7 basic steps to write a resume first time for beginners
Alright. So being honest with you. I have never really liked writing a resume because I have to worry about font, grammar, structure and in the end it all comes down to listing down my achievements and it hurts to find out that I don't have many.
But achievements or no achievements, we need a job, right?! Because apart from the money it gets you, having a job in the early stages of your career makes you a professional, it makes you disciplined. And both of these combined, will get you closer to Wealth, Health and even Love! And the first step to all of this is to write a resume.
I know writing a resume sounds complicated but that's what I am here for. So it doesn't matter if you are a fresher or an experienced professional or a home-maker trying to find a part-time job. Today, by the end of this article, you will be surprised to see how easy it is to write a resume that will get you an interview call.
What is it that Interviewers look for in a resume? We are going to learn how to structure a resume. But the most important point... in the end, I will give you a bonus tip that will take your resume to the next level! Before we begin, let me clarify that you are free to tweak your resume the way you want. Because there is no certified way to writing a resume.
The only thing that's certified is this.. that you and I will learn something new and useful every week. So if you want to learn things that haven't been taught in school then make sure you subscribe to this blog. So what is it that Interviewers 'Look For' in a resume? It is less about what is it that they 'look' for and more about what is it that Interviewers 'see'. For example, suppose this is the job that we are applying for, for the role of a Block chain Developer. Even though I took an example of an I.T job, you can use the same principles for Banking, Education, Hotel Management, Sales or any other job that you like.
Now the problem is, no matter what job you are applying for there will be 100's, if not 1000's of people applying for the same job! With these many profiles, the Interviewers will hardly spend around 6 seconds to look at your resume. It's like being on Tinder. If your profile is not appealing at the first glance then you will be left-swiped right away because there are a lot of other profiles waiting to be reviewed which is why your resume should not be like a long boring list! It should be like an advertisement... Short. To the Point and Crisp! And that brings us to the resume structure! To help you understand the resume structure better, I am going to write it with you.
We are first going to build an experienced person's profile and then make a few changes to this profile so that it becomes a Fresher profile.
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| Write a Resume | For Freshers & Experienced |Presentation (Step-by-Step) |
This is where you use words or phrases that define you professionally like Problem Solver, Innovator, Mentor, Quick Leaner, Fire Fighter which basically means that you are quick at solving problems! So here I am going to write Innovator, Mentor and Firefighter. I am writing Innovator because later I am going to mention a few Patents that he has. So make sure that you support whatever you write in your Professional Title throughout our resume. Next is Contact Information and these are the things that you can mention. First is Email ID. All of us have had weird college IDs but please do not write 'devil josh@gmail.com'. It looks extremely unprofessional.
Create a new ID for job resume that has your name and mention that, write your phone number and next, mention any social media profiles that are relevant to the position you are applying to like your LinkedIn profile. Or if you are applying for a Digital Marketing role then may be you can even mention your Twitter or Instagram handles. Since this is for an I.T job, I am going to mention his LinkedIn profile here and a Skype ID, just in case someone from overseas wants to conduct an interview over Skype. And that is most of what you need to mention in your contact information.
Things that you don't need to mention in job resume are.. your marital status, religious affiliation, DOB or even your photo because all of this is unnecessary information taking up unnecessary space. Next comes Experience. Here you will mention your current job first and then go back and mention your old jobs in a reverse chronological order.
So mention the name of the company, your job role and right beneath it, mention the time-period you've held that role for. Josh has worked for 3 companies in the past so I'll make 3 different sections. Suppose you were in the same company but have had different roles then you can have a separate section for each role. Now under each section write down your responsibilities and key deliverable's in a bullet point format.
Remember this section is an opportunity to showcase how your experience is aligned to the position that you are applying for. Since we are applying for the role of a Block chain Developer, it makes sense to mention that he has led a Block chain Research Group at his current company. Remember to sprinkle the keywords mentioned in the job description throughout your experience section because that way the hiring manager will know that you have the experience that the team needs.
