Over the years I have probably gone through 1000s of resumes. I still find a lot of basic yet important details missing from resume.
I am sharing a few quick tips to make your resume stand out.
1- Clear and easy to read format. Clarity and simplicity trumps style and wanting to make it cool. You want the format to be structured and pleasing to eyes so that even a grade 5 student can understand
2- For those who have been working for a few years, add a section called
#professionalsachievements. Include financial impact items like revenue/savings, manpower hours savings, functional excellence projects, simplification projects, new tech adoption etc. These are achievements that stand out in your career. Do not include these in your job responsibility section.
3- Add a section on special skills. These are the
#softskills you know you are great at. In an interview, you can justify and give 10 examples on these. These are your personal strengths and how make you stand out. If you are an IT professional your technical skills should be a different section.
4- I see a lot of generic statements in job responsibilities. Your job responsibility section should be specific so the reader can really understand what you do. Make sure you include enough details to really highlight 80-90% of what you do in a job. Summarize this in 8-10 sentences. If you much senior then its fine to add more details because the scope is a lot bigger. DO NOT include sentences like
– Responsible for creating strategy ( I don’t know what this means, this is not clear)
– Build and maintain strong relationships with clients (most people do that but what does even mean)
– Reported directly to Regional Excellence Leader on health of all projects ( a lot of people report to regional leaders, but so what)
5 If you have attended any professional trainings or certification include those. Do not include every training program but those that stand out and you want to highlight. For fresh graduates or students include projects that stand out.
6 Cover letter is not needed
7 I am not a big fan of summary statements. Resume in itself is a kind of summary of your entire career so adding a paragraph doesn’t really add much value.
8 Objective statements are ok to include that showcases your mindset and what you want to want in your career with the companies you work for
Follow this sequence
Personal details, Objective Statement, Work experience, Education, professional trainings/development or certifications, Professional achievements, skills, community work (if any)
Please make sure there are not spelling mistakes. Based on my experience, if you follow the above, your resume will stand out and it will come off as complete and rounded.
