We live in a fierce world, or I can say a world that requires a great level of hard work and luck. We must have heard about a few situations and events in which we see large hordes of people applying for a prestigious vacancy and we also know how little the success rate is. So, what can we do? Actually, there are two options for you, the first one is to simply compromise and run away from things that are risky and too tough for you, whereas the second one requires you to fight and work hard for your causes and dreams, so much so that you are able to bend the so-called luck in your favor. In case you follow the second path, Prepmycareer is here to guide you about everything that you need to do to secure your dream job.
A ‘Resume’ Is The Beginning Of The Journey
So, I assume that you have sincerely followed the second path and are very much willing to chase your dreams and even burn the midnight oil. Now, the first step, that goes into securing a job is the preparation of a perfect resume. A resume is a document, which defines you, expresses your capabilities, and illustrates how you can be beneficial to an organization. The creation of a perfect resume is the inception of a long professional career, however, not only in the starting but you are also required to prepare a few relevant resumes at even the later stages of your career when you would migrate in search for some better employment opportunities. Hence, learning this art of preparing resumes would help you throughout your professional journey.
Contents Of A Resume
A typical resume consists of the six elements and contents that can be presented and showcased using the format a person wishes to follow. There could be a few things that are specific to a job opening and a person might be prompted to include those things into his or her resume. However, below is the list of items that are almost mandatory to include in a resume, no matter what is the nature of the job or the type of the organization:
| Name of the Item/Content | Explanation |
| Introduction of the Candidate | The first item that appears in a resume, is the introduction part of the candidate. This item consists of the following sub-items: 1) Name of the candidate 2) Contact details of the candidate, which are, Mobile Number, Permanent Address, Email Address, etc. 3) Various links to the professional profile of the candidate, such as Linkedin, Github, etc. |
| Resume Objective | The introduction of a candidate is mostly followed immediately by a resume objective, which is a 3-4 lines brief paragraph, written in an impressive and catchy language, intended to express the following elements: 1) The type of job you are interested in 2) The nature of the industry you prefer to be a part of 3) Your most dominating skills and abilities 4) Your highest work experience and your highest educational qualification 5) Your goals, aspirations, and objectives that you want to achieve in your professional tenure In case you are a nursing student and wish to work in the medical industry, you can read our exclusive post, which teaches you to how to create an exceptional and impressive nursing resume objective. |
| Work Experience | In case you are a fresher, you can skip this step, however, if you are an experienced professional, you must mention all the details of your previous employment. The following sub-items are used to display this information: 1) Name of the employer/organization 2) Years of experience, presented by mentioning the start and end date. 3) Designation and duties performed |
| Educational Qualifications | In this section, you are required to showcase and present all your educational qualifications, starting from school to university. This section could be divided into the following sub-items: 1) Name of the course pursued 2) Name of the major subjects studied in the course 3) Overall Marks/Percentage/Grades achieved 4) Duration of the course 5) Nature of the course, that is, part-time. full-time, regular, distance, online, offline, etc. |
| Certifications | This element enumerates a complete list of all the certifications and additional qualifications that you have achieved apart from your core academics. This section could also be divided into the following sub-items: 1) Name of the certification course pursued 2) Name of the major skills and attributes studied in the course 3) Overall Marks/Percentage/Grades achieved 4) Duration of the course 5) Nature of the course, that is, part-time. full-time, regular, distance, online, offline, etc. |
| Interests and Extra-curricular Activities | Now is the time to go a bit offbeat and leave professionalism aside. This section requires you to mention all your achievements that are strictly not academic, such as Sports/Singing/Dance competitions you have participated in. |
Formats Of A Typical Resume
There might be a thousand variations using which a resume might be created, drafted, and presented. However, in this article, we would be discussing and learning the two most attractive and best formats, which must be followed by the candidates while preparing and designing their resumes. The two formats are explained hereunder:
Format One : Preparing Resume In Reverse Chronological Order
This is the most popular and widely used format of resume preparation, in which everything is mentioned in reverse chronological order with more emphasis and stress on the work experiences of the candidate. This format of resume is perfect for experienced professionals and workers who have relevant and valuable work experience, which could be showcased so as to better the prospects and probability of selection.
