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Resume writing

B. S. Raghavan

A JOB applicant who does not put his best foot forward or cannot capture the attention, if not the imagination of, headhunters and employer, with the first string of words he utters or composes is liable to fall by the wayside, suffering much damage to h is self-esteem and future prospects in the process. The very first flag one waves, as it were, to make the recruiters know of his talents and potential for growth is his resume.

It is the earliest point of introduction to a prospective employer and the earliest opportunity that one has to market oneself. If he blows it at that stage, it may take much effort and time to retrieve the situation. Hence, resume writing is a critical first step on the ladder to success and has to be handled with extreme care and sophistication.

The prime pre-requisite, before one even puts pen to paper, is to understand certain basic postulates. First, the headhunter or employer for whom it is meant is an extremely busy person and flooded with hundreds of such resumes through mail and from rela tives, friends and associates. Second, they are all likely to be of the same tone and tenor, indulging in self-glorification. Third, as regards references testifying to one's capabilities, there would be nothing much to choose, from the standpoint of the employer, between one set of prominent names and another.

Fourth, in cases where educational attainments and experience requirements are to conform to published advertisements or the job's nature, there would again be a degree of monotony evident in the content of most resumes. Therefore, the document has to be deftly crafted if it has to make an impact overcoming all these heavy odds. Here are a few tips.

Keep it brief, preferably not more than a single page of A4 size. There are many who just pile up all the minutiae about themselves in a compendium of 6 pages or more, under the notion that the bulkier the resume, the more impressed the recipient will be . Actually, the opposite is the case. The recipient is more likely to think that you are padding it up to hide your scant credentials.

Highlight the important milestones in your career right at the start, attuning them crisply and pointedly to the requirements of the position you are applying for. For instance, if you are seeking entry into an infotech company, no point in sprawling all over the page on things you did for a garment manufacturer or harping on your thesis paper on Sepoy Mutiny! Just say how you fit into the position you have in mind.

Some job aspirants think that to show they are well-rounded personalities, they should expatiate on their hobbies or their making a mark on the sports arena or details of their travels. I am for cutting them out, unless they are relevant to the job.

In short, let not your resume be a catch-all document, but a unique one designed exclusively for the purpose in hand and to suit the occasion.

Where you are not in line for a job, but rub shoulders in meetings of professional associations or on social occasions with persons in positions of authority in companies you are interested in, you can make your visiting card a mini-resume so that they g et to know about you in an obtrusive manner. A brief mention of the main features of your career in the visiting card itself may help in attracting the attention of senior executives who may be looking for persons with a background such as yours. But thi s method should be adopted only if you can take credit for any special or unusual accomplishments that make you stand out from the rest.