Resume Writing: The Basics

A storefront that tempts a potential employer to make a shopping tour – that is what a resume must be for any jobseeker. It is the very first thing that any recruiter would catch to grasp an image of your candidature. No more reasons are required for you to spare an honest performance in creating a document that brings light to all your strengths and looks very original. It is your opportunity for creating a first impression which is distinct from all others. Your resume is more like a catalog assisting your employer to get an idea about the skills

you are willing to sell him.

Well, while preparing a resume there are a few things to be careful at – the type of resume, the paper you chose, the font, the wordings, and the presentation. The type of resume, of course, is based on the situation you are in, and that we will be discussing soon.

The paper
The paper – choose any rectangular, neatly cut paper for your resume. Use a white or off-white piece to stay classic. Watermarks, dots, and lines can distract the reader, so keep such things off. Wish to be unique and modern, try using a solid color but still keeping watermarks, dots, and lines out of your resume. Avoid those flimsy stuffs or anything too thin. Being expensive is not the key but being impressive matters a lot.

The font
Well you need your resume to stand out and look impressive. You also need your resume to maintain professionalism that it should project. Those fancy fonts are surely attractive but good only for your friendly greeting cards, or ornamental letters. In a resume they look unprofessional and sloppy. An employer or a recruiter spends a very minimal amount in going through your resume before he takes a decision to reject or accept. Thus, your resume should be easy to read and, should radiate a positive impression from the very first take. For maintaining a classic look use Serif fonts like Times New Roman, Bell MT, Garamond, Georgia, or Goudy Old Style. Or else, to give your resume a contemporary look use Sans Serif fonts like Arial, Century Gothic, Gill Sans MT, Lucida Sans, Trebuchet, or Verdana. However, do not use more than two fonts in your resume although you are allowed to use styles like bold, italic, and size variations to give emphasis.

The wordings
When writing your resume, keep in mind that it sells what you are, to the prospective employer. So, using a couple of junks cannot make it stand the competition. There is a tendency among the jobseekers to use a lot of adjectives, trying to make their resume striking. Although adjectives do have an important place in resume writing, if they are not used appropriately, your resume can look over amplified, inflated, or unrealistic. Too many adjectives or wrong application of them can make your resume look mediocre or even inept.

Make sure that the adjectives used in your resume reflect what you actually are. For example, when you use the adjective – ‘creative’, in your resume, you must be ready to explain how creative you are and what is the proof for that. You have exhibited your creativity in designing a web or developing an album, sure the adjective is yours. It is also important to use those adjectives and verbs matching to your desired job. A jobseeker who is hunting for an auditing job doesn’t have much of

sense in using the adjective – ‘caring’ in his resume; instead it might be relevant to use ‘watchful’. Although there are professional resume writers across the globe doing a good job, I recommend you writing a resume your own. Often these resume writers use words in your resume, who’s meaning you may not even know. There is every chance that those words drag you to embarrassment during your interviews.

At an average, your prospective employer does not spend more than a minute to assess your resume before calling you for an interview. You need to be very selective in using the words to create an impression within this short time. As far as the resume grabs the attention of your prospective employer, it has the right length. There are arguments saying the resume must not exceed a page. There is no harm in exceeding that one page limit, but make sure that you are not being very elaborative. Keep all those narrations for the final show and let us focus only on your key strengths. If you have done an honest work with the first and second chapters of this book, you will find it easy here.

The presentation
The presentation of your resume is largely depending upon the type of resume you choose. The layout, the margin width, the line space, and even the way things are organized are all important. A common question that I normally encounter is about resume being color or black & white. Black & white resumes are graceful and traditional, but there are always better ways to present your resume in color. While you have options to be striking by not losing any bit of professionalism, why should you stick to that old black & white resume. However, do not use all those colors that you enjoyed on a rainbow the other day. It will only give a very clumsy look for your resume.
Do watch how others prepare their resumes – the heading style, the positioning of name, address, and contact number. It doesn’t mean that you have to copy what they have done. Try only to learn from them but remain unique.
When it comes to margin, a good practice is to keep them approximately 1” on every side, anyway not less than 0.75”. A too small margin creates a congested impression for the reader, losing his interest in the document. Too big margins are not only space consuming but also lazy in look. Again remember, your resume is not prepared for your own satisfaction but to impress your probable employer. Anything that avoids a crowded look in your resume is fine with the case of line spacing. Same as margins, too spacious lines are as bad as too little space between the lines.

The content
What your resume should and shouldn’t include is very important to know. Your name and how to reach you are the basic information required on your resume. At the top of your resume, include your name, your current address, your contact number, and your e-mail address. If you have a website, do not hesitate to include that as well.



Article Written By EBBIN JOSE

EBBIN JOSE is a blogger at Expertscolumn.com

Last updated on 23-07-2016 2K 0

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