How to Write a Killer Resume | Some Practical Tips
By: Irfan Hashim
Tags: Resume Writing, Job Hunting, Job Search, Interview, Resume

Your resume is the key to success in your quest for the job hunt. Your CV describes you. It gives employers your introduction and helps them determine your job suitability and whether to shortlist you for the interview. Below are some key points you must keep in mind while designing your resume.

One Page Resume (Preferably):

Your resume should preferably be one page long. People in HR hardly spend 10–15 seconds on a CV, and rightly so, because they receive dozens of resumes for a single job opening and are required to do their best in a limited time, to shortlist the most qualified people for the vacancy. They glance at the resume and make a decision for shortlisting and this process hardly takes 10–15 seconds. Hence your resume should preferably be one page long having main keywords to attract the attention of the reader.

Never include a photograph on your resume:

I once attended a training, in which a participant asked whether he should paste his picture on the resume. The trainer smiled and responded on a lighter note that unless his picture has an uncanny resemblance with the Hollywood Actors such as George Clooney or Brad Pitt, he should never paste his picture on the resume. The trainer stressed that the picture on the resume can become a reason for REJECTION irrespective of how suitable you are. There are possibilities that the person reviewing your CV may not like your picture or the background color of your picture and rejects your CV without going through your qualifications. Yes, it happens, so it is advisable not to paste the picture on your CV.

Typo Errors:

Make sure your CV doesn’t have typographical errors. A survey revealed that more than 60% of the recruiters exclude CVs from the competition having more than one typo and 30% wouldn’t even consider a candidate whose resume had a single typo. Make sure you read and reread your CV for typographical errors before submitting it for a job. Typos on CVs are dangerous and will kill your chances of being shortlisted for an interview.

Use Keywords:

Your resume must contain the right keywords, otherwise, it may receive a rejection. You must read the job description or job advert thoroughly and incorporate the relevant keywords in your CV. Yes, it is important that you review and customize your CV every time you apply for a job and incorporate related keywords in accordance with the job advert.

Use a Summary:

The summary is the most integral part of your resume. It should be brief and eye-catchy and should describe your experience and qualifications. For example: if you already have five years of experience and related qualifications, your summary should read “An SHRM Certified HR Professional With Five years of experience as Manager HR with a large manufacturing setup.” If however you are fresh but have attended a prestigious college or a university, you can resort to something like “Graduate of Oxford University ….”

Be Brief

Your CV must contain the following information about your experience:

Name of your current/last employer Current/last job title and dates of employment Brief description of your job responsibilities Key achievements

Most companies give more importance to work experience than education, so keep your education section as brief as possible and at the bottom of the page and highlight your experience, expertise, and accomplishments, first.

Explain Career Gaps Honestly:

If you have valid reasons for career gaps in your resume you must highlight them. Most recruiters empathize with candidates who have left their last job to start a business, raise kids, or care for a sick relative. If you don’t explain your gaps honestly, recruiters may make the worst assumptions.

Don't Waste Time Writing a Cover Letter:

Most recruiters do not see or read cover letters. They understand that when a resume contains all necessary information then why to waste time reading a covering letter. Most cover letters are an extract of a resume and contain repetitive points that are already covered in the resume. But if the company asks for one, you should include it, otherwise, it’s unnecessary.

Your resume should have a meaningful name

Most candidates either email the resume to the prospective employer or apply online on their website. It is therefore important that the filename of your resume is meaningful otherwise chances are it might lose the attention of a recruiter and ends up in a junk folder. Give your resume a meaningful filename. For example “Irfan Hashim Resume.PDF”

Writing an effective resume and then customizing it for every single job you apply to is a time-consuming job but it is critical to the job search and must be undertaken. If your resume does a good job selling you, you will certainly get an opportunity to meet with the prospective employer i.e. an interview call.

Irfan Hashim