Making a top-quality resume is important for getting a top-quality job, as every job advertisement receives plenty of applications. A recruiter screens and filters through dozens and hundreds of resumes like that, and if your resume game is weak you’ll end up sitting idle for weeks or maybe months and still, you won’t be able to get the response. If you want to write a resume that leads to getting you interviews daily.
Well, you are at the right place.
Steps to Write an Effective Resume
In this Article, our step-by-step guide will teach you everything you need to know about how to make your resume from scratch.
Step 1: Pick the right resume format and layout
(i) Picking the Right Resume Format
There are three resume formats: Chronological, Functional, and Combination, you can choose one of these formats.
- Chronological: Chronological resumes mainly focus on your work experience. In this type of resume, you have to make a section of work experience and list them in order keeping the most recent experience at the top.
- Functional: If you’re a fresher, want to switch your career to a different domain, or are a job seeker with an employment gap looking for a new job opportunity then this type of format can be ideal for you as it focuses more on your professional skills and areas of expertise rather than your work history.
- Combination: Combination resumes also known as hybrid resumes in these types of resumes you can highlight your skills and present your work history but if you are someone with little work experience then it may not be the best format to use.
So which one should you go for?
Well in 90% of cases, you can stick to a chronological resume, as it is the most common resume format, and most recruiters are used to this.
(ii) Picking the Right Layout:
A great resume layout can seek the attention of the recruiter. Great resume layout forces the recruiter to review your resume from top to bottom. And it can also help you stand out from another resume.
A great resume layout has three main qualities:
1. Legible– Legible means it is clear enough to read easily. If your resume is clear and enjoyable to read, there’s a higher chance that recruiters will be interested in going through your whole resume which will increase the chances of getting selected
2. Scannable– Good resumes are easy to scan, recruiters scan your resume and look for the skills matching the job description, so it’s important to make an eye-catching resume where you can highlight your skills so that recruiters can easily scan it.
3. Easy to remember- Most of the resumes are similar and in a day recruiter goes through 100+ resumes, so if your resume is slightly different and unique, it will make the recruiter remember your resume, and that’s a whole level of appreciation.
Checklist for the best Resume Layout:
1. Create Headers– Headers help you to organize your resume section and grab the attention of the recruiter.
2. Use colors-Colors make your resume more visually appealing and eye-catching.
3. Check your font size-For the best readability font size should be between 10.5 to 12 and you can select the font to serif or sans-serif.
4. Add bullet points– Present your experience and skills in bullet points as it will improve the readability and scannability of your resume.
5. Use white spaces– Make sure there is enough space between sections and text as it will make it easy to scan.
6. Dividing the sections– Divide your experience, skills, and education details into different sections.
7. Use icons – Adding icons will add visual interest to your resume.
Step 2: Add your personal details and contact information
This is the most critical section in your resume as even if you get everything right in your resume, but if your contact details are incorrect, you will not be able to go far as no recruiter will be able to get in touch with you. Make sure that your contact information is correct and updated by proofreading it twice or thrice.
What to include in your Personal details and contact information?
Must-have information:
First and Last name:
Mobile Number:
Email address:
Location:
Optional information:
LinkedIn URL:
Social media:
Additional information:
Portfolio Link:
Coding Handle:
Step 3: Add summary or objective
It’s not a secret that the first impression is the last impression. Whether it is your personal life or your career, the first impression matters, the same applies to a job search.
Your resume summary or objective is the first thing that will seek the attention of any recruiter, if your resume or objective impression is good so there is a high chance that the recruiter will go through your whole resume.
How to write a resume summary & when to use it?
In your resume summary, you’ve to mention your current job and years of experience, your top achievements, and your goals.
You can use a resume summary in any situation unless you are a fresher or switching industry (in this case you can use objective). Example of a Resume Summary for a Software Professional: Extensive experience in Backend Development, having 3+ years of professional work experience with knowledge of the Django framework. Well-versed in python, passionate about building products and solving real-world problems.
How to write a resume objective & when to use it?
A resume objective is the goal of your career, and it should be 2-3 sentences. Example of a Resume Objective: Hard working recent graduate in B.tech (Mechanical) from Graphic Era university. Seeking an entry-level position to kickstart my career in your reputed organization.
Step 4: List your work experience
This is also considered the most important part of your resume. This is where you list your relevant work experience under a section keeping the most recent experience at the top and so on. Including the relevant work experience in your resume, it shows that you understood the job requirement and that your experience meets those requirements.
- How to list your work experience: You can follow the below format to mention your work experience:
- Job Title/Position: You have to mention your current job title/position in each work experience entry as this will give the glance to the recruiter that you have relevant experience for the job
- Company Name/ Location: This is the second thing that has to be mentioned as it will help the recruiter in knowing your previous employer’s details.
- Achievements and responsibilities: Depending on your experience and expertise you can mention your achievement
- Job tenure: This is the timeframe of your employment in each company. If you are not sure about the exact date then you can mention your tenure in mm/yyyy format.
Step 5: List achievements
Listing achievements is essential as in most cases only responsibilities are mentioned under work experience. Let’s say you’re a sales executive, so your responsibilities will be reaching clients over the phone call or email and selling your product, but these will be the same responsibilities mentioned for every sales executive. So to stand out, you have to focus on mentioning the achievements like generating over 2 lakh in sales in 1 week, etc., in your resume.
Step 6: Mention your top skills
When mentioning your top skills divide your skills into sections of technical skills (Like- JAVA, HTML, CSS, etc.) and soft skills (Like-Teamwork, leadership, Time management, etc.) and also mention your proficiency to beginner, intermediate, advanced, or expert, but make sure to never fake your skills.
Step 7: Include an additional resume section
In this section, you can include your hobbies and interest, language, certifications, publications, awards, extracurricular activities, projects, etc.
Step 8: List educational details in your resume
In this section you have to cover your educational background by mentioning your program name, university name, year attended, and GPA(optional).
Step 9: Tailor your information according to the job opportunity
Are you aware that only 30% of resumes submitted to job boards are read by recruiters?
Yes, an Applicant Tracking System(ATS) filters through 100 resumes and only forwards those which are matching with the job description so you might think that what’s the point of perfecting your resume if an ATS can simply reject your resume in no time, well don’t worry you can pass the ATS and make your resume selected.
The simple key is to tailor your resume according to the job requirements so what you have to do is just go through the Job description of the job posted and mention the keywords, which are relevant to your profile in your resume, which is in the JD and then submit your resume.
Step 10: Proofread your resume
Re-Read your resume very slowly, word to word, and line by line, and try to eliminate the recurring words and clichés. You can use editing tools like spellcheck and Grammarly. You can also take the printout of your resume and then proofread it resume by this you can eliminate many of the mistakes if any.
Some Don’ts you should keep in mind while resume writing
1. Try not to include lengthy objectives/summaries.
2. Do not lie about your GPA, Skills.
3. Do not use Clichés or Excessive Jargons.
4. Do not use multiple formats & stick to using a maximum of 2 formats.
5. Do not send your resume in Word format.
So, If you follow all these steps, you can master yourself making the perfect resume. After following these steps, the next step is to write a convincing Cover letter.
A Cover letter is a document that further clarifies the details mentioned in your resume, you can use the cover letter to explain the gaps in your employment if any, and the details of your roles and responsibilities and why you want to work for the company which you are applying for and also explains why your profile is the ideal match for this role. A cover letter is to be submitted along with the job application. By writing the Cover Letter you have the opportunity to stand out amongst other applicants.
Here is an example of a resume, which can give you a basic idea of creating your own resume:
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