write very long blogs people are sleeping before they get half way through so I am trying to become more precise and shorter with my thoughts. I have founf that my shorter posts get more readers (174 yesterday) than my longer ones; but I also find that they tend to view my other articles (short or long).
I am still trying to find the difference between “tags” and “characeristics” as they seem the same. i may need to find some anw=swers before I get too far into this.
Thanks again for all your information – it helped a lot.
Best wishes for continued success!
Cora
Posted by Cora Mae Lengeman | January 23, 2012, 11:48 amHello Cora,
Usually 300 – 350 word count is optimal. WordPress also offers a lot of rating and sharing options that will help you readers spread the message if they like your blog post or topic you have written about. There is a difference between “Tags” and “Categories” for more information you can visit: http://en.support.wordpress.com/posts/categories-vs-tags/
Keep reading and understanding the wonderful Content management system (CMS) that is WordPress.
Best wishes,
Salil
Posted by Salil Lawande | January 23, 2012, 10:30 pm