For most job seekers, preparing an attractive and efficient resume often means landing up with a lucrative job. More than often, the resume decides when a particular candidate will appear for the interview. Therefore, most candidates try to draft a “scoring” resume, which can help them to avail some or the other form of employment.
Many candidates, who lack the ability to write effective resume, often get their resumes prepared by professional writers, who specialize in drafting good quality resumes. Many-a-times it so happens that a seemingly good resume fails to score.
The resume might look perfect, but eventually lands up in a dustbin. At such times, candidates often wonder about the cause as to why their resume got rejected in the first place. The fact is managers and HR personnel often receive hundreds of resumes whenever a vacancy is advertised, and they just don’t have enough time to carefully study each and every resume. So what they do is they simply skim through the resumes and shortlist those applications which seem interesting, or which look different from others.
That leads us to the obvious question – how do you prepare a resume that stands out? What does it take to get your resume shortlisted for the interview?
If you study a “typical” resume, you will observe the familiar format, with an even familiar language stating all the obvious points and job related details. You will also end up reading the same type of words in more or less the same order of sequence. The result? Just another job application not much different from the rest. First of all, you need to be different from the others to get noticed. Since your resume represents you, your resume ought to look unique, and should be able to stand out from the others. And the most important aspect is the usage of words. If you use the words routinely used by other applicants, you will fail to create a “unique” resume – simply because it will look the same as others. Secondly, it is not necessary to cram your application with details which are obvious, or those which are superfluous. There are certain words which you should avoid using in your resume, and some words which you should include to make your application interesting and effective. A few pointers may help you in drafting effective job applications.
If you insert the title “Career objective” followed by words explaining that you have excellent skills and ability to leverage your experience to satisfy or fulfill something or the other, well, at the first glance you might most certainly feel you have “done it right”. In fact, you haven’t. Far from it. In reality, it’s a great “hammer blow” right between the eyes for people who are forced to read resumes for evaluation purposes because it’s their job to do so. It’s not only boring, but also downright irritating for them. The statement is so common, at times people just ignore to read it, simply because they know it’s going to be there, be default. It won’t count. Instead, try to avoid using it, if you can. Try to build up your resume in a systematic and planned manner so the reader can understand what your career objectives really are by reading about your accomplishments. When the evaluator arrives at a conclusion regarding what your objectives are, you are most certainly lined for your interview.
Applicants use this particular word freely. They use it so often that the word loses its meaning i.e. it becomes ineffective in conveying where your actual experience lies. If you claim to be experienced, it actually raises more doubts. The main reason is even a fresher or a novice does not refrain from using this particular word in his or her resume, even if the actual work experience consists of a couple of months working as a trainee. Instead, try explaining for how many years you have worked in a particular position, and what you have managed to achieve for your employer.
A highly common word used by sales persons and candidates applying for a managerial position. People have been known to describe themselves as great team players, when in fact their “team” consisted of just two individuals – including the person applying for the job. Rather try to put in a statement like “Led a team of 5 and achieved the sales target well before the targeted date owing to increased participation of team members”. While reading between the lines, such types of statements convey your leadership qualities and capabilities as a team player.
Another seemingly great metaphor which has been used so often that it has lost its meaning in resumes. Rather than highlighting your attributes include proof and record of achievements which help to convey your dynamic character.
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