And second point, always try to be specific about your achievements. Suppose you are applying for a Social Media role, then don't just mention, 'Managed a Facebook Page', instead you can write, 'Revamped a business page on Facebook that has led to over 80 K followers.. (up by 50% in 3 months) and has led to a 5% increase on revenue.' See the difference? Because you have added a number to your accomplishment it gives the Hiring Manager confidence in your abilities.
So try to add a number and quantify as many bullet points as possible. Next is Education. In case you have been working for quite sometime then it's best to keep your education section short and sweet. Suppose you have been working for 6 years or more then it doesn't make sense to mention your 10th and 12th percentage. Just mention the details of your last degree. So he did his Bachelors from IIIT-H. So I'll mention that. Beneath it, I'll mention the time period and write after that in 3-4 bullet points, I'll mention the highlights which is CGPA, any relevant Course Work or Honors and that's it! If you are a student, you'll obviously add a lot more in the education section.
We'll come to that . Next come Skills. Typically for a Software Job, you can mention the Languages and Technologies that you know and rate them according to how well you know them. But make sure that you include the skills that have been mentioned in the job description. So out of all the skills mentioned here, he knows Java, JavaScript, Block chain, SQL.
So I've mentioned them along with a couple of other technologies. If you are not from the Software field, then you can mention your Communication Skills, Critical Thinking Skills, Leadership Skills, Social Media Skills, Project Management Skills; basically do not forget to mention the skills that have been included in the job description.
Next is Additional Section. This is the best time to brag about any awards, certifications, publications, patents, volunteer work done, languages that you know, extra-curricular activities, conferences/courses attended or any other hobbies that you have that are relevant to the position that you are applying to. Just pick the best 2 sections and mention them.
So here I'll only mention 2 sections. The awards he has received and the fact that he has 3 patents under his name. Now before you hit export and send that resume to a Hiring Manager there are a few important points to remember but before that, let's first see how we can modify this profile so that it becomes a Fresher's Profile.
Incase you are a fresher or are applying for an entry-level job then the resume pretty much remains the same except for 3 changes. #1: Education If you are a fresher, mention your Education before your Experience. List down your Institution Name, Degree and Time Period in reverse chronological order upto your 10th standard and don't forget to have a separate column for your percentage or your CGPA. Next is Experience.
I know, if you are a fresher, there isn't much that you can write under the Experience section but here are few things that you can mention. If you are an Engineer then you would've done some Mini Projects in ever semester. This is the perfect place to mention all of that. Write the name of the project and in 1-2 lines describe what is that project about. Mention any internships you've done, mention any paper you have worked on, with your faculty.
Even if you used to take tuition's for kids or worked at McDonalds part-time to pay your college fees, mention that because it tells the Hiring Manager that you are committed and have developed a sense of professionalism early in your life. The third and the final change is this. In case you are a student, there are a lot of things that you can mention under the Additional Section, the best being your competitive exam score (be it IIT-JEE, Eamcet or even your CAT rank). In case you have not given any of these then no problem.
Then you can mention the college fest that you had participated in coding contests, paper presentation contests, you can even write about the initiatives you took while you were at college like taking care of your college website, newsletter or even maintaining your own blog.
So those were the 3 key differences between a Freshers profile and an Experienced person's profile. But before you hit export, here are 3 important points to remember..
1: Keep your resume to 1-page, maximum. If you have information that is relevant to the position that you are applying to then go ahead and add an extra page. But if you are adding fluff just for the sake of adding pages then your resume will suffer.
2: Always proof-read and double check your resume because nothing hurts a resume more than a grammatical error. But the third and the most important point, never ever lie in your resume. If you don't have the skills, you might not get this job but if you lie then you might not be called for any future jobs the company might have. Sometimes, it's okay to not have the skills because most companies will be ready to train you but honesty is a skill that no company compromises on. So that's how you write a resume.
Hope the article was helpful do leave your comments below let us know if you have any questions. All your feed backs are welcomed as they will let us grow.You can like, share and subscribe to stay updated with this blog through email. also you can follow us on our social media accounts.
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