Flow Of The Contents Of A Resume
A resume prepared by following the principles of reverse chronological order must organize and consist of the items in the following sequence:
- Introduction of the candidate
- Resume Objective
- Work Experience
- Educational Qualifications
- Certifications
- Interests and Extra-curricular activities
Everything Flows From Latest To Oldest
Since, this format follows the reverse chronological order everything that you mention in the resume, must be presented in a way that all the latest developments are mentioned first, which are then followed by the items that are older in time. For example, If you have recently pursued your post-graduation, then you would put your post-graduation details first and then follow it up with your graduation and schooling information.
Format Two: Preparing Resume In A Functional Manner
This format is not as popular as the first one, but, highly effective and relevant for freshers, who do not have any relevant work experience, as this format of resume preparation focuses more on your skills, capabilities, and academic qualifications, rather than laying stress on your work experience.
Flow Of The Contents Of A Resume
A functional resume lays little to no emphasis on the work experience of a candidate, with a higher focus on the educational achievements, hence, the elements to include in a functional resume must be presented in the following order:
- Introduction of the candidate
- Resume Objective
- Educational Qualifications
- Certifications
- Interests and Extra-curricular activities
- Work Experience (optional)
Everything Flows From Oldest To Latest
A functional resume does not mention anything in any reverse order, rather presents the information in a direct sequence of time. For example, If you have recently pursued your post-graduation, you would be required to present this information at the end. In the beginning, you are required to showcase the educational achievements starting from your school.
Three Tips On Preparing An Exceptional Resume
Well begun is half done. If you are no even able to get screened out for an interview call, how would you start working in the first place and break your shackles of unemployment. Hence, it is necessary and almost mandatory to prepare an exceptional and impressive resume, which could be crafted using the following tips:
1) A Cutomized Resume For Every Job
Every job is different and consists of different duties, tasks, and responsibilities that have to be executed and fulfilled by a candidate. There is a possibility that the content you are mentioning in your resume, might not match a particular vacancy or job opening. It is because there is no universal resume that is applicable and fits perfectly to all the job openings that have been advertised. Hence, it is necessary that you customize your resume in accordance with and parlance the requirements of a specific job. In order to do so, you are required to read the job description issued to you by your employer exhaustively and comprehensively so that you are able to understand every bit of it. Post this, eke out a few qualities and primary expectations of the employer and mention those in your resume.
2) Do Not Be Verbose
A resume is not a detailed explanation of yourself, rather it is a concise, crisp, and to-the-point reflection of your educational qualifications, skills, achievements, and unique capabilities. Hence, Prepmycareer advises you that you use one-liners to represent the information contained in a resume. Usage of lengthy and bulky sentences not only disengages an interviewer but also makes it tough for an ATS software to screen out a prospective candidate.
3) Display Of Internships
It is common for people of varied backgrounds to undertake internships and other similar professional paid training while undergoing their core education. There is no doubt that these training and internships are of utmost importance and might influence the perspective and views of an interviewer. But, that would only help a person who is at the nascent stage of his or her career. Any professional who has work experience of 3 years or more, is recommended not to mention the internships in the core heading of work experience, rather shift it to the certifications section.
Fonts and Formatting Guidelines To Be Followed
A resume must be formatted and crafted in an adorable way that both looks professional as well as attractive. Overuse of formatting or using any fancy fonts is not at all recommended while preparing a resume, as by doing so you would not only decrease your chances of getting short-listed but you might be even barred from applying at the future job openings of a particular business organization. Hence, always follow the guidelines and prepare an attractive resume. You can have an in-depth knowledge of using the best fonts and formatting while preparing a resume, by clicking on this link.
References
- https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=GhQcEAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=How+To+Make+A+Resume+101+(With+2021+Relevant+Examples)&ots=h4fxp8q7Ci&sig=-FJSLR-jV8UT3CC-XzJUWYyiOyU
- https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10447318.2020.1841438
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Sandeep Bhandari is the founder of PrepMyCareer.com website.
I am a full-time professional blogger, a digital marketer, and a trainer. I love anything related to the Web, and I try to learn new technologies every day.
All the team management, content creation, and monetization tasks are handled by me. Together with the team at PrepMyCareer, the aim is to provide useful and engaging content to our readers.