FAQs for Job Seekers
Vital Information

Resume Dos and Don'ts

Your resume is solely conclusive to whether you are called on for an interview or plainly passed up as 'not suitable'. To put it in a rather hackneyed yet pertinent expression, you 'sell your credibility' through your resume. Receiving a cold shoulder at the very first step of exploring a career prospect is certainly the most undesirable thing in a job quest, and your resume might be to blame for this

Keeping some seemingly petty blunders from ruining your resume is one sure way of ascertaining that you get an opportunity to take on the real trial- the interview. Read on to learn what are the common slip-ups, keeping which at bay would result in an arresting resume, and consequently an interview call:

  • Sending Hackneyed Resumes
    Call it the dearth of time or sheer complacency, but most job aspirants don't even give a second look to their resume. The content of their resume remains almost unaltered for all companies and positions. At an outer surface, it doesn't seem to be making much of a difference, but in effect it scripts refutation. The right course is to refurbish the resume regularly and to customize it for different companies and openings. In a nutshell, it should sound addressing exclusively the company you are exploring the career opportunities with.
  • Immaterial Content
    Some people mistake resume writing for a mere formality of furnishing some this or that about their qualifications and experience without checking if the information furnished is along the lines of the job requirements. Resume readers don't have enough time to go through such futile prattle and they simply throw such resumes to the trash bin. So be very succinct and judicious in utilizing the two-pages space to the max in showcasing your suitability.
  • Inapt Length of the Resume
    It's very imperative to know the ideal length of resume. Normally, one has to say one's piece within a two-page document; anything shorter or lengthier than this runs the risk of either a dissatisfied reader or a fed-up one. In the both the cases, rejection happens be the only upshot.
  • Neglecting the Linguistic Blunders
    Your language may not reflect your technical competence but all the same most of the recruiters do assess the job aspirants on the basis of their knack of expression. Failing to make an impression even through written work could send a wrong message. You'd be looked upon as either an inept or a complacent. Recruiters want none of these. So be very particular about what you type.
  • Specifying a Fuzzy Job Objective
    If you think that writing an objective is a part of decorum of resume writing and it must be written just for the sake of writing, this is yet another big blunder. Objective should be specified when you are very sure of it and it is relevant to the job requirement. Saying fuzzy things like 'want to make it big in the IT industry' would portray you as a vague person not sure of your own objective. You'll thus manage to make an impression, but rather an adverse one!
  • Using Vain Words and Phrases
    As said earlier, the resume ought to be pithy and direct, and so a number of words can be and must be dispensed with to a good effect. Analyze this sentence-" I was a member of the Development Team and I contributed a great deal to the consummation of many a flawless and efficient software packages." Sounds good, but just notice the squander of space and time here. A sentence like 'developed 8 software packages as member of development team' would have filled the same bill and with better effect. Remember, resume readers are too busy to pay heed to a lexical gab, so better be direct. However, take care of grammatical accuracy.
  • Including Extraneous Personal Info
    Some people would add anything to their resume just to show that they are a cut above the others. Some take pride in emphasizing their school-time accomplishments. Unless pertinent to the job requirement, this is simply an unsolicited information to the resume readers and straightaway puts them off. Now, what's pertinent to a job and what's not? While applying for the position of a graphic designer, for instance, mentioning that you happened to a renowned orator is absolutely impertinent, unsolicited and rather ridiculous. Talking about a flair for painting does make some sense here and sounds somewhat relevant.
  • While Emailing your Resume
    Applying for a vacancy online is a commonplace practice and seems quite a convenient and handy way of dispatching resumes. But all effortless things have their own hitches. Complacently emailed resumes meet the same fate, as do the conventional resumes with similar shortcomings, yet, the emailed resumes call for more deliberation, since people are in a habit of darting forth their resumes straight off without revising and revamping the content of the resume. Such readymade resumes seldom earn the sender an interview call. So take your time and customize your resume every time you apply online to a job.
  • Being Oblivious to the Apt Format
    The resumes of an experienced professional and a greenhorn ought to be different not only in terms of content but the format and presentation as well. As a fresher, educational qualifications used to be the first thing you talked about. But as you grow in experience, this information takes a back seat and steps down in significance with the passage of years. Usually, freshers and novices tend to be more prone to committing the format errors when they try to emulate an experienced person's resume thinking it could be the best format to can. Recruiters too easily tell apart such canned resumes and thrust them aside. It thus becomes imperative to know and keep to the apt format.
  • Absence of Relevant Figures
    Facts not complemented by relevant figures could sound vague or even boastful and fallacious. One could say, " Did a number of projects". But delving into a bit of detail makes the description much more concise and clear. Like- "Did 3 projects for Banking, Insurance, and E-commerce". It thus presents a clear picture. Similarly, specifying dates is cardinal to a meaningful account of the past career. Rather than saying 'worked for 2 years?' you should spell out the tenure in exact dates. True, one needs to be short and snappy but not at the cost of relevance. It's got to be a trade-off between being pithy and descriptive.
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