Writing a Résumé is No Joke

One of my former trainee requested for a free computer access because she wanted to design her résumé, and would want to print it. Wanting to help in one way or another, I volunteered to edit. But to my dismay, the editing turned out to be a total overhaul and I needed to really sit down to fix the mess. Good thing I had some time to spare.  

While explaining the changes I made with her résumé, I adjusted the indention, spacing, and even the placements of the data to make the result impressive. Prior to her encoding, I provided her with a template and an example to guide her, but the output is still a mess that I wasn't impressed at all. How much more if I am a potential employer? With her information scattered and incomplete, you would think of an open-ended second rate movie produced by an unknown film maker. 

Even though I do not have a background in HR, but common sense tells me what an impressive résumé entails. 

How many of our job-seekers do not know how to make an impressive résumé? "How To's" should have been taught in secondary schools, I think so. But sad to say, no subject ever prepared us with stuffs like this. I could not even remember it being taught in my high school and college years. My knowledge was just based on my patient research prior to my first job search. I used to read a huge Reader's Digest book "Write Better, Speak Better" because the internet in my little corner of the world during that time was still a dream.

Designing a résumé is no joke. It's not just filling up a bio-data. It's an art, a science and a glimpse of who you are, what you got and what you can do. It cannot just be designed without focusing on details. 

So, what do we need to include and exclude in a résumé? Based on my own experience and research, below are some hints.

What to include ....

• Contact Details. This includes your complete address and contact numbers. If you can't stay in the same place always, don't forget your mobile number. An email address is also needed if you're already a tech-savvy. Your contact details are really important so that the interviewer will be able to contact you for an interview.
• Competencies/Skills. This should include your abilities related to the job you're applying. Skills that can help promote efficiency and effectiveness on performing the job (e.g. language skills, and/or computer skills, etc) should also be emphasized.
• Employment Background. This should include all your employment history. List the companies you worked for, your job descriptions and dates of employment. For comprehensive result, you may include a detailed description of your responsibilities. If available, do not forget to highlight your commendable achievements and remarkable contributions to the company. Make sure to arrange them from latest to earliest. If you're a fresh graduate, your on-the-job training and part-time jobs will help.
• Educational Attainment. This should include the schools you attended, the courses/degrees you attained, merits and/or awards received. Arrange your data in chronological order (latest first).
• Accreditation and Awards. This includes any certificates of competencies and authority that will help boost your credibility. Recognition and awards, if any, will also help lift you up.
• Job Objective. May be included if you have a specific job in mind that the company offers. Just make sure to tailor-fit your résumé. Use the same keywords that appear in the job description so that you will have a better chance of an interview.
• Career Summary. This section is an optional customized section of a  résumé. It lists down key achievements, skills and experiences relevant to the position for which you are applying.

How these sections should be arranged depends on what qualification you want to emphasize. It also depends on the availability of data and the scarcity of it. For example, if you're a fresh graduate and you do not have an impressive job background, you're competencies and educational background should come first.  If the want ad requires an applicant to have years of work experience, then your employment history should be highlighted. If you're not sure what job fits your qualification, and you do not know the particular job vacancy, your competencies and skills should be emphasized.

Thus, a résumé.for one company should not be copied for another. You need to re-organize it first ... redesign if necessary ...  to ensure that it can impress even the most stressed and bored HR.

Just always bear in mind, a résumé can make or break your chance of landing a better job and a brighter future.