Building a Resume for Your Dream Job
The very first interaction between a prospective employer and employee is through the resume. Whether you are a new entrant to the world of employment or an experienced professional looking at landing your dream job in a top corporate, building a resume is the most important aspect. A resume creates the first impression for the candidate and that’s why you must be well versed in the art of building a resume.
If you are wondering about how to create a resume that will help you get hired for that coveted position, this article is going to be of great help to you. In this step-by-step guide, we will not only tell you how to create a resume but also familiarise you with the tips for building a resume that will help you impress hiring managers.
Steps For Building a Resume
One of the first things you need to keep in mind while building a resume is to focus on the key skills for a resume. For instance, if you are applying for the post of a data scientist or a digital marketing manager, you need to highlight your skills and qualifications related to the specific field upfront. Whether you were a gold medallist in Spell-bee or Maths Olympiad is not something that the hiring manager would be much interested in knowing. Having said that, let’s now take a look at the essential steps of building a great resume:
How to make a resume format
One’s journey towards creating impressive resumes starts with choosing the right resume format. Take a look at the various samples available online, and if possible, ask seniors or HR persons among your contacts to suggest tips on how to make a resume format that catches the eye. One of the most important things is to make your resume stand out. Thus, choose the right resume template, format, font, etc. Formal fonts such as Arial or Times New Roman are ideal for a resume, not cursive or gothic fonts. Similarly, you must avoid using colours or patterns in your resume unless it is a creative role you are applying for.
Things to write in a resume
After you have decided on the format, it is time to take a look at what information you need to share in a resume:
Contact information and objective
– The first thing you share at the top of the resume should be your contact information such as your mobile number and email ID. Contact details have to be followed by your ‘objective’, a statement that clarifies to the hiring manager about your thoughts and expectations related to the job that you are applying for. It should touch upon your professional and interpersonal abilities briefly to make the hiring manager interested in knowing more about you.
Educational qualifications
One of the most important things for any employer is to find out whether the candidate fulfils the eligibility criteria or not. Therefore, while highlighting the key skills for a resume, you must list your educational qualifications from the latest to the last or from the earliest to the latest, depending upon the job profile you are applying for. Alongside your degrees, you must mention your additional certifications, diplomas or digital expertise. This is also the point where you can mention any awards or special recognitions received during your academic life.
Total work experience
When you focus on learning how to create a resume, it is important to chronologically mention your work experience. Write succinctly about each role, duration and key achievements etc. When you highlight your responsibilities and contributions to a profile, it helps the recruiters determine your suitability for the role.
Integrating keywords
Nowadays, recruiters and hiring managers search for resumes on job portals and digital platforms such as LinkedIn etc. Therefore, you must integrate relevant SEO keywords into your resume to make it easily searchable for them.
Other skills
Imagine you are applying for a digital marketing profile. In such a scenario, mentioning other skills such as social media marketing, SEO, data analytics, etc., can enhance the relatability of the resume for the role you’re applying for.
Proofread Your Resume
You would be surprised to know that a lot of people make spelling and grammatical errors in their resumes. While building a resume, proofreading and rectifying any errors or omissions is absolutely crucial. Poorly worded sentences, spelling errors and glaring grammatical errors can create a poor impression of the candidate and put him/her at a disadvantage even before the shortlisting.
Save and Print
Once you are done proofreading, you should save a PDF version of the resume on your desktop. You must also keep the resume in your email or google drive so that you are able to share it on the go or to post it to any website. Another smart idea is to keep some printouts handy for any walk-in interview.
Design a Cover Letter
A cover letter is a brief introduction and expression of interest in applying for a job. When you have to mail a resume, especially for a senior post, you must prepare a cover letter, and send it along with the resume.
While this article will help you learn how to create a resume and familiarise you with tips such as how to make resume format, etc., there is another extremely crucial aspect of landing your dream job. In today’s highly competitive job environment, it is important to augment your educational qualifications and professional experience with continuous learning and options such as leadership development programme.
Conclusion
Everyone aspires to achieve greater success and professional responsibilities with each new year, and we all have those dream jobs that we believe will provide us with desired monetary and social benefits. By mastering the art of building a resume, you can reduce your chances of being overlooked by recruiters and hiring managers. Essentially, acquiring great resume-building skills is one of the primary steps toward landing the best-paying jobs in India.
As mentioned above, when you augment your resume writing skills with certifications such as a business leadership development programme from a reputed institution, you only get closer to your dream job. Go ahead and build a fantastic future career with online learning support from platforms like Emeritus.