career development Archives

Do’s and Dont’s of writing an awesome modern resume

Career Development May 22, 2015

Resume has always been part of our discussion, when it comes to hiring or getting hired. Be it your first job or third or may be the last big job change you are looking for, Resume plays the key role in overall process. In our last article about writing a resume, we had discussed about top 10 stupidity to avoid in a Resume or a CV. We got many emails and Facebook messages, where people told me to write about do’s and dont’s of writing a CV. So here I am, putting some lights on writing a modern resume.

In this era of competition, the way people write or present their resume has changed to a great extent. People are trying their best to impress the hiring authorities or employers. It has become really difficult to stand out of the crowd. Trust me, it becomes really tough when there are thousands of others who are applying for the same job. To stand out of the competition and to stay ahead of the crowd, you need to be the Best in resume writing.

Things you need to include in your resume (The DOs):

a) For HR Managers:
Including proper contact information should be the first priority.
Limit your resume to be short and crisp.
Customize your resume specifically for the position you are applying for.
Use of professional and easily readible fonts is a must.
Give relevant work experience that your employer will be interested in
b) For Sofrwares (Recruitment websites, HR Softwares) & Search Engines

It is very important to make your resume machine readable. HR managers or recruiters use search algorithms in their softwares or websites that looks searches your resume based on the keywords. It becomes very essential to make use of relevant keywords for the job you are applying for.

The Dos for Softwares:

Use relevant keywords in your resume (e.g transcription techniques)
Mention your industry (employers run for industries as well)
Do not forget to mention your qualification correctly
Mention your preferred work Location

Now I am going to talk about the things that you should not do in your resume.

The Donts:

Do not write more than 5 bullet points in any section (ideal is 3-4)
Do not make grammatical or typing mistakes
Do not mention high school details if you have a college degree
Avoid using controversial or funny email ids.
You must not use proprietary acronyms or jargon
Avoid using personal references in your resume

Some Key points or statistics:

1 in 4 HR managers receive 50 resumes per job listing.
77% of HR managers are looking for relevant experience.
48% of HR managers are looking for specific accomplishments.
HR managers look for keywords in resumes.
56% look for the words problem solving.
44% look for the word leadership.
40% look for the words oral/written communication.

Top 10 stupidity you should avoid in your CV

Career Development April 21, 2015

Your CV is the first thing that any employer will see. If your CV is good enough, your chances of getting hired become higher, at the same time if your CV carries mistakes and stupid things, the changes of getting hired becomes less. We have observed many common and stupid mistakes people do while writing their CVs. These mistakes simply cut their chance of getting hired. Please avoid any such thing in your CV, keep it simple clean and to the point.

1) Crazy objectives

Irrelevant, crazy objectives should be avoided. For an example, if you have a dream to be the next Zuckerburg, do not mention it as your objective in your CV. Recruiters may think you are just a dreamer. Your CV objective should be relevant to the career path you are applying for. Giving fancy objectives leaves bad impression on recruiter, they simply consider your CV as less sincere one.

2) Spelling errors, typos & bad gramer

Your CV is your identity, it is your first appearance at any company. Your employer will know you from your CV first. If you make spelling errors, typing mistakes and grammatical errors, it shows either you are not serious about your career or you are not so dumb to make these mistakes. This gives a really bad impression on the recruiter and you have a fair chance of getting rejected.

3) Irrelevant Job experience:

Previously where you have worked is important, but if it is not related to the Job profile you are applying for, you should not include that.

4) Awards and achievement that are not actually achievements:

People tend to put paragraphs and paragraphs writing about their awards and achievements which are actually not awards or achievements to be selected for the job. Include only significant awards in your profession that you have won. Do not write whether you were a school team captain or class monitor.

5) Physical description:

Recruiter will get agitated if you would write how tall you are, or if you look beautiful or handsome. Writing such things in the CV is unprofessional and unacceptable. Please avoid such stupid things to include in the CV.

6) Long and in appropriate hobby list:

Keep your hobby list simple and short. Do not include any hobby that can lead the recruiter take a false view of your personality. Common hobbies of reading or writing and even working out are acceptable.

7) In appropriate Contact information:

If you have an email id with some really in appropriate meaning, do not use that email in your CV at all. Use a professional email id which has only name and numbers. Contact information that can raise flags should be avoided.

8) Bad formatting:

Do not use fancy colours and fonts that can reduce the visibility of the CV. Use of different fonts on every single line makes your CV really bad to read. Avoid using fancy fonts. Avoid unnecessary gaps in paragraphs. Keep your CV short and to the point.

9) Private Information:

Recruiters do not bother whether you are a Hindu or a Muslim or of any other religion. Including unnecessary private information about religion, sex orientation etc is highly not recommended. Do not use any private information unnecessarily in your CV.

10) Lying or misleading:

Lying or giving false information about your career, qualification, or salary is not at all acceptable. Recruiters are not fools to understand where you are faking. Even if your CV gets short-listed, mostly there will be a background check. It can lead to a disaster. Do not lie. Play fair.

The art of Career Development

Career Development April 13, 2015

Career development is indeed the most important thing of a persons life. If your career is at pace, your life will be at peace. Find out the art of career development in this short video by Gianpiero Petriglieri, associate professor at INSEAD. He explains what we can learn all from artists.