In this blog, I will walk you through the tips to write a resume that can help you in getting shortlisted for interviews, So without wasting any time let's get started.
What is a Good Resume?
Using the same resume for every job you apply for is not a good approach. Instead, your resume should target the specific job you are applying for. Be sure to prioritize the skills, qualifications, and experiences that are directly applicable to the job you are trying to land.
How long should your resume be?
It is seen that If you're having less than 7-8 years of experience then your resume should not be more than 1 page and if you're someone who has greater than 8+ yrs of experience then they can exceed 1 page.
Content for the Resume
Contact details
Make sure to add your contact details so recruiters can reach out to you if you get shortlisted.
Skill section
Add the relevant skillset that you know and are most familiar with don't try to add those skills sets you haven't worked with because even if you get shortlisted and got the interviews then you may get rejected if you won't be able to solve the question based on the skills you have mentioned and give a wrong and bad impression to the recruiters and interviewers.
Important Note
If you're a recent grad or a fresher make sure to add your degree or educational details at the top and If you're a working professional then add your experience at the top and add educational details down the line.
Projects
For a fresher applying for a job, Your projects will play a very important role for you, So try to add as many relevant projects as you can because it will show and depict more keywords as you don't have any work experience.
If you have done any open source contributions try to add those too(Don't add the typos or small contributions in the resume if you have made a contribution that leveraged or impacted the project add that).
Volunteer experiences
Including a volunteer experience section is a great way to stand out as a job candidate. It shows you’re community-minded and gives you the chance to prove your professional skills.
Volunteer experience is much like work experience: you apply yourself, someone tracks your performance, and you learn new skills.
Don't try to target multiple roles with one resume
People try to apply to different roles like ML, Data Analyst, and SE with the same resume which is not a good practice as they think it will open new doors for them but the fact is they are closing doors to new opportunities and gets a rejection.
You have to make sure that your resume and experience should align with the Job Description and for that, you have to understand what companies are hiring for and what they are looking for. So try to blend your resume in a way that it will align with the job description.
Structuring Tips for the Resume
Resume Outline
1. Heading
This should include First and Last name, your current job title, Phone number, Email address, and Linkedin(Optional).
2. Resume Introduction
You need to know how to start your resume so it immediately grabs the hiring manager’s attention and sells your qualifications. That’s why a convincing introduction is essential to any good resume outline.
A resume summary is a brief statement that highlights your key work-related achievements and skills in three to five sentences. This gives the hiring manager an idea of your general qualifications, the qualities that make you a good candidate, and how your career objectives fit into the company’s long-term goals.
3. Work Experience
Your experience should be listed from your most recently held position at the top to your least recent position toward the bottom of your resume.
For each job, include the Name of the company, location of the company, Dates you were employed there (Add month and Year ), and What Job title you had there. Then, write a bulleted list of your responsibilities, including quantifiable achievements you made while on the job. If you have work experience, don’t expand on your education other than noting your degree, year graduated, and GPA (if it’s 3.8 or higher).
If you're a college student try to add University or school name, Major and level of degree (i.e., bachelor's or master), Location (city and state), Graduation date (month and year), Your GPA (3.5 or above), Awards or honors, Also, change your "work experience" to "relevant experience", You can add your internship experience(if any), and any Extracurricular activities too.
4. Add your skillset
Add that skillset you worked with and are most familiar with. Don't add skills you don't know.
5. Achievements or Awards
If you have any proud achievements in the community or awards you have won add those too.
Formatting and style :
-> Set ½”–1” inch margins on all sides.
-> Make sure your page is set to US Letter size and portrait orientation.
-> Select a professional font for your resumes, such as Arial or Helvetica.
-> Adjust your font size between 10 and 12 points.
6. Use numbers in your resume
Most people make the mistake of simply listing past responsibilities in their experience section and resume introduction. Phrases like “responsible for” and “tasked with” are technically correct, but they don’t do a good job of explaining what you accomplished at work.
7. Apart from these you can also add these items
-> Certifications If you only have one relevant certification, you should just list it with your education instead of creating a dedicated section.
-> Publications If you work in academia, writing, or law, you’ve likely published some work under your name, either online or in an academic journal. Adding a section for publications on your resume shows off some of your relevant work to employers and gives them a reference for the quality of your writing and research.
-> Languages Being able to speak foreign languages is helpful for many different careers, but you should only add a dedicated section for them if you’re applying for a job where speaking in different languages is highly relevant.
-> Hobbies and interests Although they’re unlikely to sway an employer’s final hiring decision, adding hobbies and interests to your resume helps show off a bit of your personality and can make your resume stand out. Additionally, mentioning your hobbies could show hiring managers that you’re a good culture fit for the job.
8. Education
Your education section should normally come after all of your work experience, but you can place it first if you’ve never held a full-time job or you’re currently a student. An effective education section on a resume includes only your highest degree. If you didn’t go to college, add your high school diploma instead.
9. Use Chronological Order
This format is probably the best choice for you if you’re just starting your career, or have a consistent work history within a single industry and have no long employment gaps.
Chronological resumes place your work experience as the primary focus of your resume, and list each job according to when you held it (with your most recent position at the top).
Hiring managers want to be able to see how your career has progressed over time, and the chronological format communicates that information quickly and clearly.
Example of a resume using the above tips
You can use some Resume Builders if you want like zety, Resume Genius, etc.
10. ATS friendly
Not only does tailoring your experience section to the job ad make your resume more attractive to employers, but it also helps you get through the applicant tracking system (ATS) software that many large companies use.
ATS software automatically scans your resume for specific skill-related keywords to determine if you’re qualified for the role. If the software doesn’t find the keywords it’s looking for, it automatically rejects your application before a hiring manager even gets to see it.
So including skills from the job ad helps you make an ATS-friendly resume by targeting the exact keywords the software is looking for and gives you an advantage going into the hiring process.
Conclusion
So these are some of the points I get to know after long research and watching industry people's talks on resumes and hiring processes in Industries. I hope you find it helpful, If you still have doubts make sure to add them in the comments below and I hope your resume also gets selected, Best of Luck.
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