A resume is a summary of an individual's educational qualifications, accomplishments, skills, and career objectives, which is usually submitted with a job application.
Also referred to as a curriculum vitae or CV, a resume can make or break your dream of landing a great job because it is a key factor determining whether your job application goes to the interview phase or gets sidelined with dozens of other applications.
Creating a polished and professional resume is of paramount importance, as your resume is the first thing that reaches an employer, even before you get a chance to personally meet the recruiter and create a much-desired positive impression.
Experts agree that it really doesn't matter how good a candidate you are for the job or what set of skills you have unless you can clearly communicate your credentials to potential recruiters through your resume.
Recruiters, on average, spend about 5 to 7 seconds to scrutinize a resume. Therefore, it's crucial for job seekers to learn the right way of creating an impressive resume that captures the attention of recruiters within seconds.
To help you make a strong and impactful resume, we're about to share with you the top 10 tips for preparing a perfect, job-winning CV.
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1. Choose the Correct Resume Type
The first step to creating an outstanding resume starts with choosing an appropriate resume type. There are several resume formats that job applicants make use of, such as the combination resume, chronological resume, and the functional resume.
All resume formats serve specific purposes. For example, a chronological resume is ideal for people who have multiple years of work experience. This resume format lists a candidate's work history with the most current job at the top. Being a fresher, you should go for a functional resume, which places more emphasis on skills rather than work experience.
2. Have a Blueprint for Your Resume
Devoting some time to pre-planning and organizing the content of your resume is an excellent idea. By doing so, you will gain a better understanding of what you need to include in your resume and what you can omit.
3. Provide Your Complete Contact Information
Your resume should contain your complete contact details, such as your name, email ID, phone number, and home address. To bolster your credibility, add your LinkedIn profile's web address. Since many employers are conducting virtual interviews nowadays, make sure to include your Skype ID as well.
4. Remember To Use an Impressive, Short, and Engaging Headline
A resume headline summarizes your academic background, career aspirations, the skills you gained, and the certifications obtained. The headline needs to be compelling enough to capture the attention of recruiters within seconds, and it should lead them to recognize you as a suitable candidate.
Often ignored by job applicants, a resume headline can dramatically increase the chances of being noticed by employers. Compose a captivating resume headline with relevant keywords to stand out from the crowd.
5. List Your Educational Qualifications
Since you are a fresher, it is understandable that you have no work history to date. For this reason, you must do your best to showcase a detailed overview of your educational qualifications. Create a tabulated list and illustrate your academic credentials up to your tenth grade, arranged in reverse chronicled order. Also, state your Cumulative Grade Points Average (CGPA) under a separate column and highlight all the certifications you possess.
6. Demonstrate Your Skill Sets
Make a list of the skills you have, including soft skills, technical skills, and job-specific skills relevant to the position for which you are applying. After creating the list, organize the skills you possess in two columns, describing each skill in one column and your level of expertise in the other. Again, use keywords from the job description to stand out and get noticed by hiring managers.
7. Add Project Details and Internships
Project details and internships are crucial additions to a resume, especially for fresh graduates with no or minimal work experience. Specify the duration of projects and internships that you completed, as well as the role you played in them. To enhance the readability of the content, apply bullet points.
8. Throw Light on the Extracurricular Activities You Might Have Pursued
Include a section that provides insights into your hobbies, interests, and passions. Under this section, create a list of quiz competitions, college debates, hackathons, and sports that you took part in. This is an excellent way to portray yourself as a multi-talented person. If you managed events, and have hosted shows, do not forget to mention them because such activities highlight your leadership capabilities.
9. Be Honest
Recruiters value and prefer honest candidates. Make sure your resume is 100% genuine and does not contain any false information. Be aware that providing incorrect data can get you blacklisted forever.
10. Proofread Your Resume Before Submitting
Double-check your resume for flaws in sentence structure and spelling mistakes. Grammatical errors and typos are a definite no-no, as they can leave a poor impression and damage your credibility. In addition, make sure that your CV is nicely formatted and that it uses the same type of font all throughout.
It is also advisable to keep your resume crisp, simple, and short, ideally within two pages.
Gain Skills, Get Certified
Having a neat, error-free resume with a powerful heading and bullet points is important, but what is even more important is the content of your resume. If your resume has no skills or certifications to display, it will not attract the attention of recruiters. Therefore, it is recommended that you acquire skills and get certified from a world-renowned institution, for instance, Simplilearn.
The world's #1 online bootcamp and certification course provider, Simplilearn, has launched a skill-based learning program called SkillUp, which offers free resources you can access from anywhere, anytime. Whether it is Cyber Security or IT Architecture, Data Science and Business Analytics or Quality Management, AI and Machine Learning, Big Data, DevOps, Digital Marketing, or Software Development, employees of top multinational companies have enrolled with Simplilearn to learn the most in-demand skills for free. Enroll today to gain certifications that will add stars to your resume!
