Tuesday, March 11, 2014

How to prepare a job winning resume

Preparing you resume is a skill that has to be practiced and perfected. Here you will understand what it is that make a resume attractive to employers. What are the keywords they are looking for and how to put your skills so that employers are compelled to call you?

 What is the purpose of a resume?
A resume is basically a sales letter. Like a sales letter informs a customer about the benefits of a product, the resume/CV gives a jist of your specific abilities and experience that helps a recruiter decide whether your skills and experience would be useful to the company or not. If the recruiter or manager feels that your skills or experience might be useful they will call you for an interview. So the fundamental purpose of a resume is to get you job interviews. If your resume cannot get you job interviews then your resume is useless. If you are applying and not getting responses that means that your resume is not doing its job. You resume must clearly state how you are able to fulfill employer's specific needs, how you can be of use to the company and contribute to its growth. Only then will there be any motivation on the employer's part to call you
for the next stage of the hiring process.

Why a resume has to be like a sales letter?
Like a sales letter a resume has exactly 30 seconds to grab the attention of the reader. It has to clearly state the benefits of hiring you and why you are the best person for the job. It also has to handle weaknesses and show them in different light so that the employer is not put off by it. The end result is to get you a job interview so it has to persuade the employer to call you. So it is very similar to a sales letter and the effectiveness of a sales letter is measured by the amount of sales it makes. Similarly the effectiveness of a resume is measured by the number interviews it gets you. Sales writers are better known as copywriters who create promotional materials for companies. The same techniques that they use can be used to give your resume the edge it needs to get selected.

Basics of a good resume
1. A benefit oriented and clear statement of what
you are and how you are a valuable asset
2. Unique, creative and eye catching in terms of
layout and organization
3. Use of bullets and white spaces to encourage
the recruiter to read on
4. Action words and phrases that position you as
a capable resource
5. Specific number or details included wherever
possible
The more you show yourself as someone able to achieve results for your employer the more offers you will get.
Important Aspects of a good resume
Writing your Name and contact details
Your name has to be prominent in the resume with the phone number just below it so that companies can call you immediately. Many recruiters do not have the patience to go through the whole resume to find your contact numbers so it is useful if you keep it right below your name.
E.g.:
Adarsh Vidyarthi
Ph:9949000000
Address:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx,
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
 
Importance of a title
You resume has to have a title that helps the recruiter to exactly identify whether they want to go through he resume or not. The Resume title is important as it gives them exactly what they are looking for.
E.g. “Sales manager with International experience, Customer Service Executive with team lead experience”
E.g.: “Customer Service Executive with team lead experience”

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