Elements of a Good Resume
A good resume opens the door to fresh and new opportunities. This is the first thing that a prospective employer reads to create an impression about you. Thus, it is very important that you put as much emphasis on writing a great resume as you will put on dressing up yourself on the day of interview.
Depending on the industry, there are normally two types of selection processes. In one process, knowingly or unknowingly, the prospective employer advances through the process of elimination. In this process, the employers eliminate one after another resume to shortlist the best people for the position. This process works when the employee is looking to hire experienced and specialists for the available posts. One need not say that, these posts are highly rewarding in terms of money and position.
In the second process, the prospective employees select for people that meet minimum criterion set for the post. Companies that want to employ in bulk often go for this type of selection process. Especially in case of posts that are performance or commission driven, companies adopt this technique. Otherwise, these posts are for fresh candidates.
This is the inside story about how the selection process actually works. This is the first filter that you must pass to get into the next level. In addition, in this round, everything depends on your resume. In addition, that is why it is very important to design a great resume.
If you note my words, you will see that in the last sentence, I did not write, “it is very important to write a great resume”. Instead of using the word, “write”, I used the word “design”. It is not just about what you have done or what you want to do. The resume is actually an opportunity to hook the prospective employers.
There are some basic elements of a resume. For example, you can think of important details (name, address, contact information etc.), objective, achievements, experience, qualification etc. Now, you need to arrange these details according to your focus area.
Now what is a focus area in resume writing? Think about a situation where you are a fresh candidate who has just passed out of college. In this situation, your educational qualification can be the focus area that may hook the prospective employer. You can put your educational qualification at the top of the page, right under the career objective.
Now think of a situation where the same person has gained 5 years of experience in a reputed organization. Therefore, now, the focus area will shift to his or her work experience rather than the educational qualification. You need to change your resume accordingly.
However, how do you find out if your resume is in good shape or not! If you have submitted your resume in an online job board, you must have noticed that they show you how many people have last visited your resume. Now count the number of how many people have actually contacted you. Do not forget to deduct number of the unrelated people. This will give you some great information on how your resume is performing.
A good resume is always work in progress. You must update it regularly to attract new employers.
Steve McMains
http://www.articlesbase.com/careers-articles/elements-of-a-good-resume-705141.html
What elements should be included in a good resume?
As it says - I am making up my resume, and would like to know, what elements should I include? So far I have education, relevant experience, strengths, experience, volunteering, awards and memberships, references.
At the top, you should include an objective. Also, references, I wouldn’t actually name them on there. I would put "references available upon request". You typically don’t need them until you fill out the actual job application.
References :
Actually don’t use an objective line. It just takes up space and has gotten cliche, so it doesn’t really help you.
Try to keep it down to one page or slightly less. Nobody likes reading 10 pages of someone else’s irrelevant minor victories in life.
References :
Omit references and experience. The relevant experience is enough for what you are trying to do. Under awards and memberships, be certain they apply to the job you’re applying for. If you have an award for Most Enthusiastic Coffee Maker, it doesn’t count. The same holds true for volunteer work. If you’re applying for an office job but say you volunteered to pick up dog doo at the local park, again, doesn’t count.
In your experience section, highlight accomplishments in your work over duties. Writing "Rang up customers on a cash register" is bland and does nothing. Writing "Increased sales by 15% with excellent cashiering and money handling", it matters.
Objectives are a toss-up. Some people find them necessary, others do not. I usually put one in but this is entirely up to you.
Above all else, watch your spelling, grammar, sentence structure, punctuation, and any typos. One small error can be a death sentence.
Best of luck.
References :
Do not include your references’ names or contact information. You should, instead, say that references are available upon request and have a separate sheet available that you present employers during an interview. You should think of your resume something that is fluid; something that you can change depending on the job description. Your strengths should mirror the requirements of the job and you should be able to speak to the qualifications you have on your resume. Make sure that your resume is in a simple format, meaning that it is in Word and easily formatted to other databases. Don’t skimp on the lingo. Use acronyms and the all the words they stand for. Whatever your field of expertise, you need to have as many "buzz" words as possible because recruiters search job boards using these key words. The more "buzz" words that you have in your online resume the easier it will be for recruiters and HR people to find you.
References :
Well, the objective line is optional. If you use it, make it 1 or 2 sentences. Inside education you can list some of the courses you took related to the job you’re applying. The same goes for experience, only list the experience relavant to the type of work you’re looking for. Always describes a little bit of what you’ve done in a job, school, volunteering. And of course, make your resume short: 1 or 2 pages at most. Good luck with your job search. Don’t forget to prepare yourself for tricky interview questions. Very important.
References :
Those seem to be good sections but make sure the resume isn’t too long by including too much "fluff". Employers know that the inexperienced especially current college students and recent grads include a lot of irrelevant information. You wanna make sure your resume clearly and briefly highlights your good points and not get buried by the useless information. Make sure you use key words, acronyms, and abbreviations that are applicable to the field. Your resume could be scanned by a program or briefly by human eyes and the ones that will get attention will have certain words and phrases on them.
Definitely leave out the objectives and references unless you do not have enough content to fill up the page. Also some people add "Relevant Courses" section, but you could probably leave that out if you are applying for a position that is applicable to your major. Think about adding "Computer Skills" (speaks for itself) or "Skills" section if you have certain certifications or know another language if any of this could be applicable to your position. You shouldn’t just list awards and memberships and assume that whoever is reading the resume knows how each item adds to your qualifications. For example, if you were the captain of your college football team and you volunteered at a homeless shelter; you might want to add a "Qualifications Summary" section (preferrably the first section of the resume) where you write a brief paragraph (about 5 lines) highlighting how your past work experiences, education, and your memberships and awards makes you qualified for the position you are applying for. Remember brief and to the point.
References :