RESUME TIPS AND GUIDELINES

Resume
Table of Contents

Introduction

An effective resume has several vital sections. Use our hand-curated checklist to ensure you know what exactly to put on your resume.

Resume Tips- Fundamentals

1. Follow an iterative approach.

Take an iterative approach in preparing your resume. You should not aim to design and finalize/freeze your resume in a day. You cannot detect the errors that you make in your resume. Prepare the first draft of your resume and seek feedback from peers and mentors. Get it proofread by multiple team members. Update and prepare the second draft of your resume. Repeat the loop.

Resume Formatting Tips

1. There is no right or wrong format.

There is no right or wrong resume format. Just keep in mind that it is not cluttered and is user-friendly to read. Put yourself in the position of interviewer and self-review your resume. Is this the resume that will get shortlisted among all other applicants?

2. Keep it one-pager

Keep your resume one-pager. No, if’s no but’s. The interviewer’s attention span is limited, and we should try to restrict the interviewer’s attention concentrated to one page. Eliminate the white space if required to accommodate all into one page. Highlight important parts of your resume. By doing this, you will be successfully bringing down the interviewer’s attention from two pages to one page and from one page to the most critical parts of the resume.

3. Use standard font and size.

Using a unique format with a slightly funky font is tempting. You might think it could help you stand out. But it’s not. You won’t get extra points for it. At best, your CV screener will think: “Ok, I’ve never seen this format, but why not?” At worst, they will think: “Who is this person? They don’t get it!” The CONTENT of your resume should stand out, NOT its FORMAT.

Resume Content Tips

1. Use five sections Personal Information, Education, Work experience, Extra-curricular achievements, and Additional skills. One of the most common mistakes is not having an “Extra-curricular achievements” section. This is a BIG mistake as this is a section you can use to showcase some of the skills that firms look for, such as leadership and entrepreneurship. 

2. Don’t use jargon It is not necessary that your interviewer is from the same field as yours, and it is your YOUR responsibility to make it easier for them to understand your resume. They won’t take the time to Google anything they don’t understand.  

3. Do not copy anything. You are unique, and so should be your resume. Do not copy and paste anything on your resume. The interviewer can quickly call out what is copied and put in the effort to prepare an outline. Do not lie on your resume. Only put what you can justify. Every word is sacrosanct. 

4. Keep it recency-wise in sequentially descending order Include only the most relevant information and put the essential information about the most recent event. Never fake your resume. In the work experience section, do mention the timeline of your association with a firm or work area. 

5. Do not write the introduction or any client’s name You need not mention your introduction in the resume. It is hardly read and takes up significant space on the resume. The client names should also be kept confidential. But the client industry and its size may be mentioned to give the interviewer a better context and scale of your work.

6. Mention and highlight spikes and diversity If you have any spikes (something extraordinary), do mention them on your resume. Companies look for candidates with exposure to diverse fields and expertise in areas (“M” shaped profiles). Ask yourself, is your profile different from the other candidates who have applied for the same job? If not, how to make it unique. 

7. Use action verbs and past tense Each work description should be in the past tense and should indicate actions. Use power words like “achieved,” “earned,” “completed”, “accomplished”, “secured”, “led”.

Resume Advice- Education, Skills, and Extras

1. Quantify the impact of your output
There are three stages of work. Input, Output, and Impact. Input is the effort you put in, the output is the deliverable, and impact is how your creation influenced others. Always try to quantify the impact of your work output. Each work description should have a quantifiable outcome and impact associated with it. A simple way to do that is always to try to answer “So what?” and “How many?” in your resume for each point.

2. Mention Letters of Recommendations, if any.
Because of your exemplary work or any work segment like problem-solving, leadership, team spirit, communication, etc., If you have any unique letters of recommendation from your manager or any person of stature, do mention them in your resume and give a drive link on your overview.

3. Keep in mind
You need not mention your father’s name, marital status, pin code, date of birth, etc., on your resume. Your resume should not have any grammatical errors or silly mistakes. It is looked down upon.

Professional Resume Tips

1. Prepare a convincing cover letter and e-mail. Do not give the cover letter any less important than your resume. It is not just an attachment to be sent along with your resume over email. It is the story of your 20+ years. You will use the parts of your cover letter in your application email to companies. That convincing text will lure that target contact to open and check your resume. Craft and keep a compelling cover letter. Try to establish the following things in your cover letter: the role you are applying for, your personal story, your professional experience, and the qualities that make you the best fit for the position. All that knitted to form a convincing application. The cover letter should cover the following points: The role that you are applying for Your storyline and past exposure mentioning the skill sets that you have developed. What makes you the best fit for that job The cover letter should be very crisp and clear. Divide it into 2-3 paragraphs. 

 2. Send your resume in PDF format with an appropriate file name Permanently save and send your resume in PDF format with a proper file name. Sending it in word format is the wrong choice. The formatting of your resume may also get disturbed. 

 3. Your resume is the first step to a good LinkedIn profile A lot of other placement preparation depends on your resume. Your interview preparation, your LinkedIn profile etc., is all dependent on your resume. A good resume is also the first step to a good LinkedIn profile. 

4. Prepare two versions of your resume. You may want to prepare two versions of your resume. One detailed version of your resume as a repository of all academics, work, extracurricular activities, the position of responsibilities, and achievements. And one final one-pager version for applications with the most relevant information for that job picked from the detailed version. As a result, you will always have additional information to add as and when you require to modify your resume. 

5. Customise your resume and cover letter Give your application company the importance it deserves. Modify your resume to suit that job role in that company. It is a rare chance that two job roles in two different companies can be the same. Customization will set your resume apart from others. Add points in your resume that match the required skill set in the job role that you are applying for. 

6. Upgrade your resume constantly From the time of your result until the start of your placement, there is a time gap of around 1.5 months. During this time, you highly recommend putting conscious effort into upgrading your resume towards your targeting job profile. How? Do internships, start something of your own, blog, take courses from Udemy, Harvard, Stanford, etc. There are thousands of things that you can pick up during this time.

The Getting Interview Ready workshop helps you build an impressionable resume. Teaching you the important ways to draft it perfectly.

  • Understanding screener’s psychology to use it to your advantage
  • Tried and tested Resume & Cover Letter templates that will give you results
  • Personal Resume Feedback + Pro tips
  • The only resume checklist that you will need to be on the right track

All interview prep tips, including Aptitude, Technical & Psychometric Tests, Group discussions, personal interviews, building a LinkedIn profile, etc.